Most of my posts concentrate on dog aggression or behavioural dominance.
Every now and then I come across a case that encompasses a new challenge. This case is definitely one of the most unusual.
I received a call from Pamela one Friday afternoon. The conversation went along the following lines. “ Hi Paul, I got your number off Julie at the dog’s trust. I have 2 dogs named Bonnie and Jasper. Jasper is fine most of the time but Bonnie has started snarling at my 11 month old daughter and she snapped at her the other day.We’ve had some training advice in the past but we were unable to keep up with it because of our busy routines. I really feel that it may be better if we could find a good home for Bonnie as I’m terrified she bites my baby. We also come down every morning to find a terrible mess in the office where the dogs sleep. My husband Steve walks them both for around 45 minutes every night but they still mess in the house”
I agreed to see Pamela and to be honest I had almost resigned myself to the fact that we would have to rehome Bonnie. I had mailed Julie at the dog’s trust saying “I’m very hands on with most things but I refuse to put a baby’s life in danger. If we need to rehome this wee dog, so be it”.
Every now and then I come across a case that encompasses a new challenge. This case is definitely one of the most unusual.
I received a call from Pamela one Friday afternoon. The conversation went along the following lines. “ Hi Paul, I got your number off Julie at the dog’s trust. I have 2 dogs named Bonnie and Jasper. Jasper is fine most of the time but Bonnie has started snarling at my 11 month old daughter and she snapped at her the other day.We’ve had some training advice in the past but we were unable to keep up with it because of our busy routines. I really feel that it may be better if we could find a good home for Bonnie as I’m terrified she bites my baby. We also come down every morning to find a terrible mess in the office where the dogs sleep. My husband Steve walks them both for around 45 minutes every night but they still mess in the house”
I agreed to see Pamela and to be honest I had almost resigned myself to the fact that we would have to rehome Bonnie. I had mailed Julie at the dog’s trust saying “I’m very hands on with most things but I refuse to put a baby’s life in danger. If we need to rehome this wee dog, so be it”.
I arrived at the house to be greeted by a couple of noisy dogs. I introduced myself to Pamela and Steve and I began to discuss the ins and outs of the co-existence of dogs and babies in the same household.
I could see that the thought of rehoming Bonnie was ripping their hearts out and I was attempting to manage their expectations and guilt. I explained that sometimes it can be best for dog and owner to part company. I referred to Mary with little “Jake the peg nipper” who have forged a super relationship and are as happy as can be. I felt the best I could do was to try and be responsible and stop the baby getting hurt.
I noticed that all the time I had been chatting to the owners, Bonnie had been hiding in the office and had occasionally been popping her head out and having a snarl and a few nervous barks. I was just about to leave and I had an overwhelming urge to look at Bonnie. I knew I had to assess her so I mentioned to the owners that I should take her outside to get a feeling for the kind of home that would be suitable for her.
I walked Bonnie outside with Steve and performed some loose lead training. I was clicking her when she kept pace with me. I noticed that this nervous wee soul was transforming before my eyes. I noticed how alert she was and how she was now walking with her neck arched and her ears up. She was obviously enjoying the mental stimulation and attention.
We returned indoors and I decided to try something. I asked that her mat be placed at the side of the sofa. I placed a house line on her to ensure that the baby was not going to be put in any danger. I started to click her for sitting on the mat beside me. Bonnie appeared to be quite happy to sit and be rewarded for sitting on the mat. Suddenly this “no hoper” wasn’t looking that bad and I had a feeling that we may just be able to do something.
The owners appeared to be quite happy to give Bonnie another chance so I advised them that Bonnie should not be permitted to run away into a room at the back of the house and snip and people. I advised that Bonnie be encouraged to sit on her mat when both Steve and Pamela were at home.
My hope was that Bonnie would learn to tolerate the baby being handled by Pamela and be happy to be involved in family life. Obviously she would be treated for sitting and staying on her mat while the baby toddled around the room. The real objective was to make Bonnie face up to reality and deal with the fact that the baby will receive more attention than her. The other side is that she would be rewarded for exhibiting good behaviour and still be a valued member of the family.
