The Dog Diary

Around the beginning of 2007 I decided I’d like a second dog as company for Dexter. I also figured that I had learnt a huge amount about dogs over these last 3 years or so, was still learning, was really interested in dog psychology and behaviour and I was ready for a new challenge.

I researched various breeds with the help of Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak over a period of a few months as again, I was determined to get a breed that was conducive to my lifestyle. I wanted a different breed this time, not that I was at all unhappy with my Schnauzer, but I guess I fancied a bigger dog and a dog I could perhaps take on more dog activities with.

After much discussion and research online and talking to various breeders, owners and breed organisations, I decided upon a Northern Inuit.

There were various reasons for this choice. Firstly, it was a much bigger dog and would make me feel safer when walking alone, even though they were known to be non-aggressive dogs and probably wouldn’t hurt a fly. This was a good thing in my book, as I didn’t want a dog that I was likely to have dominance issues or aggression problems with. They were also classed as ‘wolf lookalike’ dogs and came in various colours with varying markings and were stunning looking dogs.

I had discovered that they were generally very friendly dogs too, good with kids and other animals, so Dexter and the cats would be safe and that the German Shepherd element in the breed gave them trainability, which was welcome. The only issue they seemed to have was that they could suffer from separation anxiety but I was sure I could overcome that with the knowledge I had and with Paul’s assistance.

I found a good breeder, saw some gorgeous puppies, chose mine and waited for him to be old enough to take home. The waiting time was spent preparing for his arrival by organising the dog space in the house and buying him things he would need such as a good complete puppy food, collar and leash, bed and organising his Pet Insurance.

I also chose a name for him, Conan, which is Gaelic for ‘Little Wolf’ which I thought suited him down to the ground. Little did I know at that point that the words ‘Conan the Destroyer’ and ‘Conan the Barbarian’ would probably be more appropriate, at least for a while!

I collected him from the breeder on a sunny Saturday afternoon when he was just 8 weeks old and took him home to meet Dexter.

It was a little tense at first as Dexter isn’t too good with puppies. I think he sees puppies as being rude and ‘in his face’ so he tends to put them in their place until they learn some manners. Conan was never going to be too fast at learning these manners… Dexter was a little put out too, as I was ‘his human’ and I don’t think he thought he should be sharing me with anyone else.

That evening, when things were a little more harmonious, I spent some time playing with Conan to begin my bonding process with him. He was sitting on the floor beside me and, without warning, hurled himself at me with the force akin to a small cannonball. He was no small puppy and, at only 8 weeks old, was actually a similar size to the fully grown Dexter, so it did hurt a little! Remembering my past experiences with Dexter and determined to establish myself as Pack Leader from the word go, I put him right back on the floor again. It made no difference. He hurled himself at me again, so I did exactly the same, putting him back on the floor in his original position. No, again he threw himself at me, and again, and again! Eventually, he tired himself out, as well as me, but I felt that I had been the victor!

I went to bed, a little bemused and totally exhausted, as well as totally unaware of the ‘interesting’ times that were ahead of me over the next few months.

6 Weeks Old...Not In His New Home Yet

Exhausted After Spending A Few Hours Being A Cannonball

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

The introduction of Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak signalled the start of Dexter’s rehabilitation, as well as an explosion of knowledge for myself. It heralded a learning experience for me that I have found to be invaluable, and crucial to the way I care for my dogs. This knowledge introduced me into a world where meeting like minded dog owners was fun and a whole new world of dog activities was opened up to me.

The first thing Paul did when he met Dexter was squirt lemon juice at him. I stared in disbelief and said that I hoped it was water in the bottle. He said it wasn’t and to be fair, it stopped Dexter dead in his tracks from the incessant barking that he was doing as Paul walked in through the door.

I was amazed…and then Paul told me that the taste of the lemon juice gave the dog something else to focus on by giving them such a surprise, that they stopped what they were doing. The trick was to squirt it in the mouth, although it wouldn’t do them any harm if someone was a bad aim, and got them in the eye! Another comparison between us and dogs…lemon juice in the eye would not be half as bad for them as it would be for us!

Paul spent around 2 hours with us that day, giving me lots of tips and training on how to deal with this little canine in my life. He gave me an introduction to dog psychology, which developed in me a thirst for knowledge that stands to this day and makes me realise that, no matter how much we know, we’ll never know everything.

Small things make a huge difference and Paul showed me how to implement simple dog training strategies that would help not only me, but more importantly, Dexter, and help reduce the stress in his life that I had inadvertently created.

My next post will cover some of these strategies.

My first meeting with Paul was invaluable. He is a die hard dog lover, extremely knowledgeable about his subject, understanding of the practicalities of dog ownership in modern life and will always go the extra mile for his clients…well, he would say it wasn’t for the clients’ benefit, it was really for the dogs!

When he left, he assured me that a call from me would be welcome anytime to discuss any difficulties I was having and he’d always be happy to help. Four years on, I can happily confirm that this is the way he continues to work and he and his wife Sylvia have become good friends as well as my principle source of dog knowledge.

A Happier Schnauzer

As I said, Dexter was an incredibly cute puppy, but that was part of the problem. It’s so easy to ‘humanise’ dogs them when they’re small and they look so defenceless and helpless, but really, they’re not, as the previous post highlighted!

I guess most of my problems occured with Dexter after I moved back home to Scotland at the beginning of 2005, when Dexter was only 6 months old. A stressful time for me affected him in such a huge way, but it’s hard to notice at the time.

It’s an absolute fact, and well worth bearing in mind, that dogs have something of a ’sixth sense’ and can pick up on what you and I might think to be the slightest ‘vibe’ but it’s really noticeable to the dog and they act accordingly.

Dexter was my ‘little rock’ through my stressful times, and he was showered with lots of love and cuddles and lots of trendy doggy gear, the most stylish I could find on the internet! However, none of that meant anything to him in his dog brain - all he was seeing was that I was elevating him up to ‘pack leader’ status and he was so ill-equipped to cope with it. He was taking on a role that was too much for him and it was my fault!

He started to suffer from nervous aggression which manifested itself by him snapping and snarling at whatever he wasn’t sure about. Now, this can be misconstrued by many people as pure canine aggression, and people don’t look any further than that, so it becomes very frustrating when the people around you don’t understand that there might be a reason for this kind of behaviour and that the dog is not bad or vicious, he is purely unsure and doesn’t know how to deal with certain circumstances, so all he’s really doing by snapping at it, is telling the ’scary thing’ to go away!

I knew my dog wasn’t a bad dog and I wanted to help him. I still didn’t fully understand the root of his problem, so I called in the services of a Dog Behaviourist. There are lots of Dog Behaviourists around but to this day, I feel I landed lucky and feel totally blessed that my random selection in the Yellow Pages led me to meet the most wonderful man, Paul Connolly, of Wolfspeak.

My next post will describe my learning curve.

A Little Confused About Life