We had an "incident" over a month ago - nothing outrageous, just one of those things that happen when you have dogs - and especially if you have several of them, and perhaps even more so if you happen to have bitches. I may be wrong on the last point.
Anyway. One day at work, I was working away in the laundry. The dogs were in the car - Tussock in the cab, and the "rabble" in the pick-up bit. The bottom tailgate was shut, but the top bit was open allowing them to see out, and to have ventilation. I wasn't going to be long, so didn't bother to set up their outside pen.
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| River snoozing in the back of the pick-up |
This particular afternoon I saw a couple of people known to me walking down the road towards the building I was in heading to another building close by. They had two dogs - on on lead, and one off lead.
Suddenly a rumpus kicked up, my dogs were barking. I went to the door to find that the off lead dog had run round to the car, kicking off the barking, and Skara (little monkey) had jumped over the tailgate and gone to play. I didn't want Skara to learn that jumping out was a good idea (for a whole host of reasons) so went to get her and pick her up and put her back in the car. This is where things unravelled, a lot like the original chicken shit.
I grabbed Skara, she yelped at the surprise of my grab (and because she is a little wuss). I carried her to the car, lowered the tailgate, and popped her in. At this point Talulah jumped out, despite my instruction to stay, ran to the off-lead dog and said "grump grump grump leave my pup alone" and ran back again and back into the car. And the off lead dog followed her. At which point River jumped out, grabbed the dog's muzzle, and did a death shake (well, it looked like it) whilst shouting and bawling.. As I yelled her name, River backed off and got in the car, and the dog ran off. I shut up the back of the car, and went round to where the dog was back with its owner. I checked over the dog's muzzle and could find no blood, not even any wetness where River's mouth had been. I checked again, and again - really could find no harm done. I apologised to the owner for our part in the incident and went back to my work shaking my head and cursing the world. But after that I really didn't think much about it, other than to consider finding a method of preventing Skara jumping out again.
However, just last week, the husband of the ON-lead dog and I were chatting, and he said "Please don't take this the wrong way" (alarm bells go in my head!) "but I see that the next booking at Forest has a dog coming". Thinking he was on another tack, I said "Oh, don't worry - I will go into clean up", as sometimes my dogs go in there for a dump when given an opportunity. "No no - I wasn't meaning that - I was referring to the 'incident' the other week - we wouldn't want a repeat performance". I reassured him that I had no intention of it happening again. I have been parking in that spot for four years, and that is the first time it has happened. Yes, we have shouting matches, but never a jumper!!
I didn't take offence, or the wrong way, or anything else. But it did start me thinking about where "blame" should, if at all, lay. As I see it, Skara shouldn't have jumped out, I shouldn't have dropped the tailgate, nor should Talulah have jumped out, nor River, and River shouldn't have given a death shake. Perhaps I shouldn't have left open the back of the car. BUT - none of the events at my side of the building would have happened if the off-lead dog hadn't wandered round. And had the owner got hold of their dog at the same time as I grabbed Skara, then again the rest would have been prevented. From there - okay, I take responsibility for my dogs' actions, that my dogs didn't do as asked, that Skara doesn't yet realise that jumping out is bad. But I do feel that the whole thing has landed on River's court - she is the bad girl, she is the aggressor, she is a nasty dog. Or is that me taking it "the wrong way"? Perhaps he was just meaning Skara jumping out.....but given that he didn't see what happened, I doubt it. Actually, the only person who saw it all was me.
In thinking this through, I began to think about it more deeply (one of the hazards of working alone) and how things are differently perceived by different people. The owners of those two dogs are first time dog owners - and the person I was talking to has the sweetest, gentlest little bitch you could ever meet - what a gloriously easy dog to have for your fist one. But it is the difficult dogs that teach you the most - Sisko was my teacher - I guess, in hindsight, he wasn't really difficult, it was just that he and I never really gelled, and he came with a few behavioural issues that I wouldn't bat an eyelid at nowadays!
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| Bless him, he wasn't really a bad dog! |
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| Sisko was a true thief at any opportunity |
I keep thinking about what I could have done differently, and really haven't come to a conclusion. I could have shut the door on Talulah and River and let Skara play - but that would send too strong a message to Skara that jumping out was a good thing - you get a game and make a new friend.
As a post script, the day after this incident I was out walking my lot when I saw the off-lead dog with its people coming in our direction. I took mine off the track a few metres and asked them to sit and wait (yes, treats were involved) which they did. And I was proud of them for that.
