What Dog Traits Benefit the Group

Hi,

The Puerto Rican island dogs forage alone, and sometimes in packs. The sound of dogs rushing through the brush with rats leaping for their lives in front of mostly mixed breed, Satos, some with serious grimaces, others clearly enjoying the chase with play face, quickens the pulse.

A hound mix, I called Owl, shared my porch for a time. He hunted lizards the way I shop for chocolate. (Yeah, yeah!) To quote an old Cab Calloway song, everybody eats when they come to my house. Kibble is served twice daily. Owl still shopped lizards with enough zeal that the other satos tried little lizards; a couple tossed their heads and spit it out, but others picked up the habit.

I watched a yearling German Shepard bitch teach six month old pups, Lucy and Robert Redford, to roll coconuts down my driveway, so the coconuts would crack open when they hit the side of my neighbor’s garage; but Blondie taught them to hunt rats, the supreme delicacy.  

In general, dogs’ behavior varies with the availability of resources. Hungry dogs are volatile around food, but well fed colonies can be social as dogs in doggie day care, which I ran for a dozen years.  

After years of reading your thoughts in the dark; why am I posting?

My experiences are written in my blog, as they happened. I’m writing this to encourage you with the multiple degrees to come, visit my island before the dog catchers round up the alphas, the docile, the elders.

Could you picture a holiday hanging on the beach watching a colony of free ranging dogs rummage in the brush?

You may be interested in advising me as I develop the protocols for maintaining dog colonies.

Dog problem: 100,000 to 300,000 free roaming dogs on island size of Connecticut.

Current solution:

Round up to euthanize every free running dog you see until a numerical limit of what the municipality will pay is hit.

Rescuers pic up every dog they can fit in their bac yard. Some are adopted or shipped to the states.

Colony keepers Program:

 If trap, neuter, and return programs are to develop public support, a follow up control, support system should be in place.

As part of the protocols, I want to identify the dogs that are more valuable to the colony, so they will escape culls.

If people come to observe these fascinating animals, the government of this broke ass little island will co-operate in handling the dogs in a more humane way.

Watching a bunch of males (dogs) poking around on a walk is my idea of fun. My travel goals include other places to watch dogs. Moscow to ride the trains with the dogs tops my bucket list; I’m guessing I’m not alone.

Can you envision behaviorists visiting colony keepers to enjoy dogs behaving old school except for the hunger and rampant reproduction. Picture January on a tropical island, hmm; that’s how I got here. Is this a crazy goal?

The protocol should identify traits of benefit to the colony. Any suggestions? Questions? I hope I’ve explained it adequately. Thanks!

Oh, and Terry I’ve read a number of studies you’ve supplied links for; thanks!

    

Play Behavior

Hi,

My finger isn’t on the pulse of a damn thing. The quality of dog training in the last decade has increased tremendously. I’m retired, so I don’t write so much about training or life style with dog issues any more. Plenty of fine people do that.

Having said that, I’m about to talk to you about living with dogs and what I believe the dogs like because I’ve been reading stuff that says adult dogs don’t like to play, that we’re treating them like furry humans and that’s wrong, that we’re imposing play on them because we really want to play.

Yes, some dogs get over stimulated in day care; that is a management issue. That doesn’t mean a dog shouldn’t play with others. Is it an individual choice or a behavioral limitation? I’d say yes on both counts; how about you?

Does this dog need behavioral counselling? Only if it’s important to you that the dog do something it’s not currently comfortable with or good at? If it’s an issue for the human, it’s an issue.

Please, don’t try to tell me that adult dogs don’t play, that they only play because we want them to or expect it of them. Even if that were the case, so what?

Dogs that are reasonably well nourished and not in pain play in the cool of the evening here in the country, where they have room to run. Dogs seek safe play companions.

Robert "Red" Redford

Nobody wants to play with Blondie unless she’s extremely solicitous. The boys Lucky and Robert Redford play together or with Chi-Ping and she gets bitchy if they’re too rough with her, so they play best with each other. Lucky gets in Red’s face when he gets carried away. Blondie can be a real asshole when she gets pissed so she has to show a lot of play face and soliciting behavior before they play with her.

In the morning, they lineup to go hunting with her, so it’s not that they don’t want anything to do with her.

The dogs here play when they want to because I rarely do anything other than live with them. I am a totally non fun human being, but when I am fun they love it. They show off how they can run. They compete for my attention.

As long as they know my ground rules, the satos on the hill do what they want.

A Sato Hill Dog Day

Lizards, rats and mice beware the sato hill gang hunts at dawn. After a night sprawled on easy chairs and the sofa sleeping safely with nary a care, they’re ready to go.

