July 21st, 2010
As I’ve made clear in previous posts, at times my Golden Retriever Allie has driven me crazy. Her puppyhood was especially challenging for me. That was my fault: I simply hadn’t realized how much supervision was needed to keep a healthy, active, intelligent and highly curious Golden puppy out of trouble. Sometimes, in the effort to provide such supervision quickly, I’d do something that Allie eventually made clear that she’d prefer I not do.
That something was grabbing Allie by her collar. As an adolescent puppy who would do what she was told only when and where she felt like doing so, I felt the need to quickly get her away from laundry piles, wastebaskets and other hazards that somehow escaped my puppy-proofing efforts. However, collar grabs apparently didn’t sit well with my puppy. After one such grab, she turned her head and ever so deliberately—and ever so gently—took hold of my wrist with her mouth.
Was she being a typically mouthy Golden Retriever puppy? Nope. Her grip was extremely gentle, which would not have been the case if she were being a mouthy, out-of-control puppy Was she being aggressive? No again. I could see that Allie’s tail was wagging in a relaxed manner, which would not have been the case if she were showing aggression. I realized that Allie was asking me, as politely as she knew how, to not grab her by her collar.
Understanding what your dog is trying to tell you is extremely important—not just in training your dog but in living with your dog every day. Learning to “speak” dog—or at least understand some of what your dog is conveying to you—can not only make a difference in how quickly training progresses, but also in so much more. Depending on the dog, your very safety (not to mention his) can depend on how well you decode that tail position, that facial expression, or that body posture.
No human being is born knowing how dogs communicate. Fortunately, there’s help for those of us who need a crash course in how dogs craft and convey messages to each other and to people. Trainers Robin Bennett and Colleen Pelar of Dream Dog Productions have developed two wonderful products that any dog owner can use to figure out what his dog is trying to tell him.One is a three-poster set that shows what dogs look like in various emotional states. The other is a behavioral continuum poster that shows clearly how a dog’s behavior progresses from being relaxed and enjoying himself to wanting to end a particular interaction.
Today, not only do I never grab Allie’s collar—I also keep that collar off her when she’s in the house. When I want her to get away from something, I’ll tell her “leave it” or “off’” (more about those cues in a future post); lure her away with a treat; or simply make a gesture with my hand and say, “Let’s go this way.” For her part, Allie listens and does what I ask. On that long-ago day, she asked me not to grab her collar—and since that day, she hasn’t given me any reason to do so. She communicated, and I listened. I’m very glad I did.
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2 Responses to “Listening to Your Dog”
Susan McCullough has been a professional writer for 30-plus years, but didn't start focusing on dogs until 1996, when an overzealous Sheltie attacked and shredded a message that had been faxed to Susan's office. Instead of merely telling the sender "My dog ate your fax," Susan decided to see seek expert advice about how to share an office with one's animal companion. She turned that advice into an article for a national pet magazine, and she's been writing about dog behavior and care ever since.
Great resources. I had not seen either before.
thanks for this!