[NAGDU] Cricket can growl?

[Raven Tolliver]

Here's the quick and dirty on doggie intros. I learned plenty about
this when I worked at an animal shelter for roughly 1.5 years.

If any of the dogs have questionable temperament around other dogs or
are unfamiliar to either of the handlers present, introduce the dogs
with a barrier to separate them. A barrier can include a fence or a
baby gate.
As an alternative, introduce the dogs on-leash in an open area like an
open living room, backyard, etc.
Using a barrier or introducing in an open area provides an opportunity
to formally evaluate each dog's body language in reaction to the
situation, and also gives everyone the opportunity to back away, and
display any fearful behavior with the handler's ability to immediately
remove a dog from the situation.
Common fear responses include backing away, raised hackles, heavy
panting, excessive licking of chops, tail between the legs, urinating,
showing teeth, growling, rapid-fire barking. Usually, more than one
behavior is exhibited at a time. Also remember that any aggressive
behavior is a stress or fear response. So if you perceive your dog as
being aggressive, the right thing to do is to remove them from the
situation.

Leash corrections can escalate the problem, not diffuse or calm the
situation. If your dog feels trapped and  that her only defense is
growling, correcting her does not make her feel better about her sense
of stress, fear, or helplessness.
In this instance, the best thing to do is to respect your dog's
feelings of stress and remove her from the situation. Backing down the
stairs, or turning and swiftly descending the stairs is what I would
recommend.

There are very specific criteria that merit a leash correction, and
that is when a dog knows for a fact what is expected in a particular
circumstance, and other forms of correction or redirection have failed
to remind the dog of its manners. More specifically, it's a last
resort, not a first resort as many schools seem to fail to reiterate.
Leash corrections should never be used in a panic, freak-out, or
emergency situation. We all know what is usually expected of us, but
when we're panicking or freaking out, it isn't unusual to behave in a
way that is atypical.

A couple days ago, my dog was playing with a young pup. After 15
minutes, he was done playing, but the puppy kept bothering my dog. The
2 dogs were in an office together, with no way to get out except
jumping or bursting down a gate. However, I was in the office, so my
dog came and jumped up in my lap. This was extremely unusual, and I
could have corrected him for this undesirable behavior. But I know
that the young dog was stressing him out, and he wanted to get away
from him, so I simply told my dog "off," and crated the pup.

We all make mistakes and correct when we shouldn't. And it is a good
thing that you're reflecting on what happened to figure out what can
be done differently next time.
-- 
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
www.1am-editing.com

