This morning I was struggling with the choice of either taking Rioja with Deuce and me sheepherding or leaving her at home with her breakfast in Kongs™. It gets so hot so early that leaving her in the car is not an option.
In the past, I have put her in a large pen with Mary’s Border Collies where they have shade and water, but Rioja decided that she did not want to hang out there and barked most of the session so I was thinking of other options for her. I decided to take her along with the Kongs, knowing that I could leash her to a
tree close by where she could lay down in the shade, watch the show as she worked on the Kongs.
Well at least that was my plan but Rio had other ideas about how to spend her time! She sort of worked on her Kongs and decided to whine and bark as I struggle to concentrate on what I was doing. Sheepherding is hard enough when you are focused, mission impossible if you are distracted. Thanks Rio! Part of my distractive thoughts included wondering if Rio was whining and barking because she felt left out of the fun or if she was anxious being left under the tree even though she could see me… she is not telling so I will never know. However, once Deuce and I took our break and joined her in the shade she decided to eat - only to stop once again when Deuce and I went back to the sheep.
At the end of the session and as we were leaving, Mary’s next student showed up. Rioja spots the car in the distance and began to bark and howl. Remember she is part Beagle and her howl is quite somethin’. The barking did not stop as the student with her perfectly well mannered and friendly dog approached us.
Instead, she began to pull hard on her leash and to exhibit piloerection, the hair on her back fully raised. Piloerection is an autonomic response of the nervous system, not something the dog can control or turn “on” and “off” at will. It is NOT aggression, just arousal. Similar to us getting goose bumps or as we say
in Mexico… chicken skin – the differences in these names deserves its own blog post don’t you think?
I know that if I had let Rioja go meet the other dog she would have been “fine” and they most likely would have ended playing, but not all circumstances allow for this. Also I think it is important to take the “hint” when someone else does not want his or her dog to meet yours. Besides, if I had “given in” allowing Rio to
go say “hi” I would be reinforcing her aroused state, a bad idea. Instead I began to gather my things quickly as I held firmly to her leash and Deuce’s slippery rope that he drags while herding. All this because the message I perceived from the other student was more on the vein of: I would appreciate if you could keep
your dog under control and keep her from barking and… when are you leaving? I don’t know if it is because I am a professional trainer that I put additional pressure on myself and fall prey to the idea that dogs must comport themselves at all times and not show any of their emotions especially if they make us uncomfortable. I have thought about this phenomena a lot and I think it has something to do with pets being thought of as substituted children or a direct reflection of one's parenting skills…
Funny you might say, this coming from someone that makes a living by teaching other people’s dog among other things to be polite. Sure, nothing wrong with wanting our dogs to be well-adjusted (as well-adjusted as any living being can be) and able to deal with an ever changing environment – “there is no dog in sight and the next minute dog in sight…and why can’t I play with him?”
The problem is, in my view, when we set unrealistic and unfair expectations of our dogs. Not even trainer’s dogs should be expected to be devoid of emotional lives: barking when happy or afraid, quiet when tired, or aloof and wanting isolation after a hard-day of running after sheep. Dogs are sort of permanent visitors in our world. A world that they must constantly ascertain. Similarly to one traveling in a country where we do not speak the language and we can’t relate to their customs. Poof! Now we can sympathize!
Perhaps a better approach is to pay attention to the areas of our dog’s behavior that we feel must improve either because they “bug” us or because our pal will have a better quality of life and work on them. Just like us, our dogs are a work in progress and they deserve our patience (oh so difficult sometimes!!) and our
understanding when their response is not the one we would like. In addition, I want to make sure that I am crystal clear as to the motivation behind my requesting my dogs do something or stop doing something. Not fair that I ask them to modify their behavior because I am feeling embarrassed (bad trainer!!) or because someone has expectations about how dogs should behave etc, etc. Our dogs are more than awesome companionship and a source of fun and laughter they also force us to look at our own “issues” and in my book, this is just what a good relationship/friendship should do. So… thanks Rio, for keeping it real…
In the past, I have put her in a large pen with Mary’s Border Collies where they have shade and water, but Rioja decided that she did not want to hang out there and barked most of the session so I was thinking of other options for her. I decided to take her along with the Kongs, knowing that I could leash her to a
tree close by where she could lay down in the shade, watch the show as she worked on the Kongs.
