Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Dog Behaviorist

I like animal but did not have the luxury to own one since I was little, mom and dad did not like animals at all, maximum tolerance I could have in the house were turtle, goldfish, rabbit.... living pets which do not demand a lot of personal care. After moving out as an adult, I had a cat named Brandy, now Brandy is living with my sister and nepthew in Hong Kong, still alive. Back then I was working and I knew I could not commit to a dog which involves a bigger portion of responsibility, a cat is easy, as long as there is food in the bowl and someone to empty the litter box, a cat is happy!

On the other hand, Samson takes a lot more work. A friend told me just to give Samson TLC and everything would be fine, this advice is very far from the truth. 100%of shelter dog have developed separation anxiety, based on the test of an animal behaviorist. (from one of the many books I read lately) Not all of them have problems so be abandoned, some owners move away, some owners get very ill, some owners simply could not spare the time with the dog anymore.... tons of reason, but a very large chance that the dog itself pose certain issues, it could be physical or emotional.

Samson has aggression issue, his actions could be labeled as dominance aggression / possession aggression / territorial aggression. He does not show his aggression to me, the maximum amount of aggression he showed was when I clean his paws from running around on soil / grassy area, he growls when I am cleaning him but did not bite me or showing teeth at me.

Samson also growls at Victor, especially when he is sleeping on my lap while I am reading, when Victor approaches toward me, Samson growls at Victor. Obviously Samson treats me as his possession, I belong to him at that moment on that chair, Victor is coming to get me away from him --- that would be Samson's thought process if I could have get into his mind.

First growls, Victor back off a step. I told Victor do not back off, stand firm and assertive, show Samson that you are the top dog in the household.

Victor steps forward toward me, Samson continues growling, I told Victor to give Samson a command, Samson froze for about 20 seconds then followed Victor's command to sit and stay.

There is no bad dogs, there are stronger dogs which needs stronger leadership; Samson is not the submissive one I ensure you that. But Victor made some mistakes along the way, he did not realize that. I told Victor do not play 'tug of war' with Samson, it encourages Samson's dominance instinct.

Sure enough Victor does not listen well, he played 'tug of war' with Samson when I wasn't watching. And every time if the phone ring or the computer calls, Victor left the playing scene with Samson successfully grab the toy in his jaw and run away. Samson starts to think I am stronger than this guy, I get to win in 'tug of war' all the times!

The wolf instinct in Samson urges him to challenge Victor's position, in order to move up in the packing order of the household. That is why and how it happened this morning, with the growling incident in the family room. I explained to Victor that you have to show Samson you are the top dog! You have to let Samson know there is no way he could challenge Victor's position in this house!

There is no bad dogs, Samson is a very strong dog emotionally and physically, just need stronger leadership to keep his aggression at bay. Victor voluntarily feeds Samson treats every now and then, it is a good move and Samson follows Victor to his office. In the wild, the top dog gets the food first, eat leisurely and finish the food, casually share the left-over with the sub-dominant dog in the pack.

Samson has to know he is the sub-dominant, he does not have to like it, he just needs to comply.

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