Strange advice?...
I write, a fair bit, about rescuing dogs and giving them a full, safe, enjoyable life. For me, that means running in the woods, playing in water, experiencing the joy of other dogs and people, etc. Unfortunately, I see many people with dogs that are not giving this full life to their dogs, for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes, it is because of the directions from the rescue centres these dogs have come from.
Let me give you, a recent, example.
I was walking with Clint (my rescued Lurcher) in the local park. It was fairly quiet and Clint was off lead, enjoying himself. I saw a little ahead of me an older couple, approaching with a small dog on the lead. I, of course, put Clint on his lead. This is good practice - meet owners and dogs you don’t know with an eye on what your dog may, or may not, do. Read the room - if all is well, let them off for some socialisation.
This couple, immediately, started to give me a wide berth. I greeted them and asked about their pup (letting them know that I was a behaviourist). They relaxed, a little, and stopped to chat, with a little distance between us and our dogs.
The small dog was lunging on it’s extending lead and, to the casual observer, appeared pretty aggressive. Now , in recent posts, I have talked about calmness of owners in various situations, and trying to understand the behaviour we are witnessing.
I did, what I often do with these kinds of dogs. I kept my distance, crouched down, extended a low open hand in the direction of the pup. I continued chatting, very calmly and quietly, with the owners. Normally, I would have had a little biscuit in my hand, but today, I had left them at home. I don’t recommend everyone does this - it’s my job and I know what I am doing (usually!).
I encouraged the owners to loosen the lead a little. The dog stopped lunging and barking at me within a minute or so. She approached and had a good sniff. No interaction from me at all; I just kept quietly chatting with the owners. She did this multiple times in a very short space of time. She then moved on to sniff Clint and then; tried to play with him. Even attached to her lead, Clint, gently, obliged.
Throughout this process, I encouraged the owners to keep calm and relaxed. They were very worried that this ‘aggressive’ and ‘reactive’ dog would bite, either Clint or myself. They told me, she disliked other dogs and didn’t like men, full stop.
Let me put this into context. This little dog was a Romanian rescue and, therefore, like many rescued dogs was a traumatised creature. Unfortunately, the rescue centre that this pup had come from had, insisted, in their rescue contract, that this dog should be NEVER let of the lead. Therefore, this couple had done what they were told. This dog had been with them over 4 years and had NEVER been of lead; always being kept away from other dogs and their owners. Her behaviour was, in my opinion, the direct result of this.
Not, of course, the fault of the owners, rather the misguided advice they had been given.
These owners were lovely people and, were amazed at their pups response to myself and Clint. In fact, they have never seen their dog respond in this manner in the time they had been caring for her.
There is no doubt, in my mind, that this little pup can be taught to enjoy life of the lead, playing with other dogs, running in the woods and anything else they can think of. All of these things that the owners would love for their dog. I will be working with them to make that happen.
My main point here, again, is that we must give our rescued dogs, or any dog for that matter, a full and active life, that they all deserve. Please do not take everything as sound advice. Put on your thinking caps and make, informed decisions. If you need to, ask for more advice.
As for the rescue centres. It is great that you are finding homes for dogs in need but, please, do not insist on terms that, then, deny a dog a life that it deserves.
behaviour assistance and training
sometimes mans’ best friend
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Does your dog find it hard to mix with other dogs? Is it scared? Aggressive? Or destructive?
www.thecaninebehaviourist.co.uk
www.calmconfidencecanines.com