They get kibble twice a day, so hunger isn’t a primary motivator, unless you count taste bud preferences.

The morning air fresh and cool calls them to stretch, look for a pet and then head to the door. Some morning furious sniffing near the house is required. Who came on our porch? Where are they? Who do we kill for this trespass? And on the trail they go.

Other mornings, if I step on the veranda with them, the dogs all come up for a pet goodbye and off they go to work. They each want their “kiss” before going. Even Blondie, who would bolt up the road in hot pursuit in previous years, must have a little love before she leads the hunt. Now that Lucky and Robert Redford are older they wait only to say goodbye to “mom.”

They’re very good boys that way, which drives Chi-Ping nuts. She guards her position as beta and alpha wanna a be. She has trained them since puppyhood to back down to her muzzle snapping and snarling; oddly enough, they still do in many instances. Other times they’re so focused on what they want, that they don’t even notice her. Poor girl.

The gang returns a couple of hours later or when I serve breakfast. Late morning through the heat of the day, they’re reclined like vacationers under the fans.

The boys were dropped off here as puppies, so this is the life they know. Chi-Ping knew about a year as a street dog. Blondie grew up in the street, where she spent years as an un-loved perra de calle. I see how each is affected by life experience. That’s the ability to handle each dog in such a way that nothing over stresses the dog.

Each of these dogs are so vastly different. Anthropomorphically I feel like I have two seventh grade boys, a precocious spoiled brat, and a big moody teenager.

Those of us who become aware of our dogs personalities enjoy them as individuals, not just the dogs. And about the human traits, I’m kidding. Chi isn’t precocious, she’s more like a little old lady accustomed to her own way.

Enjoy your day!

May dogs be with you!!

A Case of Predatory Drift

Hi,

Recently been reading some posts on line questioning the if predatory drift really exists. The following experience is in my opinion an example.

Chi-Ping, the rat terrier mix and Blondie, the big former street dog were playing tag running from the yard to the porch. Smoki, the curmudgeon cat inserted himself into the game hissing and puffing at the big girl, who had her play face on and backed up as he puffed at her. She even gave him a half assed play bow. It was a sweet family moment. I smiled feeling good about my animal friends.

Something in the grass or down the hill caught Blondie’s attention for a second or two at most. She looked in the direction of the edge of our property, when she looked back her whole demeanor had changed. She was stiff, upright, ears forward.

The cat raised his paw to swat her again. Her mouth opened. I delivered the stop what you are doing sound. Luckily both critters looked at me. Blondie looked as if she came back to a place where she wouldn’t hurt Smoki.

The whole thing lasted but a moment, but it was a Jekyll and Hyde moment.  I suspect this was one of those predatory drift moments.

Blondie and Smoki have lived together for eight months. Smoki is the house boss because he is the one most comfortable with his humans. With a life time of experience training dogs Smoki had no problems with the tough street veteran in the house.

Outside on Blondie’s home turf where she has killed rats and cats and who knows what else. This was the first time I had all three of them outside together.

So much of the discussion on line is about dogs in play groups. During my years running dogs in day care groups, it seemed to me that most of what people thought of as predatory drift was another behavior anomaly or one dog with a history with another taking a cheap shot.

So what do you think?   

Handling the Lonely Dog In the Kennel

As a kennel owner, I teach my staff to be sensitive to when a dog seems “blue”.



Beginner level: shaking, continued barking, hiding in the corner are all obvious symptoms of a scared, lonely, stressed pooch. The number of kennels I’ve been in where these behaviors are handled as “normal” dismays me.


As part of training for kennel workers, we need to teach staff to notice these behaviors. It surprised me to learn how many people think that is just the way dogs are away from home.


We cannot take it for granted that our dog loving staff sees the stressed out behavior or knows what to do. In my book, once I’ve trained you to recognize and respond to the dog’s needs, if you don’t; you will want to work elsewhere.


Beginner level action: sit in the yard with a scared dog until the dog trusts you enough to approach you. When singing or talking to a dog, watch the dog’s response. The more you watch, your preconceived notions become dispelled.


Newcomers to dogs all think they know everything based on experience with a handful of dogs. It always takes a few teachable moments before people become open to really listening. The sooner a new hire realizes that they don’t know as much as they think they do; the quicker real training can begin.


During this phase it’s best to ask the newbie questions to stimulate their observational skills. “What position was the dog’s tail in?” always gets a, “Huh?” “Which dog controlled that exchange?” frequently gets, “What do you mean?”


