Think About Your Dog
Today I want to implore you to think about what you do with your dog. What do I mean by that? Let me give you an example to show you what I mean. Because I live in a small rural village I know just about everybody else with a dog who lives here. If not by name, then I at least know their face and I know their dog. It's inevitable really - I regularly meet certain people out with their dogs while I'm walking mine, and because I've always been interested in dogs I notice whenever a new one appears locally. (It's something of a standing joke between my wife and myself that if we ever pass someone with a dog she'll be looking at the person and I'll be looking at the dog. I'll maybe make a comment about it being a good looking dog and she'll say "Oh? I didn't really notice. I was looking at her earrings." Or she'll say "Did you see that guy's amazing looking shoes?" and my reply will be "I didn't really notice - I was too busy looking at the dog"!) There's a man who lives not far from me who has a powerfully built Weimaraner dog of about 4 years old. He's an absolutely beautiful specimen in the prime of life, and he just oozes strength from every rippling muscle. BTW, I *am* talking about the dog here and not the owner before you go getting the wrong idea ;-) A few weeks back I met the pair of them in a nearby field while I was out with Tufter. Tufter, still very much a young-at-heart adolescent, sidled up to the Weimaraner with what seemed like his whole body wagging in a very open greeting. I know from meeting this dog out and about on numerous other occasions that it is neither particularly friendly nor aggressive with other dogs. It takes a brief interest in another dog when they first meet, thereafter it's aloof and disinterested. The Weimaraner watched Tufter's approach in an alert but non threatening manner. When Tufter was a few paces away the Weimaraner's owner grabbed his dog by the collar and pulled it hard in towards his leg . Tufter was now right there in front of him and the two dogs were saying a quiet nose-to-nose hello. Tufter's tail was waving merrily and his whole body was still squirming in that very soft 'bendy' way that most puppies - and lots of spaniels - have. Everything about his body language was open, friendly and non-confrontational. The Weimaraner was - true to form - neither pleased nor annoyed to see Tufter. His owner was still hanging onto its collar. Then his owner did the stupidest thing. He again pulled hard at the dog's collar, this time not only yanking it backwards, but also lifting its front feet slightly off the ground. The dog was literally being throttled. Then with his other hand he began stroking Tufter about the head and ears. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to guess what happened next... ...his dog lunged forward angrily, snarling and snapping at Tufter. If his owner had let go the collar at that moment his dog would quite likely have tried his hardest to take a big chunk out of Tufter's backside. What on earth was that stupid man thinking of? What on earth did he expect was going to happen? As far as the Weimaraner was concerned, the person he loves more than anything else in the whole world had suddenly, for no apparent reason, transferred his affections to some spotty young upstart teenager. But to rub salt in the wound he'd done it right in front of his eyes *and* had been administering a severe strangling at the same time! The Weimaraner had felt wildly jealous. Jealousy affects dogs just as much as it does people. But with dogs they'll act the same way as a jealous pre-school child rather than a jealous adult. In other words they just lash out. I can't begin to tell you what an idiotic thing it was that man did. You see it's not just a case of what happened at that precise moment. I haven't met the pair of them out for a walk since. But sooner or later it's bound to happen; we only live 200 yards away from each other. What's going to happen next time? If we're *extremely* lucky, nothing untoward will happen. But my gut feeling is that Mr Mush-For-Brains has sowed the seeds of trouble. Just like you and me can easily recognise different people, and often from a long way off, so too can dogs. Make no mistake about it, that Weimaraner will recognise Tufter and will remember him as the cause of his previous anguish. What happens next time they meet depends on whether the Weimaraner's 'marked Tufter's card' or not. If he *has* then that Weimaraner will be out to give Tufter a hiding. And it's even possible his dipstick owner's handling of this future event might make matters even worse.... So please, please try and use some common sense when it comes to your dog. Just the smallest little gesture or action on your part can have a profound effect on your dog. And whereas if you cock up in your relationship with another person you can always apologise and explain that you made a mistake, it doesn't work that way with a dog. What's done is done and can sometimes *never* be undone. And just in case you're wondering how I think Mush-For-Brains should have handled our encounter, here's what I think. He should never have grabbed his dog by the collar in the first place. His dog and mine have met numerous times before without any problem. But if for some reason unbeknown to me the Weimaraner was having a bad hair day that made him unusually likely to lash out at other dogs, his owner should simply have clipped on his leash when he saw me and Tufter, and carried on walking. And even if he'd done so, and Tufter had still come over to say hello, he should simply have ignored Tufter and carried on walking. And what if he hadn't had a leash with him? In this case he should simply have held his dog by the collar *without giving it the strangulaion treatment*. And he should absolutely without question have ignored Tufter; his really stupid mistake was to make a fuss of him at the same time. Recommended reading - "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".
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