The other day I was walking Saffron in the forestry near my home. She loves the freedom of racing up and down the paths, sniffing all those interesting scents and messages left by other dogs and generally running off her excess energy.

I was halfway through the walk when a woman appeared around a corner with two small dogs on leads. Immediately, I called my puppy back and put her on a lead, placing myself between them as I think it's a courtesy to any other dog walker or rambler to give them space.

As the two small dogs approached, they launched into a paroxysm of barking and growling at us as they lunged on their leads. I could only stare as they showed a complete lack of self control and were obviously stressed into the bargain. The woman noticed me and made some comment about their behaviour as being nothing to worry about.

I must have still looked unconvinced as she continued that as they were on leads, she didn't believe there was an issue! Really? Surely there's a better way such as teaching them that it's no big deal to pass by other dogs in a quiet manner rather than getting totally stressed and OTT?

People often complain to me that their particular puppy isn't anything like the Labrador, Spaniel, or whatever specific breed they had before. I gently explain that no two dogs are alike just as no two siblings are completely alike unless perhaps they are identical twins.
​ I am the youngest of three sisters and apart from a slight similarity around our mouths and eyes, we were as different as chalk and cheese, in looks, physique and character. The only characteristic which we inherited from our father - and which we hated - was our ugly knees! Perfectly acceptable for a tall, strong, rugby-playing man but totally inappropriate for three daughters especially in the days of mini skirts!
  But back to dogs and breed characteristics. There are always certain traits in specific breeds that are automatically inherited. For example, Collies are natural herders, especially if they come from working parents. And Beagles, despite the effort to domesticate them, are, generally, stubborn to train and they haven't lost their natural hunting abilities.
  I've had a number of Boxers in my life and one of their characteristics is their goofiness. They love to play, and to jump all over you. But, all seven of them have differed in specific mannerisms. The second Boxer I had accompanied me as a young puppy when I moved to Meath. It wasn't that long after losing my husband and he seemed to be quite responsible for my well being. He was never aggressive but he did 'mind' me in certain situations. And for that reason he was more serious and a little less playful than others that I've had.
  In the normal way, Boxers are very friendly and want to meet every person and dog whether appropriate or not. However, one female that I had really couldn't be bothered with other dogs or people. She could walk past any dog without even acknowledging its presence. But, she could play with them too. As for people, she would size them up from a distance. She was neither responsive nor confrontational to their advances. But, if she did accept you, she was your friend for life!
  My present Boxer is very sensitive, very touchy-feely. She seems to attract everyone into her personal space and adores meeting and greeting. And people respond to her joyful outlook. She's super playful and has youngsters running around playing 'footie' while she directs the proceedings! I get such enjoyment out of watching her.
  But, my memories of each one are special as I acknowledge their individuality and different attributes. For me that's the challenge, the pleasure, the interest of getting to know each one and finding the 'key' that opens the door to a whole new character wrapped up in the Boxer breed.
  So cherish the similarities, rejoice in the differences and celebrate each dog as a special individual.

JUST A THOUGHT.....

​We often talk about dogs’ behaviour being unpredictable and that people need to be careful of them. But I wonder what dogs make of our ‘unpredictable’ behaviour towards them. They read our faces and gestures and understand them. Then we open our mouths and yell, screech, roar at them in a scary manner that contradicts what they have read, giving them mixed messages. One day, we allow them to jump on the sofa; the next day we yell at them to get down! We spoil them rotten and then wonder why, like children, they start demanding more with menace!
 
Our inconsistent behaviour must be very stressful for them. Yet, despite those inconsistencies, most dogs love us unconditionally.
 
That should give us pause for thought, shouldn’t it?
 

​I admire all those people who adopt a rescue dog because often they are taking on far more than they realise. Rescue dogs can come with so much emotional baggage which new owners can’t begin to understand. But despite that, most adoptions are hugely successful.
            There are a few pointers that might be helpful when thinking of adopting a rescue.