Your superior skill at handling dogs is no guarantee that a newbie will follow your advice. My mouth flew open, when I heard a girl say, “When I’ve done this as long as you, I’ll be able to do that.” She wasn’t listening while I was trying to teach her something, so I don’t know how she thought improvement would come.


It takes those aha moments before we are ready to learn. I find that asking questions is more productive with most newbies. It seems to open the mind quicker.

Psycho Bitch Begins The Road to Recovery

My wild Rottweiler girl came with baggage we figured out quickly. The out of control lack of direction was simple to diagnose. The submissive flattening she did if a voice was raised indicated that when she was corrected; it was overdone.



Her scars spoke of dog fights. Her eyes told me she didn’t trust or respect human authority. When a dog intends to follow your leadership, the dog looks at you. Mikki didn’t look directly at us. It was a big indicator of her level of dysfunction.


The first pictures we took of the dogs with a flash created pandemonium. You guessed it. Somebody played with her and a flash light or laser light. The bitch went out of her mind. She ran into things, jumped on furniture.


This explained her interest in the ceiling fans. It also shed light on her occasional “hand shyness”. She was reacting to the reflection from my watch.


Mikki would be in the yard alone flipping around acting like she lost her mind. After the photo incident I watched this behavior more closely. The sun reflected off the chrome ring on her collar. The minute ray of light went unnoticed until the flash picture.


It was her crazy behavior in the yard that earned her the psycho bitch moniker.


My training is simple. I want my dogs to know what I like. Everything she did that I liked; I praised. At first Mikki seemed to totally ignore my positive words.


Shaker, the golden was raised on positive strokes so he gobbled up the praise. That he liked the praise is what first got her notice. Mikki watched Shaker as he basked in praise.


Soon the words “Good dog” had meaning to her. That’s the first step.

Dog Center For Rent

Hi,
Since a kid, I’ve always wanted to be around dogs.

Since 1983 people have brought their dogs to Carrvilla for help with behavior problems. I did it for free in the beginning, for the pleasure of having the opportunity to learn more about dogs.


That’s been my life.

www.carrvillak9.com is the web address. We are on a major highway in Kendall County, Illinois. It doesn’t get better than next door to the forest preserve.


The place was built by a dog lover- in floor heat, well fenced. This is a great place for dogs.


What the place needs is an enterprising dog loving entrepreneur to rent it.


This is my home, but my heart and passion have moved in with the feral dogs of Puerto Rico.


I’ve lost my passion for running this place and it breaks my heart.


A very reasonable price to take over an existing business and rent a beautiful property that was set up for dogs.


PLEASE, pass this on to the dog lovers in your life.


Thanks & God Bless!


Oh, check it out (online) don’t contact my staff and then expect to get along with me.


I welcome serious enquiries carrvilla@msn.com

Enter Psycho Bitch

Our first foster experience with Cassie was sweet, so I petitioned Patty to foster another Recycled Rott. She had a girl named Milkshake with some problems; mostly she had never been required to follow rules. Okay, behavior problems, that’s what I do for a living. I embraced the challenge.


Francine, one of the dedicated Recycled Rott volunteers, dropped Milkshake off at the kennel. A migraine prevented me from meeting Milkshake until the next morning.


The pudgy rottie did the front end bounce while barking like a maniac. Every dog passing her door caused the barking to intensify. She looked at the door to her kennel. She looked at the door to the yard. She ran into me without looking at me. Hmm.


My husband, Kirt, walks with Canadian crutches, canes that wrap around the wrist for stability. They were introduced in the yard, so she had the option to be farther away from him. Woo-woo-woo with a low crouch was her first response. The old pro (my husband) had her butt wagging in no time. She liked us, but never looked directly at us.


Introduction to the blonde boy came next. We took her to the three acre dog park where she began exploring. With this kind of space two dogs came go to neutral corners until they are ready to deal with each other. Milkshake sounded like the hound from hell. Her body slams sent him sailing. He gave her a demonstration of golden speed. Milkshake went into prey drive, but couldn’t catch him. Both dogs stopped near us, so we redirected her attention.


Milkshake wanted to play, but the line was thin between friendly contact and I’ll kick your ass mode. Shaker would race away looking over his shoulder to see if she’d follow. The four year old fat bitch did until exhausted, perfect.


We sat in front of the house petting the dogs. Milkshake fell in love with us quite easily, but still did not look directly at us. I am NOT talking about eye contact. Her low body posture around us quickly changed to jumping up. Milkshake came with two gears: hypercontrolled submissive and out of control happy.