Next step was to have a go at tackling the messing in the office. This type of behavioural problem is really difficult to cope with and most owners are extremely intolerant of it. There is nothing worse than knowing that you are going to be “welcomed” by a terrible, smelly mess first thing in the morning. This is especially true when you are making the effort to ensure that the dogs are being exercised regularly.
The situation in the office was that one dog slept in an open cage and the other dog slept in a dog bed. My advice was to lock one dog in the cage so we could establish who was making the mess.
I worked with the family via email for a few days where we made a few minor adjustments and eventually we discovered that Jasper was the culprit. We subsequently realised that Jasper would not eliminate in his cage if he was locked in. As time progressed both dogs started sleeping in the cage and as I write this I understand that the office has been mess free for over 2 weeks.
I also worked on allowing the dogs to bark once when the doorbell rang but to place them behind on a line while I answered the door. I rewarded them for being quite and sitting while I answered the door.
So the first visit had been quite fruitful and I had learned “never say never” and always to give things a try. The owners were keen to continue. I had proved my worth and by this time I had my heart set on trying to stop this clever, misunderstood wee soul being dumped into a rescue centre with the label of “not being good with children”
So we set up another visit. Things had definitely improved around the house. Bonnie was much more content and was sitting happily on her mat when I entered the room.
I chatted with the owners and I could sense that Pamela was still not convinced that keeping Bonnie was the correct thing to do. Incidentally, it was apparent that this was causing Pamela a great deal of stress and upset. I don’t like upsetting people and I hate to see anyone crying. I knew I had to try and get to the bottom of things so I asked Pamela a few questions about how she felt and what would make things better for her. There were a few fundamental issues that emerged. The first was a deep maternal protectiveness that was only natural. Pamela had been frightened when Bonnie snapped at the baby and she was not prepared to let this happen again.
The other resounding factor was that Pamela was under pressure looking after the baby, phones ringing, dogs running around, trying to do housework and all the other usual distractions. On top of this, I was requesting that the dogs be stimulated mentally and physically throughout the day and this all just seamed too much for Pamela to handle. The fact that she had to ensure that Bonnie was never left in the room alone with the baby was just another responsibility that Pamela could do without.
I decided that the only way forward was to build up the relationship between Bonnie and Pamela through very short 2 minute sessions scattered throughout the day. I walked out with Pamela and showed her how to train Bonnie to follow her on a loose line. Pamela and Bonnie performed very well and both appeared to enjoy the experience.
The next step was to attempt to stop Jasper barking and whining when the phone rang. This was a weird one and I had never encountered anything like this before. Whenever I come across a new problem I try to put myself in the dog’s place. Suddenly it dawned on me.
Next step was to have a go at tackling the messing in the office. This type of behavioural problem is really difficult to cope with and most owners are extremely intolerant of it. There is nothing worse than knowing that you are going to be “welcomed” by a terrible, smelly mess first thing in the morning. This is especially true when you are making the effort to ensure that the dogs are being exercised regularly.
The situation in the office was that one dog slept in an open cage and the other dog slept in a dog bed. My advice was to lock one dog in the cage so we could establish who was making the mess.
I worked with the family via email for a few days where we made a few minor adjustments and eventually we discovered that Jasper was the culprit. We subsequently realised that Jasper would not eliminate in his cage if he was locked in. As time progressed both dogs started sleeping in the cage and as I write this I understand that the office has been mess free for over 2 weeks.
I also worked on allowing the dogs to bark once when the doorbell rang but to place them behind on a line while I answered the door. I rewarded them for being quite and sitting while I answered the door.
So the first visit had been quite fruitful and I had learned “never say never” and always to give things a try. The owners were keen to continue. I had proved my worth and by this time I had my heart set on trying to stop this clever, misunderstood wee soul being dumped into a rescue centre with the label of “not being good with children”
So we set up another visit. Things had definitely improved around the house. Bonnie was much more content and was sitting happily on her mat when I entered the room.
