The age of a dog can sneak up on us and many times we start seeing behaviors we have never seen before, or we only saw when our beloved friend was a puppy. The aging dog can come on suddenly when we are in the midst of our everyday lives. We don’t often notice subtle changes until they become pretty big or inconvenient changes.
“He’s Friendly!” is the common chant among those who do not seem to recognize that their dog is about to offend another dog. All dogs have the need for personal space just like people do. Some need more space than others. That can be driven by breed or the individual dog. Goldens and Labradors, often have no concern at all for anyone’s personal space – dog or human. On the other hand, many of the herding breeds DO have concern, especially Border Collies and German Shepherds.
Every website, every internet page I am on, I see ads: “Take Your Dog ANYWHERE!” looking to sell you a real “National Service Dog Registration,” or an “Official” vest so you can take your dog into any pubic place. Or, you say you have a note from your doctor which automatically makes your dog a “Service Dog.”
What a great word that just rolls off our tongue with any dog that tends to get into mischief, especially puppies! What is important is to understand how dogs think. Dogs are very literal. They need precise meanings to words we teach them. We also have to understand that we teach them English. They are not preprogrammed to understand the meaning of our verbalization. Consequently, the best thing we can do is to have very clear meanings in our vocabulary of what a term/command means. If we do not have a very clear visualization of what a word means, we will have a very hard time teaching it to our dog.
After a dog has bitten, or threatened to bite, it’s no longer nipping it in the bud. This is true for all unwanted dog behaviors. While, yes, there are things you can do as an “intervention” once a dog has started down the wrong path, it becomes much more difficult and time consuming, and takes a HUGE commitment on the owner’s part.
Mother Nature has provided all animals with the necessary tools to learn how to survive, and thrive. She uses her environment and gives elders the ability to give baby wildlife important information for their growth and ultimately survival of the species. At first, the mother and or father provide food for their young, from birds to bears, squirrels to skunks. As the babies mature, they learn important lessons about hunting and foraging. If they hunt for prey that is improper, say the fox hunts for the skunk, the skunk sprays the fox – a definitive consequence for hunting the wrong prey.
Quite honestly, dog “pack” behaviors and “social rank” have become a politically incorrect topic to even discuss. There are many people that believe that dogs are no longer “pack animals” because of domestication. Dogs DO understand “social rank”. ALL mammals understand social rank, meaning that there are those higher in social rank than others. Our human gut reaction is to discredit social rank because we want our dogs to be equals or more human like. We treat them just like we treat our children going even as far as to call them “fur babies” or “fur kids”. If we have more than one dog, they all have the same beds, same collars, and we would never considering taking one dog on a walk without the other! We treat them almost as many people treat twin babies, dressing them the same, and so on.
Typically, we assume that any dog with a muzzle is a bad dog. We resist the use vehemently because of the stigma attached. Now, a new approach is quickly gaining popularity among dog training instructors, veterinarians and behavior experts. If a dog is trained appropriately ahead of time, it can actually have a soothing and calming effect upon the dog and the human company he keeps.
When I was a kid, it was extremely rare to see homes with more than one dog. In fact, we were the only people in the neighborhood to have a dog! Now, it is common place to have at least two dogs if not more. I have been living with multiple dogs for 25 years. We learn a lot about dog behavior if we keep our eyes open and look through a dog’s eyes instead of our human eyes.
Recently, I was working with a young puppy in town. We were practicing friendly greetings with people with no jumping. Along came two HUGE male dogs at least twice the size of the puppy. They were off leash but with electronic collars so I assume the owner of the two huge dogs felt he had control of them. The two huge dogs surrounded the puppy, sniffing and putting their heads over the pup’s shoulder. The puppy, clearly terrified and unsure what to do, tried to back away and hide. The two huge dogs did not bite, growl or sneer at the puppy, but clearly terrified the pup. I asked the owner to please call his dogs. The owners seemed insulted that I would ask. I tried to explain that the puppy was clearly not having fun.
AFTER AN EXTENDED MEDICAL LEAVE, I WILL BE RETURNING TO WORK MARCH 1st!