Patty was right; no one had worked with her. When she crossed the annoyance line, corrections were harsh. If you’ve worked with dogs, you’ve seen this behavior.


At this point I had no idea what fun this was going to change. I’ve worked with people, who go home to do the work. I’ve taken in dogs for specific training, but never lived with a bad dog, a four year old crazy bitch to boot.


I want to thank Patty from Recylced Rotts for seeing the good in this girl. Your judgment with her was right on target.


Shaker and Milkshake, what are the chances of that?

Part of Decreasing Dog To Dog Aggression

Cassie taught Shaker to share his house. She became daddy’s girl instantly. Shaker wasn’t sure how to handle that, so he got closer to me.



Cassie and Shaker played well, but he soon learn that she was stronger so he had better play nice, just the lesson he needed.


Meal time became difficult for the blonde boy. Cassie invariably ran over to Shaker’s dish grabbing a mouthful before she was corrected. Shaker grumbled, but she didn’t care. This was the time she pressed her advantage with him. Until I got it across to her that raiding his dish was not allowed, he harrumphed in vain.


Before Shaker can learn to allow dogs to appease him, he has to learn to appease other dogs again plus to say when he’s had enough. It’s learning how to negotiate.


Shaker looked relieved when Cassie went to her dish after I’d correct her.


This sets the stage for what I learned next about how dogs communicate. Occasionally Cassie would leave some food in her bowl. If Shaker came near, she would growl; he’d retreat. Sometimes she’d get up and finish her meal; mostly she’d just warn him away.


On this particular day Shaker must have still been hungry. Cassie lay in the narrow spot between the kitchen and the living room separating Shaker from her dish in the hall near the kitchen.


A frustrated blonde boy paced, and then laid down for a bit staring at her or the food. Soon he let out a sigh, It sounded like a sigh of resignation, so I went back to my book. Cassie turned her head away from him.


The sigh meant he decided to risk life and limb to get that food. He was up on his toes in the stiff legged posture that says, “Watch out, my legs are stiff. You never know what can happen, when I have stiff legs.” Whoa, this display shows how serious a dog is about something.


Cassie turned her head toward the boy. It looked like he swallowed hard, but I won’t swear to it. His posture became just a little less stiff and more like a stiff legged tippy toe. She closed her eyes; walked past her and ate her food.


Shaker successfully negotiated with a stronger animal for her food. I believe that he needs to be able to do that with a stronger dog before a weaker dog will be able to negotiate with him again.


That’s what I mean when I say that he needs to regain confidence in his own language. This needs to be the purpose of reintroducing a traumatized dog to others.


Many otherwise good treatment plans fall short, if we are not clear on what we want the dog to learn by contact with this animal.


Does this make more sense or I am being as clear as mud. What do you say?

Don't Hurt Me, I'm Just a Kid

Melissa said...

Honestly before this post I was pondering the effects of male male vs. male female or female female confrontations. Made me chuckle when your thoughts went a little the same direction.

My question, do you think Shaker's original incident would have been different if a female would have been the attacker? Before the incident he treated the females much differently than the male here. He already had it worked out how far he could go with them and had a very great respect. On the other hand, with the male, because interactions were closely monitored he never was able to safely work that out. I know he had experiences with other males before wintering here. Just wonder if more of his dog education was with girls? Also in my opinion a lot of males neutered young tend to act more like bitches than dogs. Did he have much education with intact males?

I think you've mentioned his bullying is of males or females. What about his fear? Dogs he shows discomfort with? Ever female?


Unless the history of the dog indicates otherwise; I’ll always start transgender.
Shaker had been well socialized with intact males as well as those recently fixed. It wasn’t Shaker’s lack of social skills that caused the attack by the other male. If the other male had backed off when Shaker went submissive to him, we wouldn’t be discussing this. From what you told me there was nothing Shaker could have done to appease this guy.


For all of his social experience, Shaker was only a baby of ten months when he was attacked. He was a soft puppy. It takes a good two years for a dog to reach adult maturity. This includes mental maturity.


I honestly believe that if this had happened to Shaker at 2 years, he would have handled it much like Stormy has handled his attack.


In the acute phase post attack a scared and angry Shaker lashed out without thinking. Male or female did not really matter which pushed his buttons. Good management was why he didn’t injure more dogs or get hurt himself.


Some dogs get stuck in that scared reactive post trauma acute phase.

With Shaker I could sense his fear when he started back to day care.
My hope was that getting him back with his buds would trigger his old, familiar behaviors. I put him with Klondyke, a ten year old sibe. Klondyke rules the yard as my boss dog. He is everything we wanted Shaker to be. To this day Shaker has never had a problem with Klon. They ride in the car together. Isn’t that interesting?


