THE TOLERANT DOG

Over the past six weeks, I have worked with a number of families with dogs who have finally put down their paws and said “Enough!  I don’t like that anymore.”  In each case, the families were astounded that their previously kind and calm dog snapped.  I hear things like “he always let the kids do that before” and “he never minded when I did that until now”.  And in every single case, these dogs have been asked to tolerate things that I would not expect the dog to like.

In one case, the dog snarled at a child in the home when the child bounced off the couch, on to a foot stool, and the over the dog, and finally onto the chair beside him.  It turned out that this bouncing game had been going on with the child for an extended period of time and the dog had not protested the first ten or eleven times she did this.  The parents were astounded when the dog finally snarled!  I asked the parents if they wanted their child to behave this way in the house.  “No” they admitted, but they were still upset that the dog had reacted the way that he had.

This interaction is calm right now; the dog obviously understands that he should not chase the children. This dog is very tolerant! As long as dad keeps track of the excitement level and intervenes before things get out of hand, this is likely quite…

This interaction is calm right now; the dog obviously understands that he should not chase the children. This dog is very tolerant! As long as dad keeps track of the excitement level and intervenes before things get out of hand, this is likely quite a safe situation.

Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_stockbroker’>stockbroker / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

I think back to my own childhood and the rules we lived by.  Running and bouncing in the house was not allowed.  Tormenting animals meant that we would get hurt and if we were scratched, bitten or knocked over by the dog, the first question was “what did you do to the dog?”  I am constantly amazed that the attitude has shifted from “what did you do” to “why did the dog respond”.  It seems that in the face of tolerant dogs, people have forgotten that some of the time, the behaviour we see in dogs is the result not of a flaw in the dog, but of what we ask the dog to put up with.

When you live with a tolerant dog, you can come to forget that the dog has very real feelings about what happens to him.  One of the things that I constantly hear is how important having animals in our lives is because it teaches us empathy and to consider the needs of others.  When we live with tolerant dogs, we may actually learn that we can push harder than we should because these dogs will put up with behaviour that we should not expect them to put up with.

I regularly see tolerant dogs being asked to put up with highly aroused children or dogs racing around, with the expectation that the dog in question will remain calm and collected while this is happening.  If I had a nickel for every student who said to me that they arrive in the dog park only to have their dog lose his marbles I would be moderately wealthy.  I often wonder if folks remember being six and arriving at the park and remaining calm and relaxed while watching the other children running around and playing tag!

Although I require my dogs to show self control before letting them off leash to play with other dogs, I don’t expect that they would do so without help from me.  Self control is a learned behaviour, not a naturally existing one.  If you want your dog to exhibit self control you need to keep in mind two things; first-what have you taught him about self control, and second-how much excitement is he being exposed to while being asked to exhibit this self control.

If you take your dog to the dog park, and you are 100 meters away from the dogs who are playing and your dog spies the active exciting play, it is reasonable that most dogs can disengage from the fun they see and attend to you, even if they haven’t had much training.  Stand and wait till you get spontaneous attention, and then take your dog off leash and join the fun!  You will be teaching your dog that self control is the key to getting to participate in the fun.  Take that same dog into the middle of the game and hope for that same level of tolerance, and you are going to find that you have a highly excited monster on your hands.  Just don’t!  You can eventually do that if you practice diligently and increase the difficulty very slowly, but it isn’t something that will just happen

This dog is obviously interested in what is happening on this side of the fence, but he is not going to get into trouble by being asked to tolerate behaviour towards him that is inappropriate!

This dog is obviously interested in what is happening on this side of the fence, but he is not going to get into trouble by being asked to tolerate behaviour towards him that is inappropriate!

Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_irinafuks’>irinafuks / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

This lesson applies to racing children too.  For the most part, I don’t want my dogs to run with kids.  I have large physical dogs who think nothing of hip checking one another, or grabbing each other by the neck while they run and race.  When there are children running around, I put my dogs in their crates, or if I have taught them to, I ask them to lie down and stay.  They are tolerant, but it is not worth the risk to the children to expect that they would not hip check a child with whom they were running.  It would most likely be a completely benign event, but 50kg of running dog can flatten a toddler or even a primary school aged child.  That is not fun for anyone.  And if the child charged my dog, I would not be surprised if my dog grabbed the child; why wouldn’t he?  Charging is a rude and dangerous behaviour, and my dog doesn’t want or need to get hurt; he will quite likely protect himself.  If I have put my dog in a down stay while children run, then I have made an agreement with my dog that I will prevent children from disturbing him and I am very strict about how close I allow play to come to my dogs.

It should be remembered tolerant tiny dogs can easily get in trouble too!  I have seen dogs tripped upon, stepped on and inadvertently kicked when they are walked through crowds.  When they are resting, people often pick them up resulting in dogs who learn never tot relax in the presence of people they don’t know and trust.  Tiny dogs are often not terribly tolerant in part because they never get a chance to be.  You can help these dogs by being aware of what they are doing, and what happens to them.

This sort of interaction can make it hard for a tiny dog to remain tolerant. The dog doesn’t have a choice about interacting because he is being held with all four feet off the ground and he is really being good about the fact that he is being dangl…

This sort of interaction can make it hard for a tiny dog to remain tolerant. The dog doesn’t have a choice about interacting because he is being held with all four feet off the ground and he is really being good about the fact that he is being dangled.

Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_morganka’>morganka / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Dog bites are rare, but they do happen.  One of the things we can do to help prevent dog bites is to ensure that the people around our dogs treat our dogs with respect and dignity.  We can set and enforce boundaries with those who interact with our dogs and help our dogs to move through the world in peace.  When a dog is tolerant, he will often put up with things that he should not have to, but we can help.  When I am in public with my dogs I am really clear about the things that I allow to happen to them.  I don’t let strangers just touch them, or scare them or get in their space.  I don’t allow children to play with my dogs like they are inanimate toys.  My dogs are really tolerant of a wide variety of bad behaviour in humans, but I do my very best to help my dogs stay tolerant by not making them put up with bad behaviour towards them.  I would encourage everyone to do the same.

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