Trix and Treats

Dogs are a constant surprise. Just when I think I have Gypsy, my female chihuahua/rat terrier mix, all figured out, she tricks me. I brought home Scrappy, an energetic "in your face, bub" kind of pup. He has been in a couple of other foster homes and I have always admired him. Being a solid black kid, he was more difficult to adopt out, so I took him in to give it a whirl. As it happened, I only had him a couple of weeks before he was adopted. However, when I brought him home I figured that he and my Gypsy would go a few rounds. I thought it would be good for Scrappy to be put in his place by a bossy alpha female. He needed to be taught a few manners.
So I waited and watched. Naturally, Gypsy proved to me that I don't know nuttin'.
Gypsy ignored Scrappy at first...hardly even giving him her usual welcome of charging at him and screeching in his face in an attempt to make his eardrums bleed. For two or three days, she barely gave him a glance.
Then she did start watching him and I thought, uh-oh, here we go. Gypsy is going to teach him what's what in the dog-dominance world.
The next thing I knew Gypsy was doing the play-bow in front of Scrappy, inviting him to frolic with her! Huh? Then they were racing around the yard together. Gypsy was deliriously happy, almost smiling as she ran in large circles with Scrap-Happy on her heels.
This behavior continued. Gypsy even began cutting him from the dog herd, singling him out, getting him away from the others to have him to herself. Then they would do the chasing thing, both of them grinning like drunks on New Year's Eve. It was downright weird. And very unGypsylike.
Scrappy went to his new home this week and Gypsy seems sort of droopy. She misses the little guy.
Darn it, so do I. I enjoyed the show.

Fear and Aggression

Probably the most distressing problem -- aside from dogs that actually attack people -- is a dog that is aggressive because of fear. I have seen my share of them and I have never found a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. Every dog is different and you have to approach them that way. If you expect one training method to work every time, you will be disappointed and the dog will be a basket case.
You can usually tell a fearfully aggressive dog by behavior such as sneaking up behind and trying to nip someone, lurching at bigger dogs and growling, barking at bigger dogs, barking incessently at any strangers (two-legged or four-legged). A mean dog doesn't try a hit-and-run method and doesn't bark first. Mean dogs go for the kill with no warning.
Fearful dogs are trying to get the bluff in on others so they won't be hurt. They need to be convinced that they are in no danger and that you aren't in any danger either. When you have fearful dogs on the leash or in a crate they will usually show out more. They feel vulnerable in a crate. On a leash, they are also restricted and they can feel that they need to protect you or they can feel your anxiety or fear that something bad is going to happen. Dogs are incredibly sensitive to our feelings and emotions.
I always begin by creating a bond between me and the dog by walking it, feeding it, and loving on it. Then I try a number of things to see what works:
Spray the dog with water or water and lemon juice to stop it from barking.
Give it treats to get its attention off whatever it thinks is a threat and rewarding it further when it calms down.
Telling it, "No barking!" and standing before it with a stern look on my face.
Snapping my fingers or blowing a whistle to get its attention and then moving into its space to make it back away.
If I'm out in the yard and it starts fence-fighting and barking I pick it up and say "No!" and take it inside. I leave the dog inside and go back outside, knowing that the dog wants to be with me. I let it back out after a minute. Every time it starts barking and not minding me, I take it back inside and leave it there. This usually works, but you might have to do it numerous times before it sinks in.
That's the key here as it is with all training -- making it clear to your dog what you want out of it. Often, we send inconsistent and muddled messages so it's no wonder our dogs keep misbehaving.
Mind you, I have two dogs of my own who show fear aggression and I have used all of these methods. Nothing has completely worked, although I have seen improvement.
Training takes an enormous amount of patience and that is something that is often in short supply. I know I don't have any to loan out!
So if you are struggling with this problem, join the crowd. Just don't give up.

Degrees of Affection

I have several dogs and they all have their levels of affection. Like people, some dogs are extremely affectionate and demonstrative and others are reserved and even aloof.
My female chihuahua/rat terrier loves me. No doubt. We have a deep, abiding affection and respect for each other. She looks me right in the eyes and there is understanding there. It's a gift to have a dog who knows you so well and loves you so completely.
My female chihuahua is 9 and has always been a bit stand-offish. She will come to me once or twice a day and want affection, but never for very long. After a few minutes, she gets antsy, growls, snarls, and jumps down, ready to snap at any dog in her path. Her bark is worse than her bite and everyone here knows it. But we tolerate her showing out.
My male chihuahua is all baby. He wants to be in my chair with me every evening and he enjoys being kissed and snuggled. The more, the better for him.
My other male chihuahua is a whole 'nother story. He is a lump of quirks. When I catch his eye and tell him I love him, he turns away quickly and hotfoots it out of the room. Never fails. When he is in his doggy bed and I utter sweet somethings across the room to him, he folds back his ears and turns away from me. Can't bear to even look at me! He will allow me to pick him up and love on him. (He usually pees a little when I pick him up. So charming!)I can tell that he actually enjoys being petted, but he never allows himself to really let go and wag his tail or anything so overt. He acts as if he is annoyed and could care less if I continue to snuggle, pet, rub, and tell him he is one handsome hunk of burnin' love. He will never, ever show me that he really digs me. But I know he does.
Do you have a dog with attachment issues? Do you think the dog will someday turn over a new leaf and show you the love?
Do you also believe that fleas can run off and join the flea circus?
Just wondering.