The last dog Shaker went for in the reactive phase was Roxie, a leggy lab x great dane. She flipped him. Baby boy was on his back so fast. Each encounter teaches a dog something. He learned who not to mess with. That’s when he made the leap to chronic or bully.


In bully stage any sensed weak or vulnerable are subject to reprimand or attack. With Shaker gender didn’t seem to matter, if I’d let him he’d be one bullying little asshole. Some of the looks he’s given me, when I correct his behavior have been withering. He softens immediately, so it’s a non issue.


Since Shaker’s first day with me I have taught him but two things.


1) I like this. 2) I don’t like that.


One thing for sure is he knows I don’t like him attacking other dogs.


His fear is another long topic; let’s save that for another post.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

What is the first thing I wanted Shaker to learn from another dog?



In her book Animals In Translation Dr. Temple Grandin impressed upon us how strong an emotion fear is.


Shaker is comfortable enough in his dysfunction that he could identify the weak to terrorize. It stands to reason that the bigger stronger dogs still scare him even if he hasn’t been attacked again.


1st Rehab step was to teach Shaker he can be safe with a big tough dog.


We needed: a female (transgender is always the better starting point) a good solid girl who likes to play hard, one who can always win but won’t.


Our last Rottweiler died of old age in 1999. I am a big fan of rotts, so I called my friend Patty at Recycled Rotts. After toying with the idea of fostering rotts for ages, this seemed like the perfect time.


A lovely girl named Cassie, who hated car rides, needed a foster home. We introduced them in the dog park. They ran and played. We all came into our yard where they played some more.


Everything went great until we walked into the house. No other dog had been in his house since his return in spring. Shaker’s signals were clear; he didn’t like her in the house.


Cassie didn’t care what Shaker thought, she was in the house. Shaker circled her on stiff legs as she investigated her new home. Suddenly she turned to face Shaker. Her hackles went up. This meant enough of your shit buddy.


I put both dogs outside to work it out. Let the whizzing begin. Cassie urinated, Shaker covered it. This went on for a bit and then they were playing again.


Time to feed the doggies, now, you know that had to be fun. Both dogs held their sits while I scooped out the food. I knew I could get Shaker to wait, so I fed Cassie first introducing her to her spot to be fed.


What the hell did she care; Cassie ran over to Shaker’s dish. Shaker’s reaction was shock and growl. Quickly I had the girl back where she belonged. The remainder of our first night went without incident.

Can Aggressive an Dog Rehabbed in Dog Language?

 

A scared traumatized dog watches other dogs for signs of threat. He analyzes every move. Soon the scared dog figures out which dogs he should be cautious with or respectful of.


Along with this observation comes the realization that other dogs are scared. Recognizing the vulnerability of others gives the scared dog an opportunity to be the strong by becoming the bully. It’s classic.


Current thought on rehabbing this problem consists of building the dog’s confidence that it is safe when with their person and to look to the person when stressed. With our repeated re-direction the dog figures out we don’t want him to do that.


Yes, that is all good. I am not going to turn this dog out with others hoping that he will look at me or I’m going to have time to redirect.


The dog may live in high stress mode waiting for the next attacker. That has nothing to do with why he’ll attack. The other dog’s vulnerability becomes the trigger.


I’ve done growl classes in which we controlled the dogs’ interactions while they were muzzled. That worked out well enough that at the end of the course the dogs were together without muzzles. This was a huge improvement, but these dogs were always going to be watched cautiously.


My experience with Stormy, a street dog in Puerto Rico has taught me that even after a life threatening attack a dog can get along with all other dogs.


It’s a matter of putting Shaker in a position where he must become better in dog language. If he is the top dog, he’ll abuse. My handsome baby boy is going to be good with other dogs again.


Shaker is being rehabbed by the dogs I am selecting to teach him what he needs to learn in the canine language.


I love this guy. I’m putting everything I know on the table to so he can get back to his life.

Understanding Dog Aggression Comments

In a previous post I said:
Watching Shaker go from happy well met to hyper-reactive was painful. Soon I noticed him having bad dreams. His eyeballs popped and darted during REM sleep. Low whimpering became pathetic sobs. His feet paddled the air.

It’s interesting to note that the first forty-five minutes of day care Shaker is joyously running with his buds like old times. When the edge of needing the exercise is softened, he begins to look around to as if to see who could do him harm.


