Dog Behaviour Advice - Dog Advice Articles
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Some things never change but some do
This quote from the film Matrix Revolutions seems to be simply stating the obvious. If it had some profound meaning in the film, for me, it appears pointless. Maybe I am just too logical to understand. On the other hand, when used in the context of our dogs, it does have some significance.
The owner of the dog that does not like men brings him to stay with me each week to keep it properly socialised. Many owners think that once a dog is sociable with people etc, then its character is fixed and it will not change over its lifetime. Unfortunately, this is often not the case as dogs are very adaptable in order to survive. Because of this, many owners do find that their dogs develop problems that they cannot understand.
Over a year ago, an owner telephoned to tell me that they lived on an urbanisation, close to the sea. Their dog was well socialised and very friendly. Because of where they lived, they had even taught him not to bark when people passed by or came to their gate. Now they had decided to move inland to a remote area where houses were scarce.
They were going to have lots of fenced in land but they now wanted their dog to bark at anyone coming close to their house. I told them it was possible to teach their dog to speak on command, but that is no help. To make it bark at possible intruders it would need me to tease the dog into barking. The problem is to use this method makes a dog aggressive and how does it distinguish between the burglars or legitimate callers. They agreed and did not wish their dog to appear vicious, just simply bark.
I suggested that it would be better to purchase a burglar alarm. I also thought that living in the quiet countryside, their dog would begin to bark whenever it heard strange noises. I later heard that this is exactly what happened. Never the less it still wagged its tail when people came to the gate as well as barking at them, but in a friendly way.
As they had moved at the beginning of the year, they found if they went anywhere, it was too hot for their dog in the car, so they left it in the garden. It was only later in the year when it was cooler, they took him with them to see friends on the sea front for a drink; this is where they found their dog had a problem.
Whilst drinking, as a dog passed by, theirs shot out at it barking and snarling. This was something it had never ever done before. This was not the only occasion, because when returning to their car, other dogs also got the same treatment. What was going wrong?
Simply the dog had adapted to its new environment and to a smaller pack. Now back on its old walks, there were new smells, new dogs and now it was not its territory any more. As being on the lead, it could not flee. This meant the only remaining options were to either freeze or fight, even if the fight was more of a warning to keep away.
Sociability is teaching dogs within an area that they are all of the same pack and treat them accordingly. Their moving into the countryside had changed their dog’s view of its world and so it adapted.
The owners decided to re-socialise their dog again with more walks on the front as they use to. It was not long before their dog became its old self once more.
The next case was not so obvious. A lady e-mailed me to tell me that their sixteen-year-old son had a very friendly nine-year-old dog. In the last few months, it had started urinating in the house and even on their beds. They have never ever had this problem with the dog before and asked had I any ideas.
My first suggestion was to have the dog checked by the vet and when they e-mailed me again, the vet had found nothing wrong.
I asked further questions including had there been any changes in the household over the last few months. All the answers yielded nothing that would account for this to happen.
I asked them to make various tests, including keeping the bedroom doors closed for a while. I also asked them to make sure they cleaned all the floors etc, using an enzyme cleaner everywhere the dog had urinated. This would clear the ammonia smell that may have been encouraging their dog to urinate.
In a later communication, I learnt that they had purchased the dog as an eight-week-old puppy for their son to look after. They had always been inseparable, but now, even he was becoming so upset at his dog’s antics. I questioned what she meant by her term “had always been inseparable.” The answer was that he now had a girlfriend who was taking up more of his time, when previously, wherever he went, so did the dog.
The mother then recognised the significance of this point and said yes, it all started not long after the girlfriend arrived. This was the problem for the dog. It had always had their son’s attention and now enters a new companion making it feel rejected. Resorting to urinating it at least received attention, even if it was of the negative type. Unfortunately, the more it urinated the more the son pushed him away.
The family discussed this theory and the son and his girlfriend decided to take the dog with them when they went out, except on the back of the scooter. This would give their dog lots of positive attention. The father even offered to drive them to the beach and later picked them up again. All these efforts worked and no sooner did they make their changes than the dog stopped urinating.
One thing they now also appreciated was that their son would eventually be going to college. The parents felt they should now show their son’s dog more attention. In this way, they hoped the dog would attach itself to them and be better able to cope with his leaving home.
The first case was an environmental change, whilst the second was human/canine interaction. For many dogs, such changes never seem to bother them. They remain the same character no matter what happens, whether it is moving house, having a baby come into the family or the addition of another dog. Our dogs have a lot to contend with and most of them never change, but some do.