And all these dogs are super fear-aggressive towards strangers as well. The vast, *vast*, majority of dogs a year old or less that we have come in for my shelter’s spay/neuter services are either borderline-traumatized fearful and shut down or they are trying to bite me for the crime of existing within 10 feet of them.
It is not ‘normal’ for a 4 month old shih-tzu puppy to be growling at me from 5 feet away.
It is not ‘normal’ for a 7 month old aussie to lunge for my face when I offered him some food.
It is not ‘normal’ for the 9 month old lab mix to be completely uncontrollable by the owners, up to and including grabbing their arms with his mouth when they tried to put him on the scale and literally knocking them over and dragging them away.
It is not ‘normal’ for the 6 month old golden to be cowering and urinating in fear.
This is a major issue that every level of veterinary and animal care professional is going to be dealing with for the next 15+ years. I sincerely believe that in a few more years, the rate of behavioural euthanasias is going to skyrocket and we’ll be seeing massive increases in incidences of dog bites.
@ all the people in the notes shrieking that because of the pandemic you couldn’t take your dog out: unless you were in one of the few places that had a truly extended lock down, most of this year you have been totally able to take your dog out and let it see the world. Socialization isn’t all about meeting and greeting- exposure is a big part of the program (and too often neglected, but I digress). But meeting “strangers” was not impossible. You probably have people and dogs in your life already you trust enough to meet your puppy at the end of a leash while you stand back. This is honestly who I want a new dog’s first experiences with “strangers” to be with anyway-no surprises because they’re not strangers to me.
It’s also not impossible to avoid separation anxiety when you work from home most of the time. People who work from home or stay home already schedule alone time so their dogs are OK when they do go out for a day.
There were always options. People were ignorant, and wound up with dogs that know them and only them, and the consequences are here. Ignorance isn’t a crime, but you need to own up to all your mistakes as an owner, even the ones you weren’t aware you were making. It’s how you grow as an owner and trainer.
Also it’s never too late to train! Yes some of you may have older dogs, but they just need a little more time, attention, and patience. There’s still hope to socialize them again and help them become the happy pups they were always meant to be. Just make sure to get good info from experienced people and trainers. In general don’t be afraid to ask for help, it’s been a rough year. But usually people are willing to provide help if they can tell you want better for your animal <3
Once the beast begins to calm down, the master feeds him scraps of meat to reward his for his behaviour. “The Beastmaster” starring Seani Love and Ron Beastly at Dreams of Spanking.
Me doing a little bit of free training with Wolfgang a few weeks back. He’s so fun to work with and he definitely enjoys the Leapin Lizards game!
Training is important for mental and physical stimulation and also can be a great management tool when the wolves get over-excited or over-aroused, which can escalate to mouthing and jumping up.
Wolfgang’s Leapin Lizards was used for exactly that, therefore giving him something else to do.
Interns can sometimes participate in free training under staff supervision during Medical, Enrichment and Training (MET) sessions where we go in with the animals and interact with them.
