My nervous Galgo’s first week of walks - Rescue Dog Diaries

Sunday 21st September 2025

Looking back on our first week of walks, I can honestly say I am so proud of Gala and we have made some incredible progress! There are definitely highs and lows, and it has been hard work for both of us, but there is a lot of light.

The first time a week ago (after being with me three weeks), I carried her round to the front of the house, not knowing what would happen, and almost straight away she just started trotting around our culdesac, then even out and down the main road a bit! I was amazed. Her tail was out a lot of the time, but she didn’t want to go far. I am not sure if we just picked a good moment when it was quiet out, but after that, things seemed to slow down a bit. I carried her out three times that day, and she didn’t then want to leave our close. If she saw a person, she wanted to run home or go in the other direction. It was very slow work, tempting her around the close. I get down on her level and stroke her shoulder to reassure her, then get in front of her with my arms open to get her to come towards me. Sometimes literally metre by metre, sometimes she will then start moving again and we walk a bit. It can be very painstaking, and requires a lot of high-value treats! But after spending three weeks just at home, I was so proud of her for being out there, and even if we were just on the close, she was observing, listening, getting used to things.

I’ve started to feel like we actually live in Piccadilly Circus, not a culdesac in a semi-rural village, my god the amount of cars and people! There’s nothing like being with a nervous dog to make you notice these things. We keep going out every day and it’s like we can’t go in any direction without encountering a person and having to turn around, neighbours talking outside their houses, washing their cars, gardening, deliveries, it would be hilarious if poor Gala didn’t get so scared.When she gets scared by someone and can’t run away (and I’m not letting her run home, I’m not making her go up to people but just that sometimes we need to wait until they have gone so we can carry on) and she will be there cowering and trembling in my arms. It’s really so heartbreaking to see. But the amazing thing with this girl is how quickly she seems to be able to shake that feeling off.

I was still trying to tempt her to the garden gate each day, then having to give up and carry her out, so on the fourth day when she willingly came out the gate herself, I was so happy! We then had a friend who has greyhounds come round to walk with us. Gala has actually met them before because they came to visit us in the garden. That went really well, so it seemed like a good idea to try and walk together. Gala started going towards my friend in the street, then it’s almost as if she remembered she needs to be scared and tried to run away again. Evie, the greyhound, is a pretty confident, bold girl who just wants to barrel up to Gala and sniff her all over, which she isn’t very keen on either, so it was a very slow start trying to get out of the close, with loads of coaxing and waiting again. Then, like a miracle, I managed to get Gala to come down the path in the corner for the first time, which will lead us to the next section of our walk! I think it was the fact that Evie and Catherine were at the other end of the path that made her bold enough to go down there, even though she was still pretending to be scared of them. So through we went and on to the next section of the walk.

I’d been trying to get Gala down here to some fields where it would be quieter anyway, so I was thrilled to finally make it, and almost immediately her tail came out again. We actually hit a farmer coming out of his field with a trailer and someone outside a house, so it was pretty busy, but in company, Gala handled it and we managed to get past. She then just looks like a totally different dog, tail out, trotting on keenly, it was amazing. To go from trembling and cowering to happily trotting seemed like a miracle. And so it has gone. We have seen a lot of both, Gala trying to bolt when she sees someone, having to have a short carry to get nearer to a quiet spot, not wanting to go through a kissing gate, to trotting along like the most confident girl ever, and this is all on the same walk! By the end of the week, she was trotting confidently to the garden gate for her walk. She has learned to go through kissing gates, she is scared of sheep, she is terrified of some people and dogs, yet seems much less bothered by others. She’s learnt that her mother won’t let her give up, but will support her and her bravery so she can get to the places she enjoys. Well, I hope she is learning that.

She seems very resilient; she physically shakes off upsets and then is able to go back to being tail out, providing we are in the right place. If she is upset by people or dogs barking at her, she doesn’t want to carry on, and a lot of patience and coaxing is required, but with repetition, she is gaining a wee bit of confidence each time. She seems happy in the countryside, so I think taking her to places I know we will be able to do quiet walks is going to really increase both her general life happiness but also her confidence. Then, hopefully, she will start being able to deal with the things she finds scary a bit easier. Pretty amazing progress in a week anyway. Is it easy? No. Does it require the patience of a saint? Yes, I think so! But to see her in a field trotting along happily, it is so worth it. I am so excited to see what the next week will bring. I am planning to take her out in the car for the first time. Hopefully, she will be excited to see somewhere new in nature, with not many people around, just lots of lovely fresh smells and sights.