The Dog Diary

Dexter and I continued with our rehabilitation on an ongoing basis, during which time we entered the world of Dog Showing for a few months based on the advice of Dexter’s groomer, a great lady who knows her dogs, and is very well connected in the dog world.

That lasted a few months and was actually quite hard work, what with getting up at 5am on the morning of a show, grooming him to perfection, driving to the show and then keeping him looking good until it was his turn to trot around the showring to try to win a rosette for himself.

He did quite well in his few months as a show dog, picking up a total of 9 rosettes in his 6 month show career!

I always thought it was quite hard for him in the showring. He’s a feisty little character, bursting with energy most of the time and there was a lot of standing about waiting for classes and the like.

Meeting Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak led us into a completely different set of activities.

We started attending Paul’s Obedience Classes, just to keep the learning going for both of us and to give Dexter some structure.

This soon led on to his absolutely favourite pastime….Agility Class! Paul suggested we try Agility to give Dexter something to think about, as he was an intelligent dog and it would stimulate him. After a few weeks getting used to the various obstacles in the training field, Dexter started to get the hang of things and started to bound over the jumps with such prowess, that he rapidly became the star of the class!

Most of the time he was the smallest dog in class, which was generally occupied with Collies and German Shepherds, but, determined not to be considered the ‘underdog’, Dexter continued to jump the ‘big dog’ jumps and didn’t see the point in the rails being lowered to suit his small size.

I was so proud of him and he thoroughly enjoyed it. So, we continued to go off to Agility Class once each week and still do to this day when classes are held during the summer time. Dexter absolutely adores it and is pretty good at it and it’s so rewarding to see him having such a great time.

I'm Happy But He Doesn't Look Too Interested!

The following are just some of the strategies that Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak taught me to put in place. I can promise you, they work! However, as with anything, you must stick at it, as the most important things with dogs are repetition and consistency and these strategies are all in dog language.

Feeding

Don’t leave the dog’s food down for him all day. Alter the feeding times within an hour and a half slot each day. Preferably, feed him after you’ve eaten, but do it like this….Prepare his food as normal, but ignore him while you’re doing it, don’t talk to him. When the food is prepared, YOU pretend to eat it, again saying nothing. Hide it, guard it, pretend to eat it yourself, even munch a cookie or something to make him think you’re eating it. When you’ve ‘finished’, put the bowl down for him, then walk away, again not talking to him - this makes him think you are Pack Leader and you are eating first, giving him leftovers. If, after about 15 minutes, he hasn’t eaten it, PICK IT UP and don’t give him a second chance. He can starve until next mealtime as he’s missed his chance!

Another tip, once every 7 days or so, go through the same sequence again, but put down an EMPTY bowl to him. This will make him think you have eaten everything, as is the Pack Leader’s prerogative, and there is nothing left for him. The other benefit of this feeding process is that it gives his tummy a chance to clear out which, in an adult dog, is a good thing. Don’t do this part with puppies as they need their food to grow! Remember not to talk to your dog while all this is going on, no matter how puzzled he looks!

Toys & Playtime

Do you leave the latest line in dog toys lying scattered all around your house? If so, put them away in the cupboard or the dog chest. YOU decide when dog playtime happens and what the game is. If he likes ‘tug’ which is Dexter’s favourite game, you as Pack Leader decide when the game commences, then play with him, let him win sometimes and make sure that you win other times. Make sure you put all the dog’s toys away at all times when dog playtime finishes and you decide when the games begin and end.

Space

Does your dog lie in the middle of the floor or by the stairs and instinctively, you step over him? Instead of stepping over him, invade his space and shuffle into him, forcing him to move out of your path and out of the way. Even at times when he’s lying comfortably snoozing in his bed, go over now and again and shift him out of his bed. Again, this is you being Pack Leader and you will decide what space he has, not him. Do this fairly often.

All this sounds cruel and is in total contradiction of how we humans respond to each other, but this is DOG LANGUAGE! Yes, it’s difficult to do, especially with cute puppies like Dexter, and no-one knows that better than me, but it’s good for them, as they are ill-equipped to take on the role as Pack Leaders and we are actually relieving their stress by taking their responsibility away and establishing ourselves as Pack Leaders.

Dexter & His Favourite Tug Toy