You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 12/28/15, Marianne Denning via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> You learned something new about Cricket.  Just remember you are still
> in the getting to know each other phase.  Now that you know that you
> can be better prepared the next time.  We all leanr things about our
> dogs in the first several months of working together.
>
> On 12/27/15, Abby Bolling via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> I wish I would've been able to handle it a little bit differently and
>> possibly not have cracked her is hard, but it was so out of character for
>> her to growl the way she did, and to me it sounded aggressive. And since
>> the
>> dogs did not back up after her first growl and she grout again, that's
>> when
>> I asked if someone could help me. Because I am on a college campus, and
>> because there are some dogs on campus who have reputations of being
>> aggressive, even though their service dogs, (I don't get it!) I do want
>> cricket to understand that growling in harness is an acceptable behavior.
>> I
>> have taught her to bark on command because I will sometimes for my job
>> have
>> to walk at night, and that makes me really nervous. So I figure if
>> someone
>> is out there, they're less likely to hurt me if they know that I have a
>> dog
>> with me, whether or not they know if she's aggressive. Anyway, I want her
>> to
>> understand that it is generally not acceptable to vocalize and harness
>> and
>> less I give her a specific verbal or hand signal is a command for her to
>> do
>> so. I did go see the dogs after the party was over and I had my dad hold
>> cricket while I went to the room with them. I noticed that they were not
>> very well-behaved, jumping, pushing, biting each other, nipping me, and
>> generally undesirable dog behaviors.cx they would not follow a single
>> commands like sit lay down or come down or anything like that. To get one
>> of
>> them to stop jumping on me I actually had to scrub her, which I hate
>> doing,
>> and I don't think has ever been done to her, so it surprised her but she
>> started doing what I wanted her to do which was not jump on me. I don't
>> blame cricket for growling, now that I'm not in that situation. I just
>> have
>> to learn a different way to redirect her attention, and try to redirect
>> the
>> other dogs attention as well. The other thing is that neither one of
>> those
>> dogs had collars on, so I could not hear where they were to get in
>> between
>> them and my dog, which is what I would usually do. I also didn't know
>> which
>> way I could pull cricket to get her away from them. Next time I go over
>> there, which will probably be a holiday of some sort, or my cousin James
>> birthday in October, I will definitely ask them before I go in if they
>> can
>> put their dogs away or I just won't take her and harness. Like I said, I
>> am
>> very wary of leaving her at home for a long period of time when I have
>> had
>> her for a short amount of time. We were only supposed to be there for
>> around
>> 3 1/2 hours, but we ended up being there almost exactly for six hours. I
>> feel like that's kind of too long of a time for a 20-month-old dog to
>> spend
>> by herself if she has never had to spend that long by herself before.
>> But anyway, thank you all so much for your supportive words and
>> suggestions.
>> I am trying to get away from the physical corrections and use an auditory
>> correction instead. (I actually just did a paper on this) if you guys
>> have
>> any more suggestions or if you want to write something to me that you
>> don't
>> want to post in the thread for whatever reason, feel free to email me at
>> the
>> Maile address that is located in my signature. That way, it will pop up
>> on
>> the lock screen of my phone and I will see it right away.
>> Thank you all again, and I hope you guys have a wonderful new year!
>> PS, please ignore any bad wording choices or spelling mistakes in my
>> email,
>> I am using dictation, and I don't feel like going through my email word
>> by
>> word to edit at the moment. But, I just listened to it with voiceover, and
>> I
>> think you guys will get the gist of what I'm saying.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Dec 27, 2015, at 4:01 PM, Julie J. via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I have no idea what I would have done.  I'd like to think I'd have been
>>> brilliant and my dog would have behaved and the other dogs would have
>>> magically gone about their business, but the reality is that I don't do
>>> so
>>> well thinking on the fly like that.  So I would have reacted by instinct
>>> or what I've done before or whatever.
>>>
>>> Things I have done when encountering friendly dogs...
>>> *kept on going about my business
>>> *let my dog greet the other dog
>>> *stood in between the two dogs and shooed the other dog away
>>> *yelled at the owner to get their dog
>>> *had my dog wait in a down until the other dog leaves or the owner comes
>>> to get him
>>>
>>> Things I've done to unfriendly dogs...
>>> *turned around and gone another way
>>> *stood between the two dogs and shooed the other dog away
>>> *moved menacingly toward the other dog
>>> *gave the owner what for in colorful language
>>> *recently I kicked a dog who was lunging toward Jetta
>>>
>>> Things I've thought about doing but never have:
>>> *taking pictures
>>> *pepper spray
>>> *air horn
>>> *spring loaded umbrella
>>>
>>> I have corrected my dogs for acting like a ninny around other dogs.
>>> I've
>>> also had them sit at a reasonable distance to reinforce calm and
>>> appropriate behavior.  I've moved across the street and expected them to
>>> continue to guide.  I've given treats for calm and appropriate behavior.
>>> And yes, sometimes I let my dogs growl at other dogs, especially if I
>>> know
>>> my dog is growling as a correction for socially inappropriate behavior.
>>> Many, many years ago, I taught obedience classes.  I had Tia then and
>>> she
>>> was a wonderful example dog.  A lot of the dogs I worked with didn't
>>> have
>>> very good dog to dog social skills and Tia was very, very good at being
>>> patient, but also growling when they crossed the line.  The other dogs
>>> weren't aggressive, just rude and she would communicate to them that
>>> they
>>> were being rude.  It helped the other dogs to learn what was okay and
>>> what
>>> wasn't. It's how dogs communicate and I don't have a problem with it.
>>> That said, there is growling and then there is growling and not all
>>> growls
>>> are created equally.  A mama dog might growl at her puppies when they
>>> are
>>> being wild. She isn't aggressive and she isn't going to hurt the pups,
>>> but
>>> they need to know that what they are doing is inappropriate.  Then there
>>> is the food/toy/territory aggressive dog who growls at dogs or people
>>> when
>>> they get too close to his food/toy/kennel.  This is not okay and will
