Moobli
Well-Known Member
This resonates strongly with me.
When I started dog training, when we first got off the ark
there was no such term as ‘Reactive’… it didn’t exist.
No one called their dogs ‘Reactive’…. But ‘Reactivity’ still existed…
When I started training, I went to a school hall in East London. I was a dog obsessed kid who was totally infatuated with anything dog related! I had worn my parents down sufficiently for them to get me my first dog, Scrunch.
Scrunch was not exactly Lassie, and as I have detailed before, she came with a list of behavioural challenges as long as your arm!
When we first attended that class, I can recall vividly being told ‘Don’t go near that chair… that’s Danny’s chair’.
I had no induction as to whom ‘Danny’ may be… but I soon learned!
Danny was a half white faced Border Collie, with mottling all over his body. He was owned by one of the class attendees called ‘Cyril’. Cyril and Danny would sit on a particular chair not far from the entrance to the hall, and whilst Cyril would sit drinking cups of tea for the majority of the evening, Danny would be curled under his chair like a cobra, waiting to strike! And strike he did… to anyone and anything that came within close proximity of ‘his chair’…
You would on occasion forget about ‘Danny’s chair’, and whilst nonchalantly walking around the hall or daring to enter the target zone he had allocated, you would suddenly be greeted with a pain in your calf, ankle or foot! Danny was claiming his space… quick as a flash, he would dart back under ‘His chair’, and re-coil waiting for his next victim…
I soon learned to take a wide berth of Danny’s chair! But when he was out from under it, he was the most wonderful dog. He would train relentlessly for hours, all for a pat on the head and a piece of liver! His speed and enthusiasm could never be squashed no matter how Cyril tried, and his desire to work and please were in abundance. He was everything a Border Collie should be…. And he also saw feet approaching him, as things to be nipped and herded…. Simple really.
This is where the story gets interesting…
There would be no calls of sympathy, or health and safety review… no barrier or safety protocols implemented to prevent said ‘attack’ again… there would be no apology or explanation… There was no social media post lambasting Cyril for his ‘out of control dog’… or calls for his head on a stick!
There would simply be Cyril’s dulcet tones, ‘I told you that was Danny’s chair’…. followed with a chorus of wry chuckles and sniggering!
See, back when I first started training dogs over 30yrs ago… the world was a slightly different place… There was no internet, no mobile phone, no social media… can you imagine! But when it came to dogs, we were also very different. Some things I am glad we left behind…. But there are some things we could do with taking note of.
We used techniques and methods which would make your toes curl and the hairs on your neck stand bolt upright! Aversive tools weren’t just accepted, they were encouraged!
We didn’t have as many labels for our dogs as we did now… and we didn’t have cavachons, cockerpoos, labradoodles…. We had cross breeds and mongrels…
People would chastise their dogs physically without a second thought, and go about their merry way…. Shoving your puppies face in its faecal matter was just one approach to toilet training!
I shudder now, looking back at how naive and misinformed we were….
Now we could discuss whether this was better or worse, and that would indeed be a colourful discussion, but like all things, we need to take a more candid look at reality of viewing things as simply as ‘better or worse’. It actually, wasn’t all bad…. And certainly not in Danny’s case.
Danny wasn’t a dog that needed a label, and whilst in todays day and age, he would be qualified as ‘reactive’…. He was simply a Border Collie who was both resource guarding, and reacting to motion intermittently. He was accepted for his idiosyncrasies and people viewed him as he should be. Brilliant and yet not perfect. He has his quirks…. And that was ok.
Now, there could be a dozen ways to overcome the issues Danny had, using reinforcement… but there is also beauty in accepting him for what he was, and being respectful that there was some things he didn’t like.
We often expect our dogs to be perfect, and as a society that standard is set so high that so many of our dogs fail to reach the dizzy heights that we have set. And in doing so, place so much blame and pressure on owners who ‘fail’ to have a ‘Perfect dog’.
Some where along the line, where we have become more aware of the nuances of dog Behaviour and understanding, we have attached unrealistic expectations of our dogs. And therefore, owners.
We need to manage our expectations of our dogs and set realistic goals for them to attain and their owners to strive for. They may have little quirks and ‘issues’… but don’t we all?? And in viewing people with ‘reactive dogs’, be aware of our response and choice to extend compassion to both the dog and owner.
So on a final note….
