Marley is ball crazy. Loopy, nutso, out of his freakin' bean when there is a moving ball in his environment - I know this isn't good. He loves fetch though, and I really wanted to introduce him to Fetch Tug from Neil Sattin's Natural Dog Blog
I brought out the hoses that Neil recommends and while Marley was willing to fetch them (my dogs seem to find rubber an unnatural retrieval materials, so I have to ask them to "bring" rubber toys to me until they get over the smell/taste) even a mild, minor, barely there game of tug made him ballistic. The hoses were both shredded in one session and he was an airborne, bouncing, screeching, teeth gnashing beast, all 23 lbs of him - in my face.
Next day I tried the game again. This time no tugging, just fetching. It was ended fairly quickly when he made a full body launch that included my finger.
Next session we switched toys to a 12 inch rope tug, two of them. He was still vocalizing and leaping, and the game ended with a full body launch that involved half of my hand.
Session after that, bruised, but still game, because I'm sure there's going to be improvement somewhere along the line, we head out with the two rope tugs. After a few tosses, a young man helping out at the store next door started up a conversation over the fence. As he came around to the other side, I found myself mostly chatting with him while Marley was engaged in a full spirited, QUIET, non-bouncy, non-lunging very grounded game of fetch. With each return he released the tug and lay on the ground for the next toss.
The light bulb went off. Fetch is hugely stimulating for him. My voice and eye contact and general focus on him just put him over the top. The conversation redirected my focus and Marley was able to get in a fetch groove that felt good without my added stimulus.
We've had a few wonderful fetch games since then (I listen to the birds, or contemplate a new Yoga pose: Mountain Pose with Tug Toy) and today we threw a little tugging into it after he was tired and in a groove, which he quietly enjoyed.
It was awesome, and I am so grateful that he finally has a fetch game that feels good and doesn't overwhelm him.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thoughts on dog fighting
Marley and Stevie started fighting in January. With the exception of one time, it was always over space, and always in front of me. At first I thought they should work it out, but it quickly became obvious that that approach would result in injury or worse. Marley does not give in, even when Stevie repeatedly offers him opportunity to back away.
Interestingly Stevie is the one who was twice injured with significant punctures. Marley was sore, and his skin abraded, but Stevie never broke his skin even when thrashing him and holding him by the neck. He seemed frustrated, like he just wanted Marley to STOP. I also thought it seemed a lot like two kids thrashing each other.
We used the wheelbarrowing technique (from Leerburg.com) to split them up. The final (I hope) fight was in the yard, and I was alone. After contemplating a 2x8 (seriously), running into the house several times to get leashes and caribiners to tie them each to the fence, and finally deciding to go with a bottle of lime juice to avoid owner inflicted injury. It actually worked and kept them apart so we could make a safe transition to crates in the house.
The downside of the lime is that Stevie now won't play tug with me, but we're working on recovering from that.
I did have to juice them twice more at later dates to interrupt some posturing.
Neil Sattin and Kevin Behan both suggest looking at your home when dogs are fighting. What is going on among the humans? The dogs are our mirrors. After entertaining several possibilities, it occurred to me that their behavior was a fairly accurate mirror of my 11 and 13 year old daughters who have been struggling with space and privacy issues in just the past few months, and at times have gotten downright nasty with each other. They are otherwise best friends and have a very cooperative relationship.
Once we talked about this, the girls themselves suggested the dogs were mirroring their behavior. My older daughter said