Walter is a 3-year-old Mastiff that has been severely abused. He really only trusts his Mom who rescued him. Who can blame him? He especially freaks out around men. This is common because men square off to and make eye contact with dogs and this a canine challenge. Women typically don’t do that.
I wish I had video of the whole session. When I first walked up, Mom had him on a leash and he barked and growled to let me know to not come any closer. I had Mom put the Traffic Lead on him and for the next several minutes it was like trying to hold onto a bear. Strong does not effectively describe Walter. I’m 300 lbs and he is 200 lbs, but he has four legs on the ground, and I only have two. He wore me out fast.
After doing this for a while, I know that few people will even work with a dog like Walter, and if they do, they will attempt to use traditional talk and treat training and do things like try to get him to sit. That is wholly ineffective to a dog like Walter. He is not aggressive, he is reactive. He does not want anyone in his space because if they are not in his space, they cannot hurt him. Mom has bonded with him and over time with consistency he does not see her as a threat, but he also does not see her as his leader. She provides him with food, water, space, toys and attention, so she is a provider. As long as he has her, he has no natural need to let any other humans in his space. Like 97% of all dogs, he does not have an aggressive bone in his body. The problem is that in our society dogs are on leads or confined in spaces, so their number one survival instinct is not available to them, and that is distance which is gained through running away. How would we feel if we were already terrified and when you attempted to get away you realized you were tied to something or in a room you could not escape? Being cornered is both a state of mind and a physical reality. That is the position that a domestic dog is in. Like people, some dogs are super calm and relaxed, some are super reactive, but most fall somewhere in the middle on a scale of 1-1000. A dog can only be stable in a human world when they are conditioned to regard their human instead of making their own decisions based on their instincts. If you lunge at a dog that is leashed by a human, most will back down and attempt to get away. The best way to survive, whenever possible, is to retreat from aggression.
My role when it comes to working with a dog that has issues is twofold. First, determine if the dog is aggressive or just reactive. Figure out if the dog can be healed to the point where it is not dangerous to other people or animals. Then advise the people if I believe they can keep the dog, other people, and animals safe as they heal. I pressure test all dogs I work with, especially new rescues to determine if they may turn aggressive given the most common situations that can provoke aggression in even well-balanced dogs. If I already have knowledge that the dog is reactive or aggressive, the clock is ticking. It can be life or death for the dog and in some cases another person or animal.
Walter is like Lenny is Of Mice & Men. He would not hurt you on purpose but may kill you by accident. Probably not with a bite, but by taking you out if you are in between him and getting away from what he is trying to avoid.
If a dog has a bite history or it makes the owners feel more comfortable, I will have them muzzle the dog. I know this sounds crazy, but I am not afraid of getting bit. The problem is that if I do get bit to the point where I require professional medical care it can cost the dog their life.
If the dog does not have a bite history and the client is OK with it, I prefer not to have the dog muzzled. It’s not natural and inhibits me from experiencing the dog as they really are. Like I said, most dogs are on a sliding scale of 1-1000. When I arrive at a client’s home and walk in, most dogs feel the need to bark at me because I refuse to make eye contact with them. The more they bark, the more I ignore them. There are only two responses, and both put the dog in control. The first is if I look at them, I will probably be standing still. They see this as me giving into their challenge. If I advance and they run, I am pursuing them and that puts them in charge. Then something interesting happens. I have the client put the Immediate Correction Lead on the dog and hand me the end and I walk away. The barking stops because I now have physical control over them, and the barking has been ineffective. The dog resists the leash and I keep constant tension on it as I ignore them. Some dogs really flip out rolling around like alligators and going bonkers, screeching like I am beating them, even though I am not doing anything to harm them. When they stop for a split second and realize that I have not changed anything I am doing in reaction to them, it kind of sinks in and they take that first step towards me. Everybody acts tough at a distance, both dogs and men. But when I take physical control and remain calm, consistent, and non-emotional, they recognize it for what it is …. leadership. They don’t need to like me, much less love me. What they need to do is realize, and they do, that no matter what they do I will remain steadfast and in control. They learn to focus on my movement and see that I will not do anything to hurt them regardless of their behavior so why go through all that for nothing. This is submission which simply means to be brought under control. I’m not the guy who comes in and tries to pin the dog to the ground to show that I am dominant. Just the opposite. The dog knows I am dominant because I refuse to use any effort to get their attention. If you don’t want a dog or person to see you like any other person, don’t act like any other person. My confidence with dogs and men comes from the Holy Spirit. I am who he says I am.
Back to Walter. He had never faced anyone that did not react to his attempts to keep them away. After all he is huge, scary, and loud. The last two descriptors are based on who he has to be in order to not be hurt again at the hands of a human. His Mom gave me physical control over him and by not doing anything to hurt him I showed him that anyone his Mom was OK with he could be OK with. Whether you are a dog or a person in recovery, it takes time, consistency, and concerted effort to learn to trust, but it has to start with one person. When you can trust one person, it removes your need to run away because they will stand with you.
Walter’s Mom has 11 dogs, and I am going back to work with Walter and another dog that I was assured will not try to get away but will instead attack me. That is the difference between reactivity and aggression. Don’t worry he will be wearing a muzzle, but as I can assure you from experience muzzles can and do come off at the worst times. I am dedicated to doing what I can to heal every dog and human that I have access too.