Many people never blame their own dog. They should have called their own dog back when it approached your car. I don't know how big the dog was, but it could have jumped in. I see 2 people whose dog is not well behaved, not thinking of consequences and allowing their dog to approach an open car containing dogs and not recalling their dog (or being unable to). Then blaming you for the consequences.
ReplyDeleteWe have a livery at the yard who had 2 elderly labs and used to leave the tailgate like you did. Another livery had a rude young black lab who jumped in one day. Thankfully the 2 old ladies ignored him and he jumped out but it could have been nasty.
We each have a responsibility with regard to our pets, usually the other people think 100% of the responsibility lies with the other person not them, that their dog is perfect...... Unfortunately the responsible person has to be extra responsible to take into account the behavior of the unresponsible people's dog and the consequences of their dog acting as a dog (to people who think the dog is a little person). You could put a grill across the tail gate to prevent jumping out.
I wonder if they'd been in the pen if the other dog would have run up and barked or run up and jumped in.
I have similar problems with ignorant horse owners with rude /badly trained horses they expect to behave as robots and my well trained horse who expresses himself as a horse. I just try to keep him away from everyone else.
Thanks for your response - you are right, so many people will accept no blame. In defence of the others - they wouldn't have seen my car where it was, unless they knew I was there already (which is very possible), so wouldn't think of it as being a problem that she wandered a few metres away.
DeleteI doubt the dog would have jumped in - River is very territorial and would have put up enough of a rumpus to put anyone off but an idiot.
My dogs are no angels, and they are not perfectly trained - and I accept that part of the "blame" must lay with me.
I think my main question is if blame should be laid on anyone, or if blame should be shared. I choose either way - although I can chastise myself enough to entirely blame myself and my dogs - should multiple dog owners be more responsible? Yes, I think so. We have to be.
I had done what I thought was enough to keep my dogs safe and out of trouble - but I didn't foresee Skara jumping out. Trouble is, these things often happen so fast - like most things of this ilk.
I don't wish to lay blame - I suppose I am defending my dogs a bit, but the point of it all is in our perception and understanding of situations like this, and I guess I am inviting comment and opinion as an exploration of my own thoughts
Aggression is, how people often see these kind of situations. But the word also carries with it the meaning us humans attach to it, of coming forth out of something evil, something bad and absolutely no-no. It's against that part of the meaning we react and feel responsible or shamed. But in the animal world, aggression is just something kept in the behavioral toolkit, something that can put to use when needed. It is never evil.
ReplyDeleteWhen River choose aggression, it was in response to the situation as you say. Because the other dog was not hurt, I guess she or he must have kept as still as possible, which is a calming signal, which in turn was picked up by River, and therefore River quickly released. And that is pretty well done by all dogs involved.
It is unfortunate incidents like this happen, but at the same time impossible to avoid completely. How they will cope in these situations we don't know until it happens. Considering the outcome and how River just delivered the message and left it at that, you don't have a lot to worry about.
With that said, I know you are beating yourself up over it, I would too. But that's good, it makes us re-think some of the things we do and be better at preventing situations like this to occur again. Still, I hope you don't worry too much, because your girls handled it well.
I thought writing about this would clarify it in my mind - but it hasn't!! I am not so much beating myself up about it rather than replaying the scene (or is it the same thing?!) to glean as much information as I can in order to avoid a repeat - although exact repeats don't often come about for this kind of scenario. And with River, I am not even sure if it was aggression rather than a defence of her family. Gosh, they are so complicated in their emotions and communications - but so many people consider them as just "animals" with no independent thought, no emotions - just automated and robotic toys. And when you have several of them, their family bonds are remarkable. And each time you add someone else to the family, the dynamics change again and so a whole new learning curve presents itself - even though you think you know your dogs they suddenly are showing you another aspect of themselves.
ReplyDeleteBut yes - essentially I am going over this to try to prevent a repeat - as I am aware that public perception is different to that of you or me. Or perhaps when it is your dog that has been "beaten up", you immediately assume the other dog is the aggressor - but it just isn't as simple as that!
The one thing I do know is that I need to work on the stay command for all of them - indeed need to brush up on ALL training as a group, as well as individual. Sadly, we all become complacent over time, and events like this do give us the impetus we need to re-look at what we do and how we do it.
Essentially I would like to own my own island and kick everyone else off so that me and my dogs can just live like "savages"!!!!!