We were out for a walk the other day, just me, my daughter and a couple of the dogs, in a public country park in Kent.
I’ve always wished that there was some way (other than fixing a camera to your forehead) of recording events as they happen to put in a blog entry because a 60 second piece of video can speak an hour’s worth of typed words! As I didn’t have a camera attached to my forehead, I’ll have to describe the things that happened during our walk that I found so fascinating that I wanted to blog about.
The first was as we entered one of the fields. An adult male Labrador cross was enjoying himself with a Frisbee being thrown by his adult male owner. The instant thing that hit you about this pair were that they were inherently relaxed, both of them. The owner wasn’t on his phone or miles away in thought, he was enjoying some time with his dog and the dog was clearly enjoying the time with his owner, but there was a mutual ‘peace’ and calm about them both that I found really pleasant to watch.
Our dogs were enjoying their first few moments of freedom and of course were terribly excited to see another dog to interact with and ran up to the Labrador a little too rudely and quickly. I explained to the owner that my dogs were okay, just a little excited to have just got here and the owner merely said with a kind smile ‘Ah that’s okay, he can look after himself’. As I watched this lovely Labrador very calmly drop his toy to concentrate on dealing with the approach of dogs shouting ‘HALLOOOO THERE!!!’ on their approach, I anthropomorphosised in my head that he was letting out a sigh and a quick eye roll as if to say “… Oh dear.. and I was just enjoying a bit of peace and quiet with my toy – oh well, had better be polite at least”. Immediately it was obvious to me that the dog was as relaxed and confident as his owner and of course, the dog was able to calmly receive the attentions of my slightly-hyped pair, including telling my little guy that he was being a bit rude by jumping up at him with a little snap.
The first was as we entered one of the fields. An adult male Labrador cross was enjoying himself with a Frisbee being thrown by his adult male owner. The instant thing that hit you about this pair were that they were inherently relaxed, both of them. The owner wasn’t on his phone or miles away in thought, he was enjoying some time with his dog and the dog was clearly enjoying the time with his owner, but there was a mutual ‘peace’ and calm about them both that I found really pleasant to watch.
Our dogs were enjoying their first few moments of freedom and of course were terribly excited to see another dog to interact with and ran up to the Labrador a little too rudely and quickly. I explained to the owner that my dogs were okay, just a little excited to have just got here and the owner merely said with a kind smile ‘Ah that’s okay, he can look after himself’. As I watched this lovely Labrador very calmly drop his toy to concentrate on dealing with the approach of dogs shouting ‘HALLOOOO THERE!!!’ on their approach, I anthropomorphosised in my head that he was letting out a sigh and a quick eye roll as if to say “… Oh dear.. and I was just enjoying a bit of peace and quiet with my toy – oh well, had better be polite at least”. Immediately it was obvious to me that the dog was as relaxed and confident as his owner and of course, the dog was able to calmly receive the attentions of my slightly-hyped pair, including telling my little guy that he was being a bit rude by jumping up at him with a little snap.
It was lovely to watch, and I dearly wish I’d had that camera stuck to my forehead to show you.
By contrast…
Half an hour on, we were approaching one of the gates when a man came in with his young Springer spaniel. The Springer was clearly extremely excited to be in this environment, well what Springer wouldn’t? Rabbit, fox, cattle, squirrel and goodness-knows-what-else tracks all over the place! My dogs had calmed down a little by now, but were still happy to see another offlead dog and they all met halfway between their respective owners. However, the other owner’s behaviour was very stiff and anxious and he came walking very quickly up to the dogs. At the same time his Springer’s tail went between his legs, he became anxious and tense and the entire atmosphere changed.
Now I don’t know if the dog’s behaviour changed the owner, or the owner’s behaviour changed the dog, but I DO know that the only element capable of change in this relationship is the owner. This was obviously an established pattern - anxiety around other dogs from both owner & dog – and now this pattern is established, the owner is the only one that can alter the course of events through his behaviour changes, his attitude towards other dogs, his actions etc. However knowing this usually creates more tension in the owner and the downward spiral continues to a point where the dog is automatically going on the offensive with every dog it meets.
Now I don’t know if the dog’s behaviour changed the owner, or the owner’s behaviour changed the dog, but I DO know that the only element capable of change in this relationship is the owner. This was obviously an established pattern - anxiety around other dogs from both owner & dog – and now this pattern is established, the owner is the only one that can alter the course of events through his behaviour changes, his attitude towards other dogs, his actions etc. However knowing this usually creates more tension in the owner and the downward spiral continues to a point where the dog is automatically going on the offensive with every dog it meets.
As the experienced ‘element’ in this interaction it was up to me to take the initiative and I called my dogs away from the Springer who was led away by his owner.
There are a few take-home messages from this blog;
- Laid back owners have laid back dogs. (Think about it).
- In EVERY situation where dogs meet, being tense and anxious NEVER helps, and it is really important for the person (or dog in some cases!) with the most experience and knowledge to take the initiative, read the situation and calmly deal with it, whether it’s 2 dogs and 2 owners or 10 dogs and 5 owners…
- Like it or not, if you live in an area where you meet offlead dogs a lot, you HAVE to help your dog learn to socialise. If that means YOU need to learn more about canine language in order to help your dog, then get in touch with a behaviour consultant who can teach you.
