Shelter Problems

Having been volunteering at the Brown County Humane Society since January one thing has become blatantly obvious. This one thing is that the longer a dog is in the shelter the greater the potential for unwanted behavior.

It is unhealthy for a dog to be penned and left alone, separate from people and other dogs. It is accepted fact that dogs are pack animals and live and work in a group. This means that when we kennel dogs separately and leave them alone for long periods of time they are experiencing something unfamiliar and unnatural. These strange situations bring with them added stress and excitement.

It is usually a pretty easy thing to deal with when you own your own dog that gets to run around, play, and go on walks whenever you are home from work, a dog that spends the vast majority of its day out and in contact with people and possibly other dogs. Shelter dogs that are kenneled for the vast majority of the day turn to unwanted behavior to deal with the stress and excitement of this situation. This will start to make them less desirable and in turn almost always guarantee that the dog will be in the shelter that much longer. It all revolves around in a circle. First the dog is in the shelter, then stress and excitement lead to unwanted behavior, then the dog stays in the shelter, and then more unwanted behavior results from the added stress and excitement.

How do we fix this problem? For some shelters it is a possibility to hire some full-time staff. This coupled with a lower number of dogs will decrease the amount of time that a dog is separated and forced to be alone. This will give the dog interaction with humans and hopefully supervised play time with other dogs as well.

But what about a shelter that is entirely volunteer operated? How can a shelter like this cope with these problems? I am seriously asking for some suggestions because I don't know what to do in this situation. Thank you.

Dogs Under Stress

Today we had a situation in which one of our dogs was ready to attack another. The dog that was doing the attacking is usually a very happy, stable dog. The one being attacked always seems to be stressed out and nervous.

It started off very well. I walked these two dogs together this morning. Both dogs assumed a calm-submissive state of mind right away so I rewarded them by giving them the full length of the leashes. Both dogs went out in front of me. Both dogs remained calm-submissive for the rest of the walk and their bodies reflected calm-submissive minds. Both dogs were loose and allowed their bodies to sway as the walked. Neither one was ridged. The sniffed each other and investigated the same smells and the same holes. They looked like the best of friends.

When we got back inside the building and to the large back room where we keep the dogs I handed the leash of the more nervous dogs to another volunteer. At that moment both dogs became stiff as they sniffed each other for maybe five seconds then the more stable dog growled and lunged at the other.

Why did two dogs that were the best of friends turn on each other?

Having had time to reflect on everything that happened this morning and also what I know about both of these dogs from other experiences with them, as well as other dogs I have worked with, it is quite clear why these two dogs 'turned' on each other. It goes back to a long debated question, how much is nature and how much is nurture.

Both nature and nurture have their places in this confrontation. The stable dog attacked the unstable dog: nature. This is what must happen in a pack of dogs to ensure that the pack survives. Cesar Millan often explains how stable dogs will attack instability because it is weak. Instability hurts the pack so it must either be altered or eliminated. The first message the attacking dog wanted to send was, "you are unstable but I am stable. You need to become stable like me." If the unstable dog does not respond by becoming sable then the message becomes, "you are weak and need to be eliminated."

I also said that nurture played a role in this incident. The unstable dog had been nurtured in his nervousness and in his stressfulness. If his nervousness and stressfulness had been corrected the first time he exhibited these mindsets and behaviors he would not continue to go back to those states of mind. The fact is that these states of mind have been reinforced by how people have tried to deal with them. Pampering reinforces the state of mind that the dog is in while being pampered, it does not change the state of mind from nervous-excited to calm-submissive. The unstable dog had learned that when it was inside the building that was a place where he was supposed to be nervous and stressful.

The unstable dog made himself weak because that is what had been reinforced in him by the way that people dealt with his weaknesses in the past. The stable dog reacted in the way that its nature had determined was the best way to make the pack survive: get rid of the weak behavior by either changing it to strong behavior or eliminate the one projecting it.