• Don’t be bullied into adopting a dog merely because the shelter makes you feel guilty. You need to really fall in love with the dog you are thinking of choosing. But you also need to let your head rule your heart.
• Rescue centres need to fit a dog to your lifestyle. For example, if you have a house full of cats, you won’t want a dog that has a history of hunting anything that moves!
• Ask questions. How long has the dog been in the shelter/centre? Will you be the first to adopt him or has he been returned? If the latter, why was he returned? And how many times?
• Try to get as much information on the dog’s background. It’s in everyone’s interest. If you know everything you can about the dog, you will have some idea of the problems you might encounter. Otherwise, if you get a shock at the dog’s behaviour when you get him home, your first reaction may be to send him right back. That only adds to his emotional baggage.
• Never assume that your rescue dog is toilet trained. You may well have to go back to basic toilet training. Can you cope with that?
• All dogs need the firm boundaries that come with basic obedience training. But rescues need those boundaries in order to make them feel safe and to give them confidence. If you’re consistent and they know exactly what you want of them, that helps the relationship.
• Don’t feel sorry for rescue dogs. Yes, they may well have had an awful life. By all means, acknowledge their awful start in life. Then ‘draw a line in the sand’. That was then. Now you are offering each other a new life together with the hope of a great relationship. If you’re always harking back to their past history, it’s easy for both of you to wallow in it and then make excuses for bad behaviour. Being adopted, learning the boundaries, and how to live in a new environment is a form of rehabilitation and helps a dog to go beyond his past.

 
I was privy to a conversation where a person was showing a photo on Facebook of a beautiful rescue that she had adopted. She wrote that the dog had a lovely nature and was so grateful at being adopted! That last comment really jarred with me. Grateful? Surely, we adopt dogs to give them a better life than previously and they should not have to feel grateful so that we can polish our halos? After all, generally it’s not the dog’s fault when he is dumped in a shelter. And, if we want our rescue to feel grateful, what does it say about us? It certainly doesn’t seem a basis for a future relationship based on mutual respect.

​In last week’s blog, I wrote about dogs having a personal space just like people and how to read their signals to understand what they’re telling you.
            Today I’m going a little deeper into this subject. It’s quite common for certain dogs to have an attitude about certain parts of their body. For example, many dogs dislike anyone near their paws, which makes a major drama of clipping their nails or merely investigating the source of lameness. If you don’t do something about it from early on, this can develop into a major issue until you become very nervous about going anywhere near your pet’s paws.
            You know the signs: you go to touch your dog’s paw or toes and he moves it.  You persist, and he places that particular paw under another part of his body, while fixing you with a beady eye, and if you keep going, maybe a low growl. So you back off thinking you’ll do it another time. But you’ve already lost the battle!
            Let’s start again! You have a paw-sensitive dog/puppy. Find a high value treat that he can’t resist and preferably one or two larger pieces that you can hold while he nibbles at them. Start off by stroking him down his back. Then move to stroke down a front leg but don’t go close to his paws. As you’re stroking the leg, offer him a treat from the other hand. Do that a few times until he’s looking for the treat. Then move off to the other front leg. And then do the same with the hind legs.
            That’s it for the first time. Now take him out for a game or walk. All he remembers is treats and fun! How good is that?
            Next day, you do the same thing. But this time your hand brushes down to the paw. If you’re doing it correctly, he should forget to pull his foot away. If not, then go back to just stroking his legs and giving him treats. With a very sensitive dog, you may have to spend a few days doing just that.
            Then, you try again. But this time you have a larger treat that you can hold on to while he nibbles at the other end. You’re changing your dog’s focus by doing it this way and you avoid making an issue of touching his paws. With practice, you should then be able to hold his paw, gently squeeze it while all the time feeding him treats or letting him nibble at a larger one.
            You can adopt these same tactics if you have a dog that’s over-sensitive about his rear end and/or tail. But in this instance, I would sit beside your dog and not facing him or having to lean over him with your face too close to his teeth! And I would take as much time as needed to get this one right.
            These simple tactics will make life much easier for you and your dog especially if you have to take him to the vet with any problem involving those aforementioned parts of his body. There’s nothing more stressful for your dog – and you – if you have to suddenly muzzle him because he’s growling or snapping as the vet tries to examine him. All he remembers from that is fear, anger and a firm dislike at being handled!
            Another point to remember is that a sudden change in behaviour in your dog needs investigating. If, until that point, he has previously been comfortable with handling anywhere on his body including his mouth but suddenly starts giving warning signals, he’s telling you there’s a problem!
            As an example of this, a man called me to say that his beautiful male collie had snapped a couple of times at his wife when she stroked him. He’d never done it prior to that. It transpired from our conversation that he had only snapped when she stroked him around the head and she was now getting nervous of him. I said I’d be glad to help but his dog first needed to have a check up with the vet. He rang me back that evening. His vet had found an abscess in the dog’s mouth. The dog was fearful of the pain and the snap was a warning to stay clear of his mouth!  All quite understandable in the circumstances.
            So, take time so that your dog enjoys being handled at best or at least remains neutral to your touch or that of a vet. It’ll pay dividends in the end.