Cheryl said: I did find a number of things on canine PTSD, but we’re talking about war, abused or Katrina victims, not a well adjusted puppy who was attacked. Now most of the dogs are spooky, but some articles talked about the aggressive aspect.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/9_5/features/Canine_Aggression_Socialization_15805-1.html?zkPrintable=true

http://canineaggression.blogspot.com/2008/01/canine-ptsd-in-disaster-and-war.html (Katrina and war dogs PTSD)

In a book Tao of Equus, the author talks about PTSD as a result of how our neurological system protects us from right before that moment of sudden death. She believes what happens in a near death or we think we are situation, but live, that device doesn’t reset to “normal” and the switch is always on. Unconsciously the brain is on guard for the final blow and we’re ready to react. Epona Equestrian Services, founded by author Linda Kohanov, has become an internationally-recognized innovator in the field of Equine Experiential Learning www.taoofequus.com. She uses abused horses in her work with dysfunctional non-horse clients.


I was confused going from PTSD to bullying. You are saying it’s part of the PTSD issue, right? (see the whole-dog journal). Is he really doubting his language skills or is the switch “on?” Is this learned response that feels comfortable and he’s afraid to loose? Normal to him could be scary?


“Language skills” was throwing me for a loop. I think it goes deeper. From the above Tao reference, I think he saw death.


Regarding issues of not socializing animals:

Blazing Prairie Stars, provider of equine assisted therapy, newsletter.
Snickers is a new herd member at BPS. She is trying very hard to make new horse friends as she assimilates into the herd, but she has some social skills challenges. Because Snickers did not have much opportunity to play with other horses in a herd, she has very little experience. This is upsetting to Snickers. She has been learning how to read nonverbal cues from her herd mates. She has been learning how to fit in the social order and how to respond to the leader. She has been learning how to approach the other horses appropriately. She has been learning about horse personal space.

Cheryl


I think your treatment plan is brilliant. I think the problem lies in his own insecurity. If he can gain enough confidence back in his own language he should overcome the fear that drives his bullying. I do also think the bullying behavior must be stopped or better yet prevented from happening as described in the first article. Once a behavior gets patterned it is definitely harder to change. You are in a very unique position with your access to other dogs for play groups and your extensive knowledge of their personalities. Definitely not something you could work through at the neighborhood dog park. I am putting a lot more focus on my baby's (Pystol) canine education. I am lucky to have 3 puppies about her age that she plays with frequently, my own girls, and a group of older dogs that are safe for her to interact with (two male huskies, a lab, and a gaggle of border collies) My girls are pretty good at "dog" but Pystol is becoming even better. Although she really knows how to be a pest and seems to know which dogs she can get away with her favorite pesky behavior and which she better just not try it with. She thoroughly enjoys attaching herself to the big dogs chest hair and just holding on. Anyway, I was inspired to invest more effort into this part of her education and am looking forward to seeing how it influences her throughout our journey.


Melissa

Understanding Dog Aggression

Not every dog who gets attacked by another will end up being an abuser. Why do some dogs get past the incident and others become abusers?



Last year Stormy, one of the street dogs living in my neighborhood in Puerto Rico, was attacked and almost killed. The most obvious change in his behavior is a perpetually low tail carriage. His relationship with other dogs in the neighborhood is pretty much the same as before.


Last year Shaker, the shining star of my day care, was attacked. He became an abuser; why?


Shaker was less than a year old at the time of the attack. He gave his attacker signals that he didn’t want a fight, he was sorry. The attack continued. In the aftermath the young dog doubted his language skills. If I go belly up licking my lips to say I’m sorry, the other dog is supposed to forgive me and not hurt me.


When we are young and naïve, we think that everybody plays by the rules. Youngsters are just learning the rules. Shaker’s attacker violated the rules as Shaker thought he knew them. Think that our behavior controls the behavior of others more than it does is like little kids thinking.


This causes the reactive or acute phase of dysfunction. The dog is scared, doesn’t know what the rules are any more. This is when the dog will lash out unpredictably.


If this makes sense so far, we’ll discuss the chronic phase in which the abused becomes the abuser. Thanks, Cheryl, for telling me you didn’t understand. Any questions?

How Does A Dog Become a Bully?

The worse thing about what happened to Shaker wasn’t that he got beat up, but that it happened before he was old enough to be certain about what he knew. It caused him to doubt what he knew about his language.



Let’s say you get mad at me, I say that I’m sorry. If I am just learning the language, I think that I have not said the right thing to appease you. I doubt my language skills.


This is different from I know what I said; you were a jerk and didn’t accept my apology.


Shaker was scared and angry. We never knew what was going to set him off in the early reactive phase.