I chatted with the owners and I could sense that Pamela was still not convinced that keeping Bonnie was the correct thing to do. Incidentally, it was apparent that this was causing Pamela a great deal of stress and upset. I don’t like upsetting people and I hate to see anyone crying. I knew I had to try and get to the bottom of things so I asked Pamela a few questions about how she felt and what would make things better for her. There were a few fundamental issues that emerged. The first was a deep maternal protectiveness that was only natural. Pamela had been frightened when Bonnie snapped at the baby and she was not prepared to let this happen again.
The other resounding factor was that Pamela was under pressure looking after the baby, phones ringing, dogs running around, trying to do housework and all the other usual distractions. On top of this, I was requesting that the dogs be stimulated mentally and physically throughout the day and this all just seamed too much for Pamela to handle. The fact that she had to ensure that Bonnie was never left in the room alone with the baby was just another responsibility that Pamela could do without.
I decided that the only way forward was to build up the relationship between Bonnie and Pamela through very short 2 minute sessions scattered throughout the day. I walked out with Pamela and showed her how to train Bonnie to follow her on a loose line. Pamela and Bonnie performed very well and both appeared to enjoy the experience.
The next step was to attempt to stop Jasper barking and whining when the phone rang. This was a weird one and I had never encountered anything like this before. Whenever I come across a new problem I try to put myself in the dog’s place. Suddenly it dawned on me.
Pamela had been letting Jasper outside to run around the garden when the phone rang. Jasper had come to associate the phone ringing with grabbing his toy and getting released into the garden. He had discovered that whining or barking got him released into the garden quicker.
My first move was to remove Jasper’s toy. This would be the first step in breaking his association with the phone ringing and him being released. I then started clicking him for running to his bed and sitting. Next step was to get Steve to make the phone ring. Within a few minutes Jasper was associating the phone ringing with him being rewarded for sitting in his bed. This is known as a replacement behaviour where we use the same trigger but create and shape a replacement outcome. As time goes by, the dog associates the trigger with the replacement behaviour.
My next visit was to get Bonnie involved with normal day to day activities. I had my son Louis with me along with super stooge dog Lulu. I showed Pamela how handle dog aggression. I then showed Pamela how to train Bonnie to walk along side the pram. This would allow Bonnie and the baby to go for walks together and would help strengthen the bond between Pamela and Bonnie.
This encounter has introduced me to lots of new behavioural problems and taught me how to appreciate the emotional anxiety that a baby can excerpt on owners and dogs.
From a dog’s point of view, babies can destroy the bond that has been established between them and their owner. It is understandable why some dogs attack babies in a bid to “remove the problem”. Owners need to ensure that the dogs don’t feel too left out by ensuring the good times and great.
My job was made easy with the help of 2 really nice owners who had the dog’s best interests at heart. Hopefully with a little work, the owners, dogs, and baby will be able to co-exist in harmony.
My first move was to remove Jasper’s toy. This would be the first step in breaking his association with the phone ringing and him being released. I then started clicking him for running to his bed and sitting. Next step was to get Steve to make the phone ring. Within a few minutes Jasper was associating the phone ringing with him being rewarded for sitting in his bed. This is known as a replacement behaviour where we use the same trigger but create and shape a replacement outcome. As time goes by, the dog associates the trigger with the replacement behaviour.
My next visit was to get Bonnie involved with normal day to day activities. I had my son Louis with me along with super stooge dog Lulu. I showed Pamela how handle dog aggression. I then showed Pamela how to train Bonnie to walk along side the pram. This would allow Bonnie and the baby to go for walks together and would help strengthen the bond between Pamela and Bonnie.
This encounter has introduced me to lots of new behavioural problems and taught me how to appreciate the emotional anxiety that a baby can excerpt on owners and dogs.
From a dog’s point of view, babies can destroy the bond that has been established between them and their owner. It is understandable why some dogs attack babies in a bid to “remove the problem”. Owners need to ensure that the dogs don’t feel too left out by ensuring the good times and great.
My job was made easy with the help of 2 really nice owners who had the dog’s best interests at heart. Hopefully with a little work, the owners, dogs, and baby will be able to co-exist in harmony.
No comments:
Post a Comment