>>> probably require a skilled trainer to help.
>>>
>>> I think it's good to look back and think about what you could have done
>>> better.  It helps you to process the whole thing and hopefully to do
>>> better next time.  However there comes a point when you just have to let
>>> go and move on.
>>>
>>> Julie
>>> Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's Quest to Train her Own Guide Dog is now
>>> available! Get the book here:
>>> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXZSMOC
>>> -----Original Message----- From: Cindy Ray via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2015 2:03 PM
>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>>> Cc: Cindy Ray
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Cricket can growl?
>>>
>>> I don't see a thing wrong with doing corrections. If it gets the results
>>> you are looking for, you praise. You cannot always assess the whole
>>> situation until much later. Much later might well be too late. If you
>>> know
>>> your dog, you know what kind of corrections are appropriate for it. If
>>> someone is petting my dog and the dog is distracted and not doing what I
>>> want, I correct it even if it is not the dog's fault. It needs to
>>> understand the fact that it is not behaving in a way I would expect it
>>> to.
>>> It also corrects the person who was messing with the dog. Same goes
>>> here.
>>> If someone's dog is in my dog's face, my dog is growling, I am going to
>>> correct it. Then the person to whom other dog belongs can feel badly
>>> maybe
>>> because my dog had to be corrected, and they might think twice before
>>> they
>>> allow the situation to come up again. My dog isn't going to have some
>>> kind
>>> of lasting traumatic effect afterwards unless I've abused it. I wouldn't
>>> ever abuse my dog. And people may think I am abusing the dog sometimes
>>> because dogs aren't ever corrected if they are "civilian" dogs. So I
>>> would
>>> make no apologies to anyone if I have corrected my dog.
>>> Cindy Lou Ray
>>> cindyray at gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Wayne And
>>> Harley via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2015 1:06 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Wayne And Harley <k9dad at k9di.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Cricket can growl?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Abby,Being that it was a situation you hadn't prepped for I think you
>>> did well.However, a firm "No, Leave It" is what I would have done. Given
>>> that a growl was her only way of letting the other dogs know she didn't
>>> appreciate them being in her face. Better to have her growl a bit then
>>> learn she can't growl and instead go straight into a silent attack.
>>> Yours, Very Sincerely And Respectfully,
>>>
>>> Wayne M. Scace
>>>
>>> -------- Original message --------
>>> From: Abby Bolling via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Date: 12/27/2015  02:21  (GMT-06:00)
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Abby Bolling <violingirl30794 at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Cricket can growl?
>>>
>>> Hi all!
>>> I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
>>> I went to my uncles house for our annual  family get together. My aunt
>>> and
>>> uncle have two black labs and they said that of course, cricket was
>>> welcome, that Stella and Lulu would love to play with another dog. Well,
>>> that didn't go as planned.
>>> I was working Cricket into the house because we don't go there very
>>> often,
>>> so the layout is very unfamiliar to me.
>>> So Cricket and I are walking up the steps and she is doing really really
>>> good. She steps up and is on the landing and all of a sudden I hear
>>> puppy
>>> paws on the wood floor. Crickets harness handle is 20inches long because
>>> she is super short, but this means, when we go up steps, I am usually
>>> two
>>> steps behind her. So I wasn't on the landing yet. But all of a sudden, I
>>> feel Crickets head jerk around a little bit, then she turns to the right
>>> to body block me. at this point, I can feel Stella and Lulu like dancing
>>> around Cricket and getting in her  face and jumping at her.
>>> I could tell they were playing, but i have no idea what was going
>>> through
>>> Crickets head. I was very surprised when I heard my little 48 pound tiny
>>> black lab let out one of the most terrifying growls I have ever heard.
>>> I'm
>>> serious, I was taken-aback for a split second.
>>> I corrected her so hard that she actually did a 180 degree turn, but
>>> Stella got back in her face and she growled again. At this point I was
>>> able to get on the landing and correct her hard again, but even through
>>> the fact that the collar was tight around her throat, she was still
>>> trying
>>> to growl. At this point, my cousin was able to grab Stella and then Lulu
>>> and put them in a separate room, but Cricket was still wound up and was
>>> jumping in the air. I literally had to almost tackle her to get her to
>>> lay
>>> down and calm down.
>>> My family doesn't understand dog corrections, and they cringe and
>>> squawked
>>> because they thought I was hurting Cricket. I told them that I wasn't
>>> "hurting her," sure it wasn't comfortable, but I wasn't debilitating
>>> her.
>>>
>>>
>>> Now the question! In your guys' opinion, did I handle the situation
>>> correctly? Should I not take cricket over there? And what would yall
>>> have
>>> done in that situation?
>>> My Boyfriend asked why I didn't take Cricket out to the car, as it is
>>> really warm here, so temperature wise she would have been safe, but I
>>> didn't do that because she has really bad separation anxiety and will
>>> cry
>>> and whine and howl if she is left alone very much.
>>> And since I have only had her home for 4 months, I don't want to make
>>> her
>>> mad too early in the game.
>>>
>>> So anyway, thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? All are appreciated!
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Abby and the currently snuggly peaceful sleepy cricket.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Abigail M. Bolling
>>> Wright State University-2018: Rehabilitation Services
>>> Phone: (513) 512-3456
>>> Email: bolling.8 at wright.edu
>>> Abilities United: Secretary
>>> Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users, a chapter of the National
>>> Federation
>>> of the Blind of Ohio: Secretary "keep a smile on your face and a song in
>>> your heart, and just let the music play." (Julie Anderson-Diamond)
>>> "Dance
>>> like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no
>>> one
>>> is listening, and live like it's Heaven on earth." (William Purkey) The
>>> National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>>> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
>>> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
>>> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
>>> blindness is not what holds you back.