Here We Go Again

Big news!
Walter was adopted and is doing well in his new home.
Now I have two new kids to get to know. One is a poodle mix named Taffy. She is six pounds of white fluff. She looks a lot like a tiny lamb. She is a big baby, wanting to be petted all the time.
The other is Levi, a wonderfully charming border terrier. He is about 3 years old. Taffy is 2 years old. Taffy came from an animal hoarder along with her brother Tate. Levi was rescued from the Tulsa pound, and I must say that whoever let him go is a darned fool. Their loss. Big time. He's a great little guy. Loving and smart and fun to be around. He is low to the ground like a dachshund, but with a bright, happy terrier personality. He is simply adorable.
Both kids are almost housetrained. They need a bit of reminding from time to time. They get along well with Slim and spend much of their days going outside, chasing squirrels, chasing each other, and then racing back inside to plop down and take a nap.
I took them to PetSmart last Saturday and felt sure they would be snapped up, but no takers. It was a slow day. I'm taking them both again tomorrow and I hope we have better luck. I really want to get them settled into new homes with owners who really appreciate them.
We have some fantastic dogs right now for adoption. Now all we need are some fantastic dog lovers to come forth and stake their claims.

P.S. Hey you pug lovers! Norita just brought in two or three pugs for adoption. Better hurry up and get your applications in.

The Backslider

Walter is a backslider. Just when I think I am making progress with him, he backslides.

I tied a leash around my waist for a week with Walter attached to the other end of it to be sure that he didn't sneak off and pee when I wasn't looking. He is a sneaky pee machine.

This afternoon I let him inside to play with Mister Darcy on the couch for awhile. When I went to let the dogs out before it started raining buckets, there was a bucket of pee near my kitchen doorway. Walter!!

I know it was him. There is no pee until he is loose in the house.

Back to square one. Back to the leash.

I can tell people that he is housetrained with a doggy door, but that's as far as we can go with Walter right now. I haven't even tried to see what Slim will do. I have a feeling he will hike on everything in sight. I will have to give it a whirl soon. He is using the doggy door 98 percent of the time and I'm very happy with that.


Slim is funny with the doggy door. He rears up and then knocks the heck out of the door with both feet. I mean he goes after it! Walter didn't use the doggy door at all until this week. He finally used it to go outside, but he hasn't used it to come back inside yet.

Next week Walter will probably backslide and not be able to use the doggy door anymore. He really is a perplexing dog. He is affectionate and sweet, but very stubborn. That's the Chihuahua in him, I know. If anyone has any advice for backsliders, feel free to offer it up!

Take It Easy, Folks

A word about people who get ticked off when they have applied for one of our dogs and we ask them about expired vaccinations and no heartworm preventative purchased for their current pets. Zowie! Do some of them get hot under the collar! They preach that they take wonderful care of their pets and that every dog they have is happy and healthy. Yadadayadada. Now how are we supposed to know this? These people are strangers. They could live in trailers full of debris for all we know. All we can do is check veterinary records. Sometimes we do a driveby to make sure there is a fenced yard. We're volunteers. We do what we can do.
We're not accusing them of abuse. We're not accusing them of anything. We're just asking.
So calm down, people! If you're late getting Spot vaccinated, so be it. Never heard of heartworm preventative? We will bring you up to speed.
Also, those folks who say it is more difficult to adopt a dog from us than it is to adopt a child . . .
really? Really?? Right. Let's cool it on the exaggerations.
Take a deep breath. Exhale. Relax. We aren't the Dog Gestapo. We're just trying to find suitable homes for dogs that we've rescued.
Geez.

Easy Peasy

It's a big day at Debby's dog house. I adopted out TWO fosters yesterday to a lovely family. Little Paco and his pal Major both went to the same family. They are chihuahuas I've had here since February. They were breeder dogs and Paco was terribly frightened. They are both normal furry kids now. They are shy of new people at first, but beyond that they are fine.
I have my fingers crossed that they will fit in okay there and the family won't call and want to return them.
That happens sometimes and it's very discouraging. You try your best to find a good fit and to determine if they people have sensible expectations of the dog's capabilities. When they call and want to return the dog after a few weeks, or days, or months, it is upsetting all around. I have two returned dogs right now -- Walter and Tootsie.
People sometimes ask me, "Wouldn't you rather they be returned instead of staying with people who aren't happy with them?"
Yeah. But I would rather the people look into some training for the dog and themselves and work through the relationship with their new family member. In our society, we expect too many things to be easy. Easy on the eyes. Easy to buy. Easy to sell. Easy to get into relationships and easy to get out of them. Too easy, if you ask me.
I miss Paco and Major. I know Slim misses them because they were his bunk mates. I'm going to look at the dogs we have right now that need to go into a foster home and choose one to bring home. I was going to select two of them, but I need to leave some space in case one or both of the chihuahuas are returned in the next few weeks.
I believe this family is committed and they aren't expecting the dogs to know instinctively what is required of them. However, every time the phone rings I flinch.