Remember me? The forgotten dog, Chubbs. I used to be featured in all these posts, and now I can't get a word in edgewise between Fenway complaining about her ears and Muggsy talking about how he used to be bad and is now good. Blah, blah. Who does Mom turn to when she needs help with training? Me.
So last weekend, I went with her to evaluate a golden retriever who was showing aggression to other dogs in his foster home. My mom likes to help dogs find new homes. If you know of one, she'll post it on her facebook page.
Anyway, my role is to walk with Mom, politely as possible, and look at her instead of staring at the other dog to antagonize him. I have to stop walking when she says, and sometimes I even have to lie down so the other dog will calm down.
The prognosis for this dog was really good because he was showing lots of avoidance signals and checking in with his foster mom a lot. He was looking at her for guidance, but she didn't know how to communicate with him. Lots of times, barking behaviors begin because we look to humans for advice, and they don't have any, so we do something that feels natural -- bark!
This dog looked at his mom, turned his back to me and tried to jump in her arms before he finally started barking. Avoidance is good! If your dog is scared of something and showing avoidance instead of aggression, award that! Don't force them to do said scary thing. Just be happy they are deferring to you. If you then force them to do something that scares them, aggression will develop, even in puppies. My mom then advised the foster mom on what to do in those windows where the dog was looking to her for help and she thinks that dog will find a good home!
I hope so! Every dog deserves a good, loving home. I was abandoned, too, and I'm so happy where I ended up.
Love, Chubbs
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