In a world where you can be anything, be kind….
When I started dog training, when we first got off the ark
there was no such term as ‘Reactive’… it didn’t exist. No one called their dogs ‘Reactive’…. But ‘Reactivity’ still existed…
When I started training, I went to a school hall in East London. I was a dog obsessed kid who was totally infatuated with anything dog related! I had worn my parents down sufficiently for them to get me my first dog, Scrunch.
Scrunch was not exactly Lassie, and as I have detailed before, she came with a list of behavioural challenges as long as your arm!
When we first attended that class, I can recall vividly being told ‘Don’t go near that chair… that’s Danny’s chair’.
I had no induction as to whom ‘Danny’ may be… but I soon learned!
Danny was a half white faced Border Collie, with mottling all over his body. He was owned by one of the class attendees called ‘Cyril’. Cyril and Danny would sit on a particular chair not far from the entrance to the hall, and whilst Cyril would sit drinking cups of tea for the majority of the evening, Danny would be curled under his chair like a cobra, waiting to strike! And strike he did… to anyone and anything that came within close proximity of ‘his chair’…
You would on occasion forget about ‘Danny’s chair’, and whilst nonchalantly walking around the hall or daring to enter the target zone he had allocated, you would suddenly be greeted with a pain in your calf, ankle or foot! Danny was claiming his space… quick as a flash, he would dart back under ‘His chair’, and re-coil waiting for his next victim…
I soon learned to take a wide berth of Danny’s chair! But when he was out from under it, he was the most wonderful dog. He would train relentlessly for hours, all for a pat on the head and a piece of liver! His speed and enthusiasm could never be squashed no matter how Cyril tried, and his desire to work and please were in abundance. He was everything a Border Collie should be…. And he also saw feet approaching him, as things to be nipped and herded…. Simple really.
This is where the story gets interesting…
There would be no calls of sympathy, or health and safety review… no barrier or safety protocols implemented to prevent said ‘attack’ again… there would be no apology or explanation… There was no social media post lambasting Cyril for his ‘out of control dog’… or calls for his head on a stick!
There would simply be Cyril’s dulcet tones, ‘I told you that was Danny’s chair’…. followed with a chorus of wry chuckles and sniggering!
See, back when I first started training dogs over 30yrs ago… the world was a slightly different place… There was no internet, no mobile phone, no social media… can you imagine! But when it came to dogs, we were also very different. Some things I am glad we left behind…. But there are some things we could do with taking note of.
We used techniques and methods which would make your toes curl and the hairs on your neck stand bolt upright! Aversive tools weren’t just accepted, they were encouraged!
We didn’t have as many labels for our dogs as we did now… and we didn’t have cavachons, cockerpoos, labradoodles…. We had cross breeds and mongrels…
People would chastise their dogs physically without a second thought, and go about their merry way…. Shoving your puppies face in its faecal matter was just one approach to toilet training!
I shudder now, looking back at how naive and misinformed we were….
Now we could discuss whether this was better or worse, and that would indeed be a colourful discussion, but like all things, we need to take a more candid look at reality of viewing things as simply as ‘better or worse’. It actually, wasn’t all bad…. And certainly not in Danny’s case.
Danny wasn’t a dog that needed a label, and whilst in todays day and age, he would be qualified as ‘reactive’…. He was simply a Border Collie who was both resource guarding, and reacting to motion intermittently. He was accepted for his idiosyncrasies and people viewed him as he should be. Brilliant and yet not perfect. He has his quirks…. And that was ok.
Now, there could be a dozen ways to overcome the issues Danny had, using reinforcement… but there is also beauty in accepting him for what he was, and being respectful that there was some things he didn’t like.
We often expect our dogs to be perfect, and as a society that standard is set so high that so many of our dogs fail to reach the dizzy heights that we have set. And in doing so, place so much blame and pressure on owners who ‘fail’ to have a ‘Perfect dog’.
Some where along the line, where we have become more aware of the nuances of dog Behaviour and understanding, we have attached unrealistic expectations of our dogs. And therefore, owners.
We need to manage our expectations of our dogs and set realistic goals for them to attain and their owners to strive for. They may have little quirks and ‘issues’… but don’t we all?? And in viewing people with ‘reactive dogs’, be aware of our response and choice to extend compassion to both the dog and owner.
So on a final note….
In a world where you can be anything, be kind….
.