Dogs Rehabilitating Dogs

Chelsey has been considered an unsafe dog for the past few weeks because she attacked another dog after being threatened. Should she have attacked? No. Does the attack make her a bad dog? No. What happened this morning is proof that she is neither unsafe nor bad.

This morning Chelsey, a large white pit bull mix, was walked with Emmitt, a brindle dog that looks like a dingo. The walk went very well so the man who walked them wanted to see how they would play together and he put them both in the large kennel area that had been Emmitt's alone. The two of them got along wonderfully. After about 20 minutes or possibly more they were the happiest that I have seen either one of them in all the days they have been at the Brown County Humane Society.

I am convinced that what I have thought about Chelsey for a couple weeks now is actually true. I believe that she is in fact a very stable dog. Most if not all of her hostile encounters with other dogs have been her reaction to an unstable dog.

Both Emmitt and Chelsey are fairly stable dogs although Chelsey a little bit more. For the 20 or so minutes they spent in the same kennel playing they held a very high energy level. The play of these two dogs reminded me of what it was like to go grapple around on a wrestling mat in high school with no clock and no score cards. Just to have a good, physical, fun time.

Both dogs left that play session tired, relaxed, and happy. This will become a regular part of our morning shifts with our dogs. Giving them supervised playtime with each other in order to establish a stable pack that will hopefully one day include all the dogs of the Brown County Humane Society.

Boomer

Boomer has left the Brown County Humane Society. Do not be sad because he has not been euthanized. He has gone to a pit bull rescue in Malaca, MN. He was exchanged on Saturday for a smaller, more stable pit bull named Amy. On Sunday morning we got a report that Boomer was comfortably lounging in the house at the pit bull rescue with as many as eight other pit bulls roaming around in the house. He was getting along wonderfully with the other dogs there and appears to be on his way to becoming a very stable dog, capable of interaction with other animals and a vast number of people.

Pit Bull Progress

Our three pit bulls are working hard. Unfortunately we really do not have the resources to rehabilitate the two with the greatest problems. There is a slight possibility that our pit bulls will be able to go to a specialized pit bull rescue where they will have more time and be able to maximize resources better than we can at Brown County Humane Society. In the mean time we still do what we can to work with these dogs and take baby steps in the right direction.

Chelsey is by far the one with the least difficulties. The problem with Chelsey is that when she feels like there is no one else to take control of a situation she must, and she takes control by baring teeth and biting. Once there is a clear authority however she will refrain from snapping and allow the person in charge to take control of the situation.

Boomer is a very dominant aggressive dog. Whenever he sees something moving he feels a great need to control it. If it is a person, a car, a dog, or another animal he feels this great need to control, or sometimes even to kill. We have started using a dog backpack on him when we walk him so that he needs to focus more of his mental energy on the job he has been given. This does a lot for burning off energy. I can only speak for myself here but Boomer is doing much better on walks than he used to. Now he willingly takes on a follower's role walking next to or even behind me. The downside is that he still tries to go after people, cars, and animals.

Much of Hershey's aggression is fear driven, but some results from excessive excitement. She needs to learn how to control her emotions in a way that will benefit her.

Yesterday Izzy, the black lab mix puppy was adopted and today Penny, the beagle was adopted.

My apologies to my readers

I apologize to all of you who have been reading my blog. As a college student nearing the end of the school year and graduation things are very hectic.

The Brown County Humane Society is as full as ever. We currently have ten dogs which include a beagle, a corgi, four black lab mixes, three pit bull mixes, and a shepherd mix.

Our beagle's name is Penny. She is roughly five years old and on the small side for beagles. She is very quiet and timid and unsure around new people but is beginning to warm-up to me as well as the other volunteers.

Our corgi is in high demand. Her name is Chloe. Right now we have two different parties interested in her so she probably won't be around for long. She is a very playful pooch and walks quite well.

Our first black lab mix had to have her left eye removed do to some misfortune but she is a dog just as much as any other. There is no need to feel sorry for her because she doesn't know the difference. Also feeling sorry for her will only cause problems, not fix them. She is a very high energy dog and needs an owner that has a very high energy level to match hers. Her name is Hope.