Well at least that was my plan but Rio had other ideas about how to spend her time! She sort of worked on her Kongs and decided to whine and bark as I struggle to concentrate on what I was doing. Sheepherding is hard enough when you are focused, mission impossible if you are distracted. Thanks Rio! Part of my distractive thoughts included wondering if Rio was whining and barking because she felt left out of the fun or if she was anxious being left under the tree even though she could see me… she is not telling so I will never know. However, once Deuce and I took our break and joined her in the shade she decided to eat - only to stop once again when Deuce and I went back to the sheep.
At the end of the session and as we were leaving, Mary’s next student showed up. Rioja spots the car in the distance and began to bark and howl. Remember she is part Beagle and her howl is quite somethin’. The barking did not stop as the student with her perfectly well mannered and friendly dog approached us.
Instead, she began to pull hard on her leash and to exhibit piloerection, the hair on her back fully raised. Piloerection is an autonomic response of the nervous system, not something the dog can control or turn “on” and “off” at will. It is NOT aggression, just arousal. Similar to us getting goose bumps or as we say
in Mexico… chicken skin – the differences in these names deserves its own blog post don’t you think?
I know that if I had let Rioja go meet the other dog she would have been “fine” and they most likely would have ended playing, but not all circumstances allow for this. Also I think it is important to take the “hint” when someone else does not want his or her dog to meet yours. Besides, if I had “given in” allowing Rio to
go say “hi” I would be reinforcing her aroused state, a bad idea. Instead I began to gather my things quickly as I held firmly to her leash and Deuce’s slippery rope that he drags while herding. All this because the message I perceived from the other student was more on the vein of: I would appreciate if you could keep
your dog under control and keep her from barking and… when are you leaving? I don’t know if it is because I am a professional trainer that I put additional pressure on myself and fall prey to the idea that dogs must comport themselves at all times and not show any of their emotions especially if they make us uncomfortable. I have thought about this phenomena a lot and I think it has something to do with pets being thought of as substituted children or a direct reflection of one's parenting skills…
Funny you might say, this coming from someone that makes a living by teaching other people’s dog among other things to be polite. Sure, nothing wrong with wanting our dogs to be well-adjusted (as well-adjusted as any living being can be) and able to deal with an ever changing environment – “there is no dog in sight and the next minute dog in sight…and why can’t I play with him?”
The problem is, in my view, when we set unrealistic and unfair expectations of our dogs. Not even trainer’s dogs should be expected to be devoid of emotional lives: barking when happy or afraid, quiet when tired, or aloof and wanting isolation after a hard-day of running after sheep. Dogs are sort of permanent visitors in our world. A world that they must constantly ascertain. Similarly to one traveling in a country where we do not speak the language and we can’t relate to their customs. Poof! Now we can sympathize!
Perhaps a better approach is to pay attention to the areas of our dog’s behavior that we feel must improve either because they “bug” us or because our pal will have a better quality of life and work on them. Just like us, our dogs are a work in progress and they deserve our patience (oh so difficult sometimes!!) and our
understanding when their response is not the one we would like. In addition, I want to make sure that I am crystal clear as to the motivation behind my requesting my dogs do something or stop doing something. Not fair that I ask them to modify their behavior because I am feeling embarrassed (bad trainer!!) or because someone has expectations about how dogs should behave etc, etc. Our dogs are more than awesome companionship and a source of fun and laughter they also force us to look at our own “issues” and in my book, this is just what a good relationship/friendship should do. So… thanks Rio, for keeping it real…
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