You see, the Chi had been attacked, while sleeping, by another dog in the household. This was the third incident of non-instigated attack by the unstable, insecure, much larger dog. One need not be prescient to calculate that another attack will occur, and the fat little sausage of a Chihuahua, with a banging case of heart disease and a chronic case of swamp mouth will not come out on top. Might not survive the next, indeed. Because the little guy turned blue frequently when handled, we took a lot of breaks while I cared for his wound, and decided to do a local anesthesia and staple his laceration, as I thought anesthesia might be terminal.
The counseling that happens in this situation has to take into account the interpersonal relationships of the dog owners as well. Everyone is sad, but someone, maybe everyone, really loves the dog that is attacking. Still, choosing to do nothing will not protect my broad little patient.
Obviously, not all dogs have these issues with interaction. Many households have multiple dogs that get on well together. I think the root of this begins when each dog is quite small, in the socialization stage previous to 12 weeks. A well socialized dog that begins its positive interactions in this stage and continues to have proper socialization through the stages of puppy hood and into adult hood will be more successful at interaction. Also, dogs that are raised to have clear boundaries and rules, with owners that are, in the mind of the dog, "in charge" are much more likely to accept new and different situations. By "in charge" I don't mean yelling a lot. At all, atall! Since dog minds understand the family or pack unit system, they have physical-mental behaviors that "click" in their brains, signifying the family members who are to be trusted with leadership. When you understand this motions, routines and their origin, if you use them, it is somewhat like pushing a "Best Pet Button". I spend a lot of time with my new puppy owners when they come to see me. Having a vaccination booster is a puff of time in the meeting. Mostly we work on furthering the security of their new pet by helping the owners to learn some of these physical-mental connections. I often enter a room with a puppy that is leaping, yapping, scattered, flustered, and leave that room with a puppy that is looking quietly up at the owner as if to say "Phew! Okay, then, what next? What do you want from me? That? Right then. Thank goodness someone around here is in charge." And there is no yelling, or fuss. The tools the owner now has, if taken home and used, translate to a quieter, more secure puppy each time I see them. "Go home" I say, "Read. A lot. Spend time asking yourself 'what behavior am I rewarding, what would I like him to do instead, and how much is he looking to me for decisions?'" A truly lovely pet is rarely the one that is made to run the family.
As my readers know, we introduced Julia to our pack in 2011. She was a humane seizure by the Humane Societies Officers from an awful situation, and then was adopted and returned to the pound multiple times before I brought her home for good. Oddly, even though her early socialization was likely not ideal, she reacted quickly and very well to my requests. Here is where the second major part of the "Happy Pet" equation comes in- Personality. Nature,demeanor, whatever you like to call it, some dogs are just set up to be easily guided and want very much to please. This helps. A lot.
Tucker accepted Julia with the usual easy going manner he has, but Julia did her part to establish the relationship to be a friendly, if very active, one. They play constantly outside in what I call the "Clash of the Titans" manner. This involves a lot of running, biting of ears, legs, and attempts at "capturing the flag" which is the scruff of the neck. The dog being scruffed will immediately take measures to avoid this. There is lots of battles fought on hind legs, then flopped over onto the ground. It goes on interminably. Eventually Tucker may get tired and stop trying very hard, at which point Julia will grab his tail and pull on it to irritate him into playing again. The growling and teeth etc. would be alarming, I think, to someone not acquainted with the sport of playing dogs. Once in a blue moon (okay, not even that often)there is a "it's all fun until someone puts and eye out" moment, and Tucker gets truly mad at Jules. This sounds very different. Postures change, and the vocalization is NOT a playful one. She immediately puts her chest on the ground, does not meet his eyes and waits a minute before apologizing profusely- coming in low and licking him on the chin. Eventually it is made up, and they start right back to it.
Jeez, that makes him look so old! My darling dog has gotten red and grey. Must be an Ohio thing.
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