I'll be honest, I haven't worked as much as I should have with Lila on her leash manners. It's true. So when I took her on a walk today, there was definitely some struggles.
Do I blame Lila? Nope, not at all. It took me talking to my SO though to realize that I'm doing things wrong. He asked "what would you be telling your pet parents if they were struggling like you are right now?" And I told him.
1. I would go back a couple steps to make sure she's successful. This may look like practicing leash manners in the house and backyard before braving the neighborhood again. This may look like doing "dog TV" where we sit on the porch and just watch people walk by and reward. This may mean taking more breaths and cresting smaller, more reasonable goals.
2. Give myself and Lila some grace. She's only been a part of our family since April. And since then, I quit my job at PetSmart, started two businesses, and have focused much more heavily on my kiddo. All of these changes create stress, and no one learns when they're stressed.
So I'm here to remind you that even trainers still muck up sometimes, but it's about growing and learning from those that define us.
Remember to give your puppers some extra cuddles for me today.
Muzzles get a bad rap.
I know, I know. The hope is you never need to muzzle a dog, but a lot of muzzled dogs aren't bad dogs. Maybe they eat poop when on walks. Maybe they're in a country where specific breeds are required (I don't agree with this, but it happens).
Some cases are like with my newest girl, Lila. She's usually the absolute sweetest dog on the planet. The biggest cuddler on the planet. If she could slip into your skin to be closer, she would.
But I've noticed a trend kind of recently. When she gets really scared or doesn't want something that's uncomfortable on her looked at, she'll snap. They're warning snaps (much like humans raise their voices to be left alone).
Does this make her a bad dog? Absolutely not. She's uncomfortable, and she's letting me know. She doesn't give many warning signs (which I attribute to them being ignored before I adopted her), and the ones she offers happen *very* quickly.
So I decided to muzzle train her, for our safety and the safety of veterinary professionals who may need to interact with her when she's uncomfortable. I will not, however, just shove a muzzle on her and hope for the best. Because the best outcome is she's more stressed and more scared. Which is not what I want.
So instead, I'm starting to train her but she gets to consent. I'm not shoving it on her face; she's offering it willingly because it pays off to do it. I'm using a basket muzzle, so she's able to eat/drink/pant while wearing it when we are able to get to duration if her wearing it. I'm keeping initial sessions shorter, to keep her stress level down. I haven't even started buckling it to her head yet.
Slow and steady wins the race.
I want to talk about dog body language for a second. How you can tell if it's play or actual fighting, and why videos can be more useful than pictures.
Attached is a video of my two girls, Rigby (darker red) and Lila (lighter yellow and white). This is a typical night at my house. The bed becomes a WWE smack smackdown arena. Teeth are bared, growling commences, there's a lot of growls. Now, if you were to look at a single picture of the girls playing, it would look scary! Lila and Rigby flashing those pearly whites. But when watching the video, some important things can be noted.
One is how bouncy Lila is. She comes in, wrestles, then bounces away. They each get a small reset.
Two is Rigby's positioning. While she may be laying down the entirety of their wrestling, she instigated multiple times. Lila walks away, and Rigby nips at her to keep playing.
Three is where, even though they're both laying down at one point, they're taking turns of who is the "wrestler". And when Rigby is a little too rough and Lila yips, Rigby lets go.
All of these are major signs that it's all play. There's no stiffness in their body language, they both keep coming back, and most of their vocalizations are what I would deem over the top for them.
This is how they communicate, and it's how I ensure that everything is still well between them. If you ever have questions about your dog's body language, please ask!
Hey! Petapalooza starts in 3 minutes! Come say hi!
Up Together Event Center
428 E Main St, Norman, OK 73071
