“Cor blimey, so you speak dog then??!”
When Hunter first arrived he was a growly, barky, lunging soul who was very unsure of many situations. He trusted nothing & no one.
No one could walk up to him for a fuss without him barking at them, confidently approaching them whilst doing so (not cowering away) he was ready to take on the world and would defend himself with all of his might.
Hunter went straight from zero to a hundred. He'd see a threat and within seconds he was ready to attack it.
No weighing it up. No thought process. Just straight: DONT LIKE THE LOOK OF THAT - MUST ATTACK IT.
A year later and I can't remember the last time he had a meltdown like that.
As part of his training over the past year we've done a lot of "nothing"
Just sitting together on a park bench. Lots of standing still when he has needed a moment to process a new situation. Lots of turning around & moving away BEFORE he felt the need to shout rather than during or after.
We've literally been out for an hour before and only got 2 minutes from home because he has needed to stand still & download his environment and I've always allowed that.
A couple of weeks ago we were out walking past a large, industrial carpark and one of the car alarms was going off. I spotted the tell-tale signs in him. He stiffened up, froze on the spot, I could tell from his body language that he was really spooked by this car alarm and he didn't want to walk past the carpark.
He looked at me and I had a nano-second to make a decision:
1) ignore his feelings / carry on walking, (perhaps even dragging him!) / watch him go into full meltdown mode / teach him that his feelings are ignored and that this is the only option he has
Or
2) Say, "OK, bud. You want to move away?? Come on then...." And turn around to walk back in the opposite direction.
I chose option 2 and something amazing happened. In that nano-second Hunter went from stiff, defensive, ready to attack mode and switched into happy, swishy tail, loose body, trotting away, looking up at me with his happy, relaxed face ..... In that nano-second, Hunter learnt that if he tells me when he is unsure of something then I will listen to him and I will get him out of there. He learnt that he doesn't need to attack everything he's unsure of. He learnt that he has another option and that he can just walk away but most importantly he learnt that I understood his communication.
A week or so later we say a guy with his children cycling their bikes towards up. This was fine, Hunter has no issue with that. They reached the fence, got off their bikes and lifted them up in the air to lift them over the fence - Hunter didn't like that and I had 2 options again with just a nano-second to make my decision. He looked at me for guidance (which I bloomin love!!) and I said, "OK, let's go" and he instantly relaxes and walks away with me. It's a beautiful, magical thing. It's a special "moment" between dog & human ..... He told me he didn't like the bikes in the air and not only did I understand what he was saying but I actually listened to his request.
I hear a lot of people saying things like "oh, come on, don't be silly, it's just a bike" (or insert any other object here!) and dragging their dog closer to the scary thing even though the dog is desperately telling the owner that they don't like it.
Hunter now communicates with me all of the time.
Previously, no one listened and so he learnt that the only way to be heard was to really, REALLY shout.
These days, Hunter knows that a little sign (usually a freeze and a head turn back to me) is enough ..... There's no need to shout when a whisper is enough.
If Hunter could speak he'd be so chuffed and would be saying "wow, you actually speak dog, then Human??!"
That's all he needs.
That's all he asks for.
Someone to understand him and listen to him.
Tracy
Hunters Foster Mum