Because Shaker did have a lot of experience with other dogs it didn’t take he long to progress beyond the reactive phase to becoming comfortable in his dysfunction.


A dog is comfortable in his dysfunction when he knows which dogs are not to be messed with. He no longer gets ticked at dogs which can and will kick his rear, only a dog in the reactive phase does that.


In true bully fashion the weak, insecure or inexperienced are sniffed out. Zeroing in to terrorize is just a matter of personal style.


So Shaker is now confident in his dysfunction and his language. He is no longer my innocent pet; he knows the law of the wild. Okay, so life is hard time to get over it.


The two distinct post incident phases require different treatment plans. Does this make sense? Any questions?

The Human Experts

If aliens were to come to earth and want to know about humans, they would ask our companion animals. They know our body language. The dog knows your mood usually better than your spouse. Turns out they know when we have a seizure or our blood sugar drops. They are the experts on humans.

If aliens were to come to earth and want to know about humans, they would ask our companion animals. They know our body language. The dog knows your mood usually better than your spouse. Turns out they know when we have a seizure or our blood sugar drops. They are experts on all things human.



This year with Shaker has not been all bad by any means. I watched him get his PHD in humanity.

Since puppyhood, Shaker has gone everywhere with us. He carries a little sign that says, “Will sit for strangers.” Very few people can resist him. He wants to be acknowledged by all who pass. He would prefer petting, but an “Oh, what a beautiful dog” seems to suffice.


Kids sometimes pat dogs on the head too hard. Shaker has learned how to lean into them just enough that they rest their hands on him instead of the head hit.


Some kids want to pet him, but they are afraid of dogs. Shaker ends up by them with his muzzle pointing away from them. Next thing you know that golden is being pet.


When we’re on the veranda at Starved Rock, he is like a hooker at a hotel bar. He sends out the vibe, soon somebody standing there can’t keep their hands off him.


What would a doctorate in humans be without the time honored skill of knowing which humans you really don’t have to obey? Yes, he’s learned the dark skills.


No dog’s humanity education is complete until they have stepped into the aura of a dark or sinister human being. Shaker has always believed that all humans are good. He adores humans.


Recently he stepped up to a man seated nearby. The man was talking sweet nothings to him. The happy blonde boy got close for some petting. Suddenly Shaker crouched and took a quick step backwards. His ears went back. This was a first. The man became more solicitous of Shaker. The good boys became sweeter. Shaker allowed himself to be seduced, but I saw the reluctance.


I watched this play out there was no dominant posturing on the part of the man. He was sitting on the floor. His head was lower than the dog’s. Vibe, aura I don’t know what, but that boy sensed something.


One thing I learned from my dogs long ago is if the dog likes everybody and suddenly there is one person the dog is leery about, you should pay attention. Well, that’s another story.





This year I watched Shaker get his PHD in humanity.


Since puppyhood, Shaker has gone everywhere with us. He carries a little sign that says, “Will sit for strangers.” Very few people can resist him. He wants to be acknowledged by all who pass. He would prefer petting, but an “Oh, what a beautiful dog” seems to suffice.


Kids sometimes pat dogs on the head too hard. Shaker has learned how to lean into them just enough that they rest their hands on him instead of the head hit.


Some kids want to pet him, but they are afraid of dogs. Shaker ends up by them with his muzzle pointing away from them. Next thing you know that golden is being pet.


When we’re on the veranda at Starved Rock, he is like a hooker at a hotel bar. He sends out the vibe, soon somebody standing there can’t keep their hands off him.


What would a doctorate in humans be without the time honored skill of knowing which humans you really don’t have to obey? Yes, he’s learned the dark skills.


No dog’s humanity education is complete until they have stepped into the aura of a dark or sinister human being. Shaker has always believed that all humans are good. He adores humans.


Recently he stepped up to a man seated nearby. The man was talking sweet nothings to him. The happy blonde boy got close for some petting. Suddenly Shaker crouched and took a quick step backwards. His ears went back. This was a first. The man became more solicitous of Shaker. The good boys became sweeter. Shaker allowed himself to be seduced, but I saw the reluctance.


I watched this play out there was no dominant posturing on the part of the man. He was sitting on the floor. His head was lower than the dog’s. Vibe, aura I don’t know what, but that boy sensed something.


One thing I learned from my dogs long ago is if the dog likes everybody and suddenly there is one person the dog is leery about, you should pay attention. Well, that’s another story.

Canine Temperament Develops Early

Mothering in the whelping box begins the shaping puppy behavior. Mom sets the tone.


Once the eyes open around three weeks, the squeaky little barks and the mouth duels begin. Puppies learn to control the force of their bites gradually during the litter phase and beyond.


