#WOOF Support - Dog-to-dog

Hey, y'all! We had all our photos set up for Black & White Sunday today… when I logged into blogger to see there was such an apt blog hop going on! So we're joining in the WOOF (Working Out Our Fears) Support Blog Hop kindly hosted by Oz The Terrier, Roxy The Travelling Dog and Wag 'N Woof Pets. This hop is all about owners with reactive dogs (and the reactive dogs themselves!) sharing experiences of problems they have had in their lives.

So Earl is sometimes dog reactive. By this, I mean he will snarl at other dogs (strange dogs that he has never before met) from time to time in defensiveness. The behaviourist we consulted about this told us he started this behaviour because he felt the need to be defensive around other dogs because of a past experience. And past experience he did have! Now, he said that it has simply become a habit for Earl to show this behaviour when meeting other dogs as he does not understand another way to properly meet and greet. Therefore I must teach him by using the training lead correctly and keep his head high when confronting other dogs. I should not let Earl and the other dog sort the friendship (or not-so-friendship) out themselves, as this invites Earl to go in with his head low, and break out into a snarl at the other dog. Now, of course, this could be a problem when confronting puppies, as it could ruin their outlook on other dogs for life. This is sure what happened to Earl. Here is his story of the very day this reactive behaviour to other canines began…

We were happily waiting in line at Agility class one beautiful summer's day. The slight breed was refreshing, the sun pouring over us all, creating a true haven. Just when I thought the day was the most perfect day… A highly dog reactive Border Collie (at the time, NOT muzzled!) lunged and snapped and snarled in a frenzy at my innocent little BT. Earl was shocked, and being the terrier he is, went back. This went on for about 2 seconds until they broke up via pulling on the lead for both owners. This made me so angry, and ruined my day plus a few days after. The next agility class we attended, I didn't speak to nor made any interaction with the BC owner. I was furious, as this dog had drawn blood before from other dogs. Earl was one of the lucky ones - but it had ruined his outlook on other dogs, and years later, we still haven't fully resolved it, which is a blow.

My club and I had a discussion when the irresponsible BC owner was not around later on. We all decided that that dog should wear a muzzle whilst in close groups from now on. And hallelujah - the next time the partnership appeared to class, the dog was straining on the lead, eyes boggling, obviously pent up and unhappy, wearing a tight muzzle, with a struggling, dainty women pinching the end of the lead. I walked away with Earl and non of us at the club interacted when it wasn't necessary with the owner. Especially the owner of the poor little, submissive dog who the BC had before drawn blood from and left marks.

The owner and the BC from then on missed a few classes now and again until they finally stopped coming altogether. They haven't come since - even if they wanted to, we have moved location, and with their obviously increasing absence, wouldn't have been notified on the move of venue anyway! 

Well I really do hope that large dog has not caused anymore trouble, pain, and serious work  for other dogs and owners out there since. I hope the owner is really working on her aggressively reactant BC's behaviour just like I am - unfairly - with my Earl, who was definitely 'broken' for a while after when it came to social contact with other dogs.

Now no doubt that Earl is much more of a people's dog than a dog's dogs. He doesn't have once ounce of nasty bone in his body when it comes to human contact. He loves humans, stranger or known. He once even ran up to an old couple walking along a beach in Devon whilst he was playing with me, off the lead, and put his front paws as far up their body as he could reach! I had to haul him off by the collar repeating 'sorry!' whilst I was muffled complaints in my ear about 'this is exactly what you need at a beach isn't it…'. Although the sarcasm made me feel even worse about the situation, it was so much better than a nasty reaction from Earl!! I think he thought they were my grandparents, and he likes my grandparents a lot. Even though it was bad behaviour, it was a friendly gesture on Earl's part and it was also kind of funny to think back on!

So we are putting every ounce of our effort into training Earl out of his terrible and unfair habit he has. We won't stop. The behaviourist we consulted says with our dedication to Earl and the effort we put into him, with the help of all out family, we can break Earl's habit and make him a social butterfly again! Woe behold! I can't wait for that day, oh my.

Now, don't get me wrong in any way - there are a group of dogs that Earl adores and would love to spend life, every second, every day with. And guess what? (No surprise) but Earl loves the submissive dogs! And guess what? He is a rather dominant individual! Terrier, of course! But all terriers don't have to be that way. You can have a dominant dog - but a very friendly one to other dogs at the same time. Its possible, and I have every little speckle of faith that Earl can be trained out of his bad habit. He is am amazing dog, capable of all sorts, as he has proved over to so-far-course of his life. 

Eventually, it will happen, and we will conquer this.

Earl: "Sorry dude, I've had a bad experience".

Here's an inspirational message for you - Love your dog whatever happens - we all have our quirks, and our dogs are no different. Don't feel glum because of them - help your dog fight them! You have more of a chance together than alone.

Spend some time looking at the following image - 10 Canine Commandments. Its beautiful - I'm glad I found it! Its very apt for this post - to treat your dog just so and don't give up on him/her.

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Earl and I.