Aggression vs. Intimidation

A lot of times I hear people say "Well he won't listen so I have to be boss in his life". And that seems to be where life goes south for the dog and family relationship.

Dogs read our minute movements. When frustrated does your face change? You bet it does! The slightest furrow of your brows may happen or maybe you raise an eyebrow. Dogs are aware and read our slightest movements.

For example, Eddie Munster, named for his slight underbite came into the rescue and now has a huge note on his cage "Growler: Fearful & Scared". I approach his door to his room and he starts barking and lunging. I back up, clear my mind, take a deep cleansing breath and he allows me to reach in and pet him. The entire time I never face him. I give him my side to tell him "I come in peace". While he then barks for more petting he is no longer growling. He is reading my signals just as he would another dog.

I don't use my voice to tell him "It's Okay". Instead I show him that It's okay. Once I pet him, then I start slowly talking. I could be telling him about the weather but I keep my voice light and airy. I keep talking the entire time once he's allowing touch. A lot of times people say I'm baby talking the dog, and That's quite possible.

I move onto Hershey's area which is next door to Eddie. I repeat the same process even though Hershey is friendly to me but I'm still in view of Eddie and I want him to understand that I once again mean no harm.

The lesson I've learned from doing this is even if I'm not interacting with that specific dog, they still watch and see how I am interacting with everyone else. Dogs read our bodies.

The other night while working with Spudz through his door a former adopter let her puppy down to rinsed play. Small dogs are Spudz' trigger and at 4 months old, the puppy was small. I don't normally use aversions but I felt it unfair to stress Spudz out with a loose small dog running past his door so I body blocked his sight. Puppy come near I'd stand in front of Spudz working on his focus. Spudz and I do this for about 30 minutes and every time he meets eye contact and waits for his treat. He excels at this. The reason I can stand in front of Spudz and body block? Months and months of working up to that.

So, next time you want your dog to do something, clear your mind, take a deep breath and remember that they read us better than any human can read us.