During the litter phase it is so cute to watch pups learn. One puppy will be on top, just feeling so full of himself that he bites the puppy on the bottom too hard. The puppy on the bottom then becomes fierce, telling the offender off.


The rule of keeping litters together for seven weeks while the nervous system myelinizes is the minimum acceptable time. The myelin sheath is the outer covering of the nervous system until this grows the puppy isn't "firing on all cylinders".


Some breeders take the mother away as soon as the pups can be weaned. A Bull Terrier breeder I know took the mother away because she was afraid the mother would harm the puppies. She was with the pups just long enough to feed. The breeder cleaned and stimulated the neonates; the mom was muzzled when she fed her brood.


The breeder kept a beautiful bitch out of the litter. She had that gorgeous turn of head that B.T. people love. She also happened to be the dominate puppy in the litter. By six months she was dominating the other dogs in the breeder's house. Her dam wasn't as dominant as the breeder thought and soon submitted to her daughter.


At ten months the breeder brought the bitch to me for social rehabilitation because she behaved aggressively at dog shows. This poor animal had not learned that she could submit and nothing bad would happen to her.


Had the breeder put her with a dog she trusted to correct the litter, this would have all been avoided.


The purpose of childhood is to have an opportunity to learn how to be a successful adult.


Puppies learn a lot together, but they need an adult to guide them.

About Me

Hi, after reading my blog last night, it seemed like this might be a good time to tell you a little about me. I'm very self conscious. It's difficult for me to talk about myself.

I love dogs. Since 1983 I've earned my living working with dogs. Every day I've enjoyed the peace of mind that comes from hanging with the dogs.

My Aunt Margaret showed dogs and horses when I was a kid. She was the biggest inspiration in my life. When I was eight, she taught me about speaking dog. "You should listen to and watch the dogs, they'll tell you." she would lecture. I didn't know what the deuce she was talking about, but I adored her, so I watched.

My first solo training project was a Boxer named Donovan. I lived in Chicago at the time. The devilish teenager I was enjoyed putting Donovan in a sit stay on a busy corner. From the opposite corner (same block, no streets crossed) he would streak through the crowd to me when I called. This dog defended me from a would be attacker when we were out walking one night. I have been blessed with so many wonderful dogs through the years.

The number one dog in my life has been a Rottweiler named for the Norse god of war and victory, brother of Thor. I have never been more connected to anything in my life than I was this dog. He taught me so much about dogs and life. He read my mind. He was so smart he made me think that I was a good dog trainer. Proofing my training was important to me in the day. It was early morning. No one was in the forest preserve. I put Tyr on a sit stay in the middle of an open field where I could see him, then proceeded to walk around about an acre and a half lake. I'm taking my time enjoying my well trained dog, when a couple come up to him and try to take him with them. Now, I'm on the other side of the lake yelling into the wind, "That's my dog."Yes, I can do some hum dingers!

Tyr moved with us to Carrvilla where he died at 12.5 yrs. His offspring populated my life until 1999 when our last rottie died of old age. During this time I was the crazy dog lady with a dozen dogs. Cesar is right; to control a pack you must know what you are doing. There's usually a dog that will become your enforcer dog.

As I write this it becomes so emotional for me.

The Monks of New Skete were my heroes, read everything practically ever written on dogs back then. Before people could take my puppy home they had to read, How to be your Dog's Best Friend. I scoured garage sales for things to put into the puppy play yards. Dogs raised in an enriched environment have an advantage. We found it to be well worth the effort.

Living with a pack of dogs on ten acres and horses & chickens & cows was a great time in my life. Yorkville was country. I was a city girl, who always wanted to live in the country. When my husband would come home from work, we'd have dinner on the porch while watching the Rottweilers play. Watching puppies learn their language for the first time is always a hoot. I love puppies.

Anyway somewhere along the line when I was showing my Rottweilers people started coming to me for help with behavioral problems. For years I helped people with their dog problems for the fun of it. People hung out at my house and we trained until late in the evening. I didn't start charging until after my husband's accident when I had to return to work.

Success in the show ring came with hard work. The crystal and the memorabilia are tucked away somewhere. It was fun. Fast forward.

When we closed on our house in Puerto Rico, we stayed here three weeks, never saw a dog in the street near my house. We saw them elsewhere on the island, still did not know much other than no animal control. That is such an understatement!

A couple of months later, I'm one month post op major abdominal surgery, sitting like a lump on the veranda of my new home when I see the cutest little dog at the bottom of my driveway. A whole new love affair began that day.