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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Saying goodbye to the perfect dog.... no tissues needed

This isn't about the death of a pet. Mine are all healthy and happy, thank goodness.   This is about the ideal of the perfect dog.  Why this belongs here is even though first timers and probably even veterans with deaf dogs all have that idea in mind of how our deaf dog/puppy is going to be.  And hey, this isn't just for those of us with dogs with special needs.

Something smells special.

Everyone has an idea of their perfect dog, whether it's a fantastical memory of their first dog or just that anticipation of all the things your dog is going to be and do.  There's nothing wrong with this but then we're faced with the reality of the dog/puppy we have.

This doesn't have anything to do with there being something wrong with the dog though that can be the case.  It has more to do with the fact that all dogs are different, even dogs of the same breed.  Dogs of the same breed are going to have general similar traits like herding instinct or retrieving instinct or tenacity, but within those traits are individuals.

 Havoc

 Rogue

Steel

What do these three puppies have in common?   They are the three dogs that we got as puppies.  Havoc was our first and we got Steel 12 years later.   In addition to realizing how little we remembered about raising a puppy, we had gotten Steel to be an apprentice to Havoc our strong leader dog who was instrumental in helping us rehab unstable dogs with behavior problems.   Big shoes for a little puppy to fill.  Steel is really good with the foster dogs we've had, however, not in the same way Havoc was.  We had to say goodbye to our version of a blue merle aussie Havoc and work with Steel, the dog we had.

Master and apprentice

When Rogue came along, we knew she'd be deaf.  We knew she'd be a challenge but she was a puppy and we knew a lot more about puppies than we did when we first got Havoc.  We set about to train Rogue just like we trained Steel.  After all, we trained Steel with hand signs so that was no big difference.  Rogue was a confident girl, like Steel so how much harder could it be?  And we learned again.  Rogue was confident but sensitive.  You could storm off frustrated by Steel and he wouldn't care.  You could look funny at Rogue and she'd shut down.  Goodbye deaf Steel.  Hello, baby Rogue.

Stick with me, Kid.  You'll do fine.

And this doesn't just apply to puppies.   We do a lot of shaping training and poor Ruby, who had come from a home that had scolded her for everything they didn't want her to do without telling her what they DID want her to do, just wasn't comfortable with shaping.  She was afraid to offer behaviors because she'd been punished for them in the past.  So, again, we adjusted.

The important thing is to realize what dog you have and not to force them into trying to be something they either aren't yet or just can't be.  Just because this dog is the same breed and even from the same breeder as your last one, they can still have some significant differences.   I mean, how much are you like your siblings?

So we have three Aussies we train slightly differently to account for their personalities and Rogue's deafness.  Now that Steel is an adult, he's really starting to step up in the role we hoped for him.  Havoc's management style was follow me, I'm the leader.  Steel is more follow me because I'm fun.  Like Havoc, Steel makes new dogs in our home feel welcome.  He just does it in his own way.


Relax, I've got this. 


Having fun yet?

And our dogs change.  I had all but given up on Rogue as a therapy dog.  It seemed like she was just not willing to settle down and was constantly barking at other dogs but then I realized that she stares at other dogs and if she doesn't like the way they look back, she barks so I don't let her see other dogs long enough to stare at them.  As for settling down, we were at a Pet Expo for 8 hour and other than a couple of crate breaks when she was looking a little overwhelmed, she was fabulous.  We've been working her default down so that every time I stopped, she laid down.  I had also worked her on her chair and in both places, she accepted and encouraged people to pet her.  She still jumped on a couple of kids (sigh) but that is the closest I've seen her to meeting Canine Good Citizen requirements since she's come to live with us.   Therapy dog is certainly within reach once she turns two.

So,deaf or not, keep in mind, the dog you have may not be the dog you expected but that doesn't make them inferior, just different.   And those differences might just be amazing.

Now, if only we can get past mud season...