Our second black lab mix's name is Izzy. Despite the name Izzy is a male (most people assume Izzy is female because of Grey's Anatomy). Even though he is small he wants to be the one in charge of all the other dogs. This makes him aggressive with most larger dogs but he gets along quite well with smaller ones. He has a lot of energy as he is still a puppy and most likely not fully grown.

The third black lab mix is also a puppy. Her name is Lulu and she is younger than Izzy. Lulu does not understand boundaries yet which is very evident in the way she walks on a leash. Don't worry though this is because she is a young puppy and hasn't learned much yet. She seems to be housebroken though.

Our last black lab mix I do not know much about, in fact I don't know if it is a male or female and I don't know what its name is either. I do know it has ringworm and our volunteers are doing what is needed to clear up the ringworm.

Two of our pit bulls are looking for places in a pit bull rescue as we do not have the time they need. With plenty of work they could become good family pets but they need someone who has the knowledge and time to get them to that goal.

Our third pit bull's name is Chelsey. She can have problems with other dogs but she can also do quite well with them. Proper introductions are very important. She is a strong, muscular dog with a very obedient personality. She gets into trouble when she is alone with other dogs, without someone she can look to as her leader.

Our shepherd mix is a very beautiful dog. He bears a strong resemblance to a wild dingo. He does quite well on a leash and in certain structured situations does well with other dogs.

This post will serve as a new starting point for my blog since I have not been keeping up with it as well as I would like. I may not make updates to all of the dogs daily but I hope to write about one key event every day. I will also make notes on any adoptions and any new dogs that we take in. Some dogs may not be discussed in great detail or even at all but I hope you enjoy what I do choose to discuss in this blog.

Check back tomorrow for some news from the Brown County Humane Society.

Interested?

If anyone is interested in how any of these dogs are doing leave a comment and I'll let you know.

Rewards from Rescue Dogs

Today was a very rewarding day at the Brown County Humane Society in New Ulm, MN. Two things of great importance happened. The first thing is that we have 3 pairs of dogs that walk well, and the second is that Boomer looks like a different dog when he wears the backpack. I don't know if it would be fair to say that either of these two discoveries is more important than the other but they both hold great importance in different areas.
First off I mentioned that we have 3 pairs of dogs that do very well. This means that we have 3 different cores into which we should be able to start introducing other dogs. Before we introduce other dogs into these pairs I it will be a good idea to mix and match the pairs we have so that each dog will become comfortable with a number of dogs. This will be good for their own individual psychology as well as for making them more appealing to those looking to adopt. If we can successfully mix and match our 3 pairs we will have one very strong core of six dogs into which we will be able to introduce the other dogs that may not do so well. The goal here will be to use the structure of the original core to rehabilitate the new dogs which we choose to introduce.
Now for the second great discovery of the day, Boomer and his backpack. As you may recall from previous posts Boomer is a very dominant dog which can easily turn him into an aggressive dog. While on walks it was very normal for him to pull on the leash, to lung after cars, birds, people, and other dogs. We had made some progress in the past. The last two times I walked him by the end of the walk he was choosing to walk behind me and give me full authority over him. But this didn't happen until the last half, or even quarter, of the walk. Today was completely different, in a much better way.
Since I was able to fix the dog backpack yesterday I couldn't wait to use it today and see how it worked. Boomer was my test subject. At first he didn't really like the idea of me putting it on him as he tried to run away from me but as soon as it was on him it was obvious that he was focusing all his energy on his new job which was to carry that backpack with two cans of dog food in it until I made it clear that he had finished his job. And as soon as I opened his kennel it became even more clear that he had already accepted the role of follower when he took on the backpack. The walk with Boomer today was the most enjoyable walk I have even had with him and I am convinced that this was the case for a couple of reasons.

1) I established myself as his calm-assertive leader the moment I picked up the backpack (before I even entered his kennel).
2) I did not give in to him when he showed me that he didn't want the backpack. Instead I insisted on putting it on him, but once it was on him I did allow him a couple minutes to get used to it.
3) The new object connected to him and swinging on his body gave him a new, more intense job to do rather than just walk.
4) We still followed the normal procedure set out for walks (He doesn't go through the door until I let him and he is always next to, or behind me among other things).

