Third Time Lucky – a tail of 3 spaniels. This morning while walking to the park, Travis and I encountered two red cocker spaniels in quick succession. I don’t know, you wait for ages and then two come along together…
The first lunged and snapped. Travis looked momentarily non-plussed and then walked on without reacting. Good job, Travis!
Moments later, we came upon another one which took one look at him and screeched, dashing behind his owner’s legs. OK, I admit, I was waiting until we got home to groom Travis so that I could also check for grass seeds etc. Still, he didn’t look that bad, and for once he was entitled to look as if butter wouldn’t melt as he still didn’t react.
When we got to the park I met a former client and her red cocker. Hooray! At least I knew that this dog wouldn’t have a meltdown. Far from it – he dropped into a play bow and they had a lovely romp.
The first dog reacted when on a lead – a not uncommon problem, but one that can, and should be fixed. It really isn’t fair to just make excuses when a dog is afraid on a daily basis. The second one was also clearly afraid and again, whatever the reason, it is an issue that ethically should be addressed.
It is all too easy to blame it on a bigger dog or just accept that a dog behaves in a fearful way. We have bred dogs to be all shapes and sizes and thrown them into situations that are often challenging their natural instincts and too many people just expect them to cope. What made the situation with the second dog worse was that the owner was yacking on her mobile telephone, paying no attention to her dog, and struggled when her dog shot behind her, needless to say not terminating her call, but dragging her frightened, screeching dog along the pavement.
This situation was a perfect illustration of how three dogs, ostensibly the same, can behave in a very different way to the same stimulus. As Kim Brophy notes so eloquently, it is all about the LEGS: learning, environment, genetics and “self” (personality). The fact that all those factors come into play are the very reason why behaviour is malleable and the first two dogs can be helped. Meanwhile, I’m sure that Travis didn’t take it personally and it really was third time lucky.
Next week: Hair of the dog
If you need help to understand your dog’s play, join the Puppy or Adult Social Dog Walk or book training or even a customised session on canine emotional signals. If you need hep with lead reactivity or a fearful dog, then book a behavioural consultation.