I've been trying to figure out why Ziggy was so well behaved with my friends who visited, and I think maybe there are some factors:
1. There were two of them. Sometimes that seems to help.
2. There were really three of them. Their dog was quite good and not usually too interested in shenanigans.
3. She hadn't been out on a walk in days. Limiting the stressors makes a big difference in her behavior.
4. I took the lead on everything - if either dog started to cross a boundary or show disrespect to the other, I intervened. They wouldn't lay down for a long time because they don't trust each other, so I very carefully monitored their behavior and distract them if there was any indication that one of them was getting stressed. I kept my nervousness in check, and the friends helped with that.
5. He is in frail health. He has had organ transplants and his balance has gotten very bad of late, so he moves quite slowly and carefully to avoid falling. I think that despite being a jackass to me a whole lot of the time, and to most adults, that Ziggy could tell that she needed to be more gentle with him. Like she is with children and people she met at the nursing home. She slammed into the woman - the dogs were running and Ziggy didn't like how the other dog was grabbing her leg, so she swerved and slammed right into the woman, which disrupted the "game" she didn't like. The woman is very fit and active and could take it but marveled at how much dog Ziggy is, how solid a projectile. Yep.
Again I think: if Ziggy could calm herself down and stop being so overreactive, she could be a very good dog for people with difficulties, physical or emotional. She has a confidence and understanding with some people (not with me - we tried to walk yesterday and while she didn't jerk, she wasn't good about not pulling). There's just something about Ziggy that is special. Someday I could see her being the kind of dog who wants to listen to kids read - now she would just kiss them too much. Because of my background, I could see her in court with kids who have been abused or neglected, comforting them and helping them feel protected.
I don't know what all Ziggy can do, and I won't until we get her behavior really under control. One perfect visit gives me hope but doesn't fool me - I've seen her at her worst and I know she can melt down and go there again.
But just to watch her, so happy to sit calmly between the two of them - what dog is this? She could barely be bothered to give me the time of day, which I'm fine with. Ziggy knows I'm boss and she figures out how everybody else fits into the pecking order, and she was very submissive (for her) with my friends. She's not the kind of dog to be passive or how most people think of submissive, but for her to not jump and to sit calmly, that's very submissive for her. She sought them out for affection and expressed gratitude to them. Of course my friends accused me of never petting her, that the poor dog just needs some love. Sometimes Ziggy is very snuggly and loving, but a lot of the time she's off doing her own thing. I asked them if her personality is like the Catahoula they used to have - a very sweet dog I liked quite a lot - and he said oh no, that their Catahoula was much more needy, but that's not all of it. Camille was afraid of children and other dogs and had some other quirks. Bless my friends for always adopting from a shelter, and you never know what issues a dog will have from their past. But no matter what Ziggy went through, she's a very confident dog which is a different kettle of fish. She is very cat-like in her dismissiveness of me; she usually seems to like me quite a bit and we have some good times, but she would have left me for my friends in a heartbeat. She doesn't like most people that much, but the ones she does - she is ready to leave me for without a second thought. She adored The Young Man, and whenever he would leave she would despondently sob, because she so wanted to go with him.
She's a funny one, this Catahooligan. Brash and bold, good-natured but puts up with no shit.
I want to build upon this really excellent visit but I'm not sure how best to. Most of my friends' dogs have issues at least as bad as Ziggy; one has a dog that latches on to other dogs - Ziggy would flip out if he did that to her. Another has two dogs that cannot be in the same room because they so aggressively attack each other. Another has two dogs who are a demolition force. I need more friends with dogs. That was actually what somebody suggested - that instead of getting a second dog, that I date somebody with a dog. In theory that could be good.
After seeing how hard Ziggy slept after this visit, I think that she doesn't need another dog at least right now, and because if my friend's dog who ran away is ever found I would take him, and I sure don't need three dogs. She just needs a good, active social life.
OH, and she has taken to ignoring the yappie dog next door. Sometimes she'll still run with it and greet it, but a lot of the time she's just really over it and turns her back and walks away. That's a huge calming signal and sign of maturity and I'm very proud of her. She's learning to step away from stress.
I think that Black Dog down the street was very helpful. While they only interacted less than ten times, it was very instructive because he was very explicit in his signals, and the fence allowed him to do that. Ziggy's a smart cookie and she learned.
Now, I don't want to get too excited because one good visit does not a new dog create. But every time Ziggy has a good interaction with a dog, we are rewiring the bad ones. And she does trust me to intervene - when the other dog would find a toy (which he destroys) and I took it from him, she would watch approvingly. When he was chasing her in a way she found threatening, she looked to me to intervene and I did. And that time when that dog chased us from the porch, Ziggy kept her shit together because I was actively intervening, physically preventing the other dog from getting to her, telling the other person what to do, etc. Maybe her trusting me as her pack leader is a big step in reducing her anxiety about new situations.