From the moment we walked out the door Boomer assumed a follower's position. As a reward I allowed him the full length of the leash to roam around next to or behind me. Through the entire course of the walk he did not lung at a single car, person, bird, or dog, and he never pulled.
A simple tool like a backpack can do wonders for releasing pent up energy in your dog as is clearly visible in the account of Boomer I have just given. Other accounts of this type of success can be seen in various episodes of Cesar Millan's show The Dog Whisperer among other sources.

Dog Socialization

Socializing a dog is one of the best things that you can do for your dog. When you socialize your dog with other dogs he is forced to learn to interact with other dogs. This goes a long way toward becoming balanced. Socializing your dog means that you provide frequent opportunities for your dog to interact with other dogs, getting to know them and playing with them. In doing this it is very important to pick dogs that are already balanced to be playmates with your dog. If you introduce your dog into a group of unbalanced dogs it will do more harm to your dog than good.
Your dog is able to pick up on the energy, or attitude, of the dogs to whom it is introduced, and start to exhibit that same energy. This means that if you introduce your dog to a pack of dominant and aggressive dogs that push everyone else around your dog will probably either be pushed around and become extremely timid or your dog will adopt the same energies and attitudes of the pack and become dominant and aggressive as well.
Socialization is important but so is finding the right dogs for your dog to socialize.
The second part of socialization is with humans. For a dog to be comfortable among strangers that dog needs to be socialized and shown that strangers pose no threat and at the owner's decision they can be approached or simply ignored.
Along the topic of socialization, Chelsey was introduced to another dog today. While I was bringing her back to the Humane Society another volunteer was taking out Chance. I had already established a trusting bond with Chelsey so when I corrected her for inappropriate behavior such as mounting and biting she complied and stopped her bad behavior. Chance on the other hand did not do so well. He repeatedly tried to assert dominance in ways unacceptable.
There are a number of things that will be put into order to help move Chance beyond this behavior and help him associate with other dogs. This will come in a later post.

Dominant Boomer

Today I had the opportunity to work with Boomer for almost two hours. The whole time was spent either walking or running. Much progress was made however because the whole time he was required to take on the role of follower in my pack and also every time he exhibited any unwanted behavior he was immediately corrected.
From the beginning to then end of the walk he went from lashing out at an approaching dog to tolerating a dog's nose between his legs (for this to work Boomer had to be restrained).
At about half way through the walk I took Boomer to a good sized park, probably about the size of 4 or 5 football fields. There I ran him next to me doing speed changes, quick stops, and figure eights. For this to work it was imperative that he follow me unconditionally and look to me to guide and direct him. The run/workout at the park helped to drain some of his excess energy as well as further establish the bond between him and me. This helped to cement the idea into his head that I am his leader and he follows me.
By no means is he now the perfect dog who loves everyone and is fun for everyone to be around. He still has a great deal of aggression toward other dogs and even other humans. The other volunteers are good with him but it takes him a little while to accept new people.
Lastly he showed great improvement over his obsession with moving vehicles from the beginning of his walk to the end. When we started he was constantly lunging at anything that moved but by the end of the walk he barely turned his head. Through the course of the walk I made consistent, quick corrections the moment he turned his head or shifted his ears. Because of the timing he was able to associate the correction with his action and he stopped going after vehicles.

Chelsey 2

Chelsey is still a very good dog. She does not need any work as long as she continues to have a calm, consistent leader. As long as she has this type of leader she will always be looking to her leader for guidance. The only downfall that Chelsey has is that at this point she cannot be with other animals. The biggest improvement area we are working on right now is her socialization. We try to give her some supervised interaction with other dogs but this usually ends rather quickly. It is as if she forgets that you are her leader when another dog is in the room with her and she wants to be the boss. I think that with good consistency and firm leadership she will be able to get along with other dogs but this will take a great deal of time.