(no subject)
(note: all mention of canines refers to human-dogs and puppy play, unless termed as bio-dog, which means actual canines)
excerpt from the rough draft of "A Good Dog" from the 'Pound Puppies' chapter, which is my book in the works:
We all know a picture of a pound puppy when we see one. Eyes filled with a lack of hope, glazed over in numbness, or filled with a terrified mania and rage that goes beyond description. Their actions say things like 'I hurt', 'Don't touch me!', 'I'm sorry', or simply 'Why me?'. One can not explain to a pound puppy that they're stuck in that cage because someone out there was cruel to them, hurt them, treated them as an object, and then abandoned them. Humans are no different, but humans walk around with this hurt everyday, many incapable of expressing it due to how society teaches us to cope with our emotions.
There's a joke that is shared by nearly all those in the dog care business, from groomers to vets to kennel workers alike. The joke is usually unspoken, but instead a knowing smile when we meet one another's own dogs. Because, more often than not, it is we that choose the 'worst' of the kennels, the 'monsters', the 'death row' dogs.
That being said, it is not a handler's job to make a pup rehabilitate. It is a handler's job to be patient, loving, and capable of as much tolerance as is healthy. The moment a pup shows that they can not or will not improve their own health via any healthy means necessary, it is time for the handler to let the pup go. You can not help someone if you're hurting yourself in the process. The same goes for any pup trying to help their handler heal.
Pound puppies are a section unto themselves, though this entire book is very much about one. Between being a pound puppy myself and working with human and bio pound puppies daily, I can say that results will often be painfully slow, but when they come not only do they come in waves, but the experience is amazingly rewarding.
There will be times where you won't know what to say, and more times that you just shouldn't say anything. The later is usually far more difficult than the former. Pups need to vent, spill, and for you to just be there to hear it. Sometimes the best thing is simply an unfaltering repetition of that they are, point blank, a good dog. They don't have to believe you or even register it at the time, but they hear you. And eventually, with that unwavering response, they'll come around. It'll just be on their own time, and that's something you'll just have to accept.
It took Ian an excess of three years (from our becoming friends offline, onward) and counting to help me with my recovery and rehabilitation, and while it gets better with everyday, there are still bumps. There will always be bumps.
Things to remember with your pound pup:
Retrain vs. Rehabilitate:
The word 'retrain' should not even be part of your vocabulary. The reason for this is because in all likelyhood you should be acting as if your dog has not even been properly trained yet. The 'training' they have experienced previously, be it by life itself, parents, former lovers, or actual former owners or masters, is one of the reasons they are today. That training was part of the problem. Therefore, you are rehabilitating. You are un-training negative behaviors, as well as training new, positive ones.
Let's say your pup shows a behavior that you know is unhealthy and needs to be modified. Waving your finger at them and telling them 'no, bad pup' will do far more damage than good, even if they already know this is improper behavior. Improper behavior often repeats itself because it is a habit. It is a habit because the pup has learned to repeat it, either to cope with stresses or because someone else taught them to.
excerpt from the rough draft of "A Good Dog" from the 'Pound Puppies' chapter, which is my book in the works:
We all know a picture of a pound puppy when we see one. Eyes filled with a lack of hope, glazed over in numbness, or filled with a terrified mania and rage that goes beyond description. Their actions say things like 'I hurt', 'Don't touch me!', 'I'm sorry', or simply 'Why me?'. One can not explain to a pound puppy that they're stuck in that cage because someone out there was cruel to them, hurt them, treated them as an object, and then abandoned them. Humans are no different, but humans walk around with this hurt everyday, many incapable of expressing it due to how society teaches us to cope with our emotions.
There's a joke that is shared by nearly all those in the dog care business, from groomers to vets to kennel workers alike. The joke is usually unspoken, but instead a knowing smile when we meet one another's own dogs. Because, more often than not, it is we that choose the 'worst' of the kennels, the 'monsters', the 'death row' dogs.
That being said, it is not a handler's job to make a pup rehabilitate. It is a handler's job to be patient, loving, and capable of as much tolerance as is healthy. The moment a pup shows that they can not or will not improve their own health via any healthy means necessary, it is time for the handler to let the pup go. You can not help someone if you're hurting yourself in the process. The same goes for any pup trying to help their handler heal.
Pound puppies are a section unto themselves, though this entire book is very much about one. Between being a pound puppy myself and working with human and bio pound puppies daily, I can say that results will often be painfully slow, but when they come not only do they come in waves, but the experience is amazingly rewarding.
There will be times where you won't know what to say, and more times that you just shouldn't say anything. The later is usually far more difficult than the former. Pups need to vent, spill, and for you to just be there to hear it. Sometimes the best thing is simply an unfaltering repetition of that they are, point blank, a good dog. They don't have to believe you or even register it at the time, but they hear you. And eventually, with that unwavering response, they'll come around. It'll just be on their own time, and that's something you'll just have to accept.
It took Ian an excess of three years (from our becoming friends offline, onward) and counting to help me with my recovery and rehabilitation, and while it gets better with everyday, there are still bumps. There will always be bumps.
Things to remember with your pound pup:
Retrain vs. Rehabilitate:
The word 'retrain' should not even be part of your vocabulary. The reason for this is because in all likelyhood you should be acting as if your dog has not even been properly trained yet. The 'training' they have experienced previously, be it by life itself, parents, former lovers, or actual former owners or masters, is one of the reasons they are today. That training was part of the problem. Therefore, you are rehabilitating. You are un-training negative behaviors, as well as training new, positive ones.
Let's say your pup shows a behavior that you know is unhealthy and needs to be modified. Waving your finger at them and telling them 'no, bad pup' will do far more damage than good, even if they already know this is improper behavior. Improper behavior often repeats itself because it is a habit. It is a habit because the pup has learned to repeat it, either to cope with stresses or because someone else taught them to.