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After more than one year of consistent training, Flirt achieved her BH (companion dog title in the sport of IGP)
Pictured here with Handler/Owner Ron Murray, and DVG Judge, Lisa Little. October 2, 2022
August 30, 2021
It seems pretty timely for my first blog post, “The Second Hand Dog”, to be about getting an older dog, or a rescue. When we heard our new-to-us 8 month-old puppy was having a ruff time in her first home, we were excited for the opportunity (this pup is an amazing prospect for our breeding kennel) and anxious at the reason(s) for the re-homing, and the problems we would have to fix once she arrived. She arrived on Saturday, and Ron is working with her several times per day to TRY to fix a multitude of behavioural problems. We are calling her Flirt.
When one decides to “rescue” or receive an older dog/puppy, one does NOT know the exact history of the dog’s life. Almost every single person who comes to Ron’s training classes with a rescue will tell him, “I think he/she has been abused!”. Sometimes that might actually be the case, but YOU DON’T KNOW for sure unless you have mystical powers I would like to possess.
When buying a puppy from a reputable breeder, you have the benefit of knowing the breeder’s bloodlines, the temperament, drives, and stability of nerves of the parents, and for generations beyond that. Ron says every puppy is like an open book; you get to write the story. With an older dog, or even a rescue puppy, you have the book, but the first few to several chapters are smudged and unreadable; you have to guess at the content.
If you’re a seasoned professional, you may be able to rewrite the early pages, picking up a few chapters back, and editing the information in that book. If you’re not, you will be a trainer’s student, like the hundreds, if not thousands, Ron has schooled in the past 40+ years.
There are many reasons people give up a dog or puppy. Anything from “The dog is out of control” such as the case with our new addition Flirt, to “the owner died and the dog needs a new home.” And every other reason in between. The first day Flirt arrived, we met a trucker at 3 AM, drove her home, put her in a kennel, and went back to bed. Later in the morning we fed and watered her and talked to her through the fence. She happily played with the water spray as I cleaned her run from the next kennel over. She was sweet… what could possibly be wrong with her? This can’t be the same dog the owner described as out of control. Well we quickly discovered the cracks in her facade when we tried to put a line on her, or a new collar on her, or control her in any way. Fortunately Ron is strong, and has no fear of teaching consequences for your actions.
The problem with assuming the dog has been abused, or mishandled, is the rescue home has a tendency to baby said dog, and thereby exacerbating the problem or problems. We were told Flirt likes to dominate the pack. The absolute WORST thing we could do with that attitude is to treat her like a baby! She would see the weakness in the pack order and continue to push her weight/teeth around. With several training sessions per day, Ron is challenging her vision of dominance and authority, and laying the foundation of new laws. She WILL be beneath the 2-legged members of the pack, whether they actually live in our domain or not.
Tough Love has to be ruthless to break the bad habits and instill respect for pack leadership, then it MUST BE followed up with new acceptable behaviour which is rewarded with love and praise. Whether your rescue is a 5 pound teacup-this or a 200 pound king-that, the dynamics have the same root at the base of the problem. You can try baiting or bribing the behaviour away, but the end result will be fragile at best.
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