Monday, November 10, 2014

when a toothy correction is a dog's best friend


Meet: Felix the five month old whatzit puppy.

We adore Felix. But he was a little pushy, a little rude with the dogs when he first arrived here. His excuse? He's a PUPPY! Like most baby dogs, Felix' favorite motto is Me-Me-Me, and he just couldn't seem to beg enough attention from the big kids that he looks up to.

Thankfully, the dogs here stepped in to impart some necessary lessons in appropriate dog manners. Through it all, Felix is learning how to be a little gentleman. We think his future home and playmates will appreciate the education, even if they have no idea that he once needed it.

Most of the adult dogs in our program have had to pull out some What-For with Felix and meter it to fit his crimes, but none is better than Elliot.

Felix was obsessed with Elliot from Day One and had been doggedly determined to snake his tongue down his throat in a form of frantic handshake that pushed way beyond E's personal boundaries.

It was time for some smack down. Witness, the warm up:

That stiff pose, that pinchy faced 'hard stare'

followed by

twitching lips,

flattening ears,

a show of gums,

a deep, low grrrrrowl.

The perfect warning, meant to give Felix plenty of time to reconsider his obsession with French kissing the Maestro.

... But Felix cannot help himself. Just a few quick flicks of the tongue should soothe cranky Elliot, right?




"Don't make me do it, kid."









Slurp, slurp, slurp, SLURP!











And then, KAPOW!

A gloriously LOUD correction. Delivered swiftly, with convincing drama. Meant to impress, but just shy of pressing teeth into the pup's offending snout. (That will come later, if he doesn't get the hint)


Felix squealed in fright - or, mock fright. (He's a tough little nut). We folded our arms and shrugged. Elliot stared him down, waiting to see if he needed a rinse, repeat.

Allowing pups to learn dog rules via appropriate corrections from well socialized (puppy experienced) adult dogs during monitored play sessions will fast track them into becoming well rounded adult dogs themselves.

That's not to say that pups who miss out on these lessons will be socially awkward for life .. Even the most socially bankrupt dogs from some of the worst beginnings (think: dog fight cases) can and do catch on quick to appropriate play with the right kind of opportunity and well matched play partners. But life is just SO much easier with a little mentoring from an agreeable adult in those early weeks.


Those tough love lessons and toothy corrections may seem scary to us, but they help build a strong bond between the dogs. If we'd interrupted the corrections, Felix would've gained nothing, and we would risk allowing him to practice and repeat rude manners in other settings. We'd also risk putting Elliot in a position of needing to do a more serious and potentially harmful correction when our backs were turned.

Instead, they worked out an agreement under our watchful eye and their relationship evolved and deepened into a sweet friendship, along with Felix's understanding of Code Canine.

Many of our adopters tell us that the young dogs they bring home from our adoption program maintain easy dog manners for life. And they're also quick to point out that their dog is especially fond of big furry husky type dogs. They just love them for some reason. Who's surprised?


18 comments:

  1. I appreciate this article, and understand the concept. Thank you.
    What about a dog with poor dog-social manners? Very good with people, but won't tolerate being dominated by another dog or won't take the hint of correction, and would instead react at lightning speed to create an ensuing bloodbath? In addition, what if the lovebug has no other offending manners (other than bad social doggie skills)? What if the dog in question isn't a puppy? What if the dog is a bully breed and deaf to boot? What techniques can be applied to begin to change the reactive mindset of this poor mannered beast?

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    1. We tend to believe there's a dog friend for nearly every dog. For your guy, we'd try to search for a very well balanced and low-key dog of the opposite sex and let them take weeks getting to know each other with lots of controls in place. Dogs are pack animals, and if you set them up to succeed, most of them really do appreciate having a friend or two. Give this a read - it's how we integrate dog-intolerant dogs. http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2009/08/fostering-drive-in-slow-lane-for-dogdog.html

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    2. Thank you for the reply. I read the article you referenced in your reply (and I believe I have read it before...a long time ago). Some excellent points are made in that article.
      To expand on some additional details; our 40 lb pocket bully does have a friend. She is junior to him (a Bernese Mountain Dog) and 99% of the time there is no issue, with food, or treats, and they don't even like the same toys. We can usually read their body language and correct (as indicated in your reply article). She really wants to have a play mate and someone she can run around with. It is that 1% of the time that creates havoc and sends someone, usually the big boy, to the vet for stitches.
      He contributes a large part to the disorder, and does the snarled lip thing if he has established 'his space'. Most of the time our bully just walks away, or gives a quick bark to alert us (we are part of the pack too) and just keeps her distance until we correct him. In the event she feels dominated or threatened, she has zero hesitation to engage in an all out screaming, latching on and shaking, blood-fest. Did I mention she is deaf, so verbal control only works on the Bernese...and when he is the one with an amped up bully attached to his face, he has a tendency to not listen.
      I don't expect this to solve itself overnight, as it has been 4 years (our bully's age) in the making. She is a great dog, excellent with people, and obedient with hand signals. We learned a lot when we rescued her, and we are still learning to this day.
      Thank you for your replies, and if you have any additional advice, please feel free to share. I wouldn't want our pocket bully to get a 'bad-rap'. Thanks!

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    3. Try thegooddog.net for proper e-collar training. It is great for deaf dogs!

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  2. "...his obsession with French kissing the Maestro." Oh, Felix, I can understand being smitten with the big furry guy! This post is great for so many reasons, but number one has got to be the fact that it showcases the perpetual awesomeness that is Elliot.

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  3. every puppy should be so lucky to have an uncle elliot in his or her life along with good human parents.
    kisses (when he feels it's appropriate) and ear scritches for elliot and any others at the barn who want some too.

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  4. Great article and badly needed; thank you. If more people would allow this canine instruction we'd have much healthier dogs around. Thanks also for the positive statement about rescues. Never met one that couldn't be loved back into good health. They are capable of so much more than we ever give them credit for.

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  5. Love this !! Thanks for posting :-) I love posting videos of dogs playing and learning the natural way instead of experiencing all the foreign devices humans

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  6. Wow, this is great. There are so many people who don't understand this. You can spot them, first-time dog-owners, who have no clue. They are overprotective and don't understand what goes on between dogs socially. Along with helicopter parenting, these times have brought us helicopter dog-owners...

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    1. No need to bash first time dog owners. We were all there at one point. As with every new situation, mistakes are made and we learn from them.

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  7. THIS is what I miss since facebook took over! I have always loved your posts Donna. Thank you again.

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  8. you guys continue to amaze me... what a great article....

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  9. We adopted our pit mix Ollie three months ago into our household with Apple (also a pit) and Lex - our Elliott. Lex showed Ollie the ropes, loudly a few times. Now Ollie is constantly complimented on his dog manners. Thanks for the post and for dogs like Elliott and our Lex.

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  10. My "Elliott" is named "Kreacher", is my partner in fostering, and dozens of former shelter pups he has trained. He sounds like Chewbacca, and his "puppy-smackdown" is alarming to the uninformed. He teaches boundaries and appropriate play to the revolving door of behavior cases that seem to find themselves here. Without him, rehabilitating these damaged dogs would be much more challenging. Thanks for sharing this!

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  11. We had a husky/sheltie mix at our shelter that was the best puppy/adolescent trainer ever. We would "feed" our naughty pups to her and after Shelly's charm school, they got adopted with no problems. We laughed one day when the girl scouts came running in screaming "they're killing each other!" We calmly asked which dog was on top and when they said it was Shelly, we told them good and went on with our day. I think we might have been the topic of some interesting questions at dinner time, lol. (Yes, of course we told them what we were doing) :-)

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  12. I am a firm believer that since dogs are pack animals, they are happier and more well adjusted when they are not an only dog in the home. My Winston was an only dog for three years of his life, but going to doggie day care three days a week taught him pack manners, and now he has been a benevolent leader with his brother and sister, Linus and Pixie, for two years. He taught them the rules and boundaries and limits and such when we rescued them, and now our pack is like a happy, goofy, well liked furry machine. 😀

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  13. I am a firm believer that since dogs are pack animals, they are happier and more well adjusted when they are not an only dog in the home. My Winston was an only dog for three years of his life, but going to doggie day care three days a week taught him pack manners, and now he has been a benevolent leader with his brother and sister, Linus and Pixie, for two years. He taught them the rules and boundaries and limits and such when we rescued them, and now our pack is like a happy, goofy, well liked furry machine. 😀

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Thanks for your comments, questions and feedback!