I'll never fully understand the ways of Ziggy Stardust's mind. But that is ok so long as we are making positive progress.
1. There were two of them. Sometimes that seems to help.
2. There were really three of them. Their dog was quite good and not usually too interested in shenanigans.
3. She hadn't been out on a walk in days. Limiting the stressors makes a big difference in her behavior.
4. I took the lead on everything - if either dog started to cross a boundary or show disrespect to the other, I intervened. They wouldn't lay down for a long time because they don't trust each other, so I very carefully monitored their behavior and distract them if there was any indication that one of them was getting stressed. I kept my nervousness in check, and the friends helped with that.
5. He is in frail health. He has had organ transplants and his balance has gotten very bad of late, so he moves quite slowly and carefully to avoid falling. I think that despite being a jackass to me a whole lot of the time, and to most adults, that Ziggy could tell that she needed to be more gentle with him. Like she is with children and people she met at the nursing home. She slammed into the woman - the dogs were running and Ziggy didn't like how the other dog was grabbing her leg, so she swerved and slammed right into the woman, which disrupted the "game" she didn't like. The woman is very fit and active and could take it but marveled at how much dog Ziggy is, how solid a projectile. Yep.
Again I think: if Ziggy could calm herself down and stop being so overreactive, she could be a very good dog for people with difficulties, physical or emotional. She has a confidence and understanding with some people (not with me - we tried to walk yesterday and while she didn't jerk, she wasn't good about not pulling). There's just something about Ziggy that is special. Someday I could see her being the kind of dog who wants to listen to kids read - now she would just kiss them too much. Because of my background, I could see her in court with kids who have been abused or neglected, comforting them and helping them feel protected.
I don't know what all Ziggy can do, and I won't until we get her behavior really under control. One perfect visit gives me hope but doesn't fool me - I've seen her at her worst and I know she can melt down and go there again.
But just to watch her, so happy to sit calmly between the two of them - what dog is this? She could barely be bothered to give me the time of day, which I'm fine with. Ziggy knows I'm boss and she figures out how everybody else fits into the pecking order, and she was very submissive (for her) with my friends. She's not the kind of dog to be passive or how most people think of submissive, but for her to not jump and to sit calmly, that's very submissive for her. She sought them out for affection and expressed gratitude to them. Of course my friends accused me of never petting her, that the poor dog just needs some love. Sometimes Ziggy is very snuggly and loving, but a lot of the time she's off doing her own thing. I asked them if her personality is like the Catahoula they used to have - a very sweet dog I liked quite a lot - and he said oh no, that their Catahoula was much more needy, but that's not all of it. Camille was afraid of children and other dogs and had some other quirks. Bless my friends for always adopting from a shelter, and you never know what issues a dog will have from their past. But no matter what Ziggy went through, she's a very confident dog which is a different kettle of fish. She is very cat-like in her dismissiveness of me; she usually seems to like me quite a bit and we have some good times, but she would have left me for my friends in a heartbeat. She doesn't like most people that much, but the ones she does - she is ready to leave me for without a second thought. She adored The Young Man, and whenever he would leave she would despondently sob, because she so wanted to go with him.
She's a funny one, this Catahooligan. Brash and bold, good-natured but puts up with no shit.
I want to build upon this really excellent visit but I'm not sure how best to. Most of my friends' dogs have issues at least as bad as Ziggy; one has a dog that latches on to other dogs - Ziggy would flip out if he did that to her. Another has two dogs that cannot be in the same room because they so aggressively attack each other. Another has two dogs who are a demolition force. I need more friends with dogs. That was actually what somebody suggested - that instead of getting a second dog, that I date somebody with a dog. In theory that could be good.
After seeing how hard Ziggy slept after this visit, I think that she doesn't need another dog at least right now, and because if my friend's dog who ran away is ever found I would take him, and I sure don't need three dogs. She just needs a good, active social life.
OH, and she has taken to ignoring the yappie dog next door. Sometimes she'll still run with it and greet it, but a lot of the time she's just really over it and turns her back and walks away. That's a huge calming signal and sign of maturity and I'm very proud of her. She's learning to step away from stress.
I think that Black Dog down the street was very helpful. While they only interacted less than ten times, it was very instructive because he was very explicit in his signals, and the fence allowed him to do that. Ziggy's a smart cookie and she learned.
Now, I don't want to get too excited because one good visit does not a new dog create. But every time Ziggy has a good interaction with a dog, we are rewiring the bad ones. And she does trust me to intervene - when the other dog would find a toy (which he destroys) and I took it from him, she would watch approvingly. When he was chasing her in a way she found threatening, she looked to me to intervene and I did. And that time when that dog chased us from the porch, Ziggy kept her shit together because I was actively intervening, physically preventing the other dog from getting to her, telling the other person what to do, etc. Maybe her trusting me as her pack leader is a big step in reducing her anxiety about new situations.
I'll never fully understand the ways of Ziggy Stardust's mind. But that is ok so long as we are making positive progress.
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