Have you ever been on trail and attacked? Not by a bear or a mountain lion or even another person but by a dog? It's happened to me. I'm cruising up trail when out of nowhere, I'm sideswiped by a blur-of-a-dog chasing after some unseen critter or even approached by a barking, growling, protective mutt determined to block my progress.
I love dogs. A lot. But as any Kentucky bluegrass farmer (read: homeowners with manicured lawns) can tell you, a dog untrained is a dog disliked. No matter how big or small.
No matter how cute:
Or ugly:
Sorry about that. Ew.
As any potential landlord can tell you, everyone has the best dog in the world. I don't know when or why we all decided that if we just left our dogs alone they would grow up to be well-behaved, loving and respectful of others. Can you imagine if we did that to kids?!
This week, I am accepting that this guy:
is NOT the best, most well-behaved dog on the planet. He's a rescue, which amplifies his issues. He's very protective of me which means that if you approach our car, our house or even on occasion, my physical person, he will raise his hackles, bark obsessively and generally try to intimidate you. He's never actually bitten anyone but he's snapped at a few people and that makes me nervous.
Sometimes more entertaining is his protectiveness when it comes to wildlife. He will FREAK out when we drive past statues of elk, moose (statues, people!). I live in Colorado. We have a lot of statues around here. We were once approached on trail by some horse-packers. My dog was so nuts around the horses that I had to lay on him to keep him from running up to and barking at them. We've never run into a moose on trail (a miracle out here) but as you may recall from
here, dogs look like coyotes to moose so I live in fear of the day when he gets a swift kick to the head for antagonizing.
Then, there's the kid thing. He gets jealous and/or just does not understand kids and how they move. He snaps at kids (again- has never actually injured one). What has this meant for his life? Well, we avoid kids like the plague. When friends bring their kids over, my dog gets put in solitary confinement. No dog parks for him....too much risk that kids will be present. He gets no practice with kids where we live and how do you ask someone if their kid can be the guinea pig? You don't. Generally, bad idea.
So, when
Sit Means Sit and their Board and Train program were recommended to me by a friend who had used the program, it seemed like a perfect fit. Bracco is now in the midst of his week away. He's living with a trainer and his family (3 dogs, a cat- who he also hates, 2 kids and a wife) for a week. He goes everywhere the trainer goes, including lots of group classes, and gets practice with kids who are well versed in working with dogs that don't love kids. He's learning impulse control and discipline.
Some may find that SMS isn't their cup of tea. Bracco has to wear a collar...the controversial kind. MANY don't believe in this method of training. In fact, I was one of them until I moved to a place where his behavior threatened his life and the quality of that life. What is cruel? Bracco in solitary or a collar? Bracco killed by a moose or a collar? Bracco running off to be lost in the Colorado wilderness or a collar? Each has to make their own choice but to me a collar is like a spanking...to be used only in extreme situations like running into traffic. You have to be the "bad guy" for three days and then it's small behavioral adjustments as we go (hopefully, rarely needing the collar). I'm not trying to convince anyone here. I'm doing what I feel like I need to do to protect myself (from lawsuit), Bracco (from potentially being put down or killed) and others (from erratic, aggressive behavior).
Board and Train isn't cheap. It's an investment. But after only a day and a half away, here are the results I'm seeing:
He's letting kids touch him!
My dog will never be perfect...and I don't want him to be. I want him to be healthy, happy and included in all parts of my life. I'm trying to be a responsible dog mom. Although, the marmots and I miss him terribly!
