Pet care: Teach a dog like a dog
Fourth in a series.
I could only help Charlene and Jerry with the fighting among their dogs if I had their buy-in. They were both feeling pretty low. So, I shared the game plan.
I explained that if big Izzy鈥檚 threats toward Rosy and Willa were consistently ignored, the circuits in her brain that carried and stored her unhealthy behaviors would weaken from disuse. 鈥淥h, no!鈥� they exclaimed in unison. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 do nothing, can we?鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 be ridiculous,鈥� I responded. 鈥淥f course you can.鈥� There could be no other way.
Dogs regard any response from a leader, however subtle, as a validation of their behavior and of their emotional state of the moment. The Clines were to leave a 6-foot leash (drag line) attached to their big spotted girl鈥檚 harness. At the earliest hint of tension directed toward their little ones, they were to immediately believe that there were no dogs. Then step on the drag line (no diving for it like an infielder), grab it, and march to another room. Maintaining composure, they would close the door and walk away.
Time-out is well established in behavioral science. Dogs really hate it because they lose essential communication with their superiors (us). Izzy鈥檚 benevolent dictators would reinforce with a kind word only after it was earned by a calmer posture. I admonished them to catch their fuzzy canine student doing something right every chance they got. Every day.
Jerry was hanging on every word. I paused, expecting a question. Instead, he shared his anger problem. In a quiet tone, the big man explained that he was raised in a physically and emotionally violent home. He was severely punished for his lackluster school grades. Any mistake resulted in, well, I won鈥檛 repeat what happened to this child whose trust was stolen. But I will share that research shows the majority of children who suffer physical abuse carry significant anger as adults. Pets can take the brunt. Jerry didn鈥檛 cause Izzy鈥檚 aggression, but his verbal tirades hadn鈥檛 fostered improvement either.
Next week: Could Izzy recover? What about Jerry?
For help with behavior problems, you can sign up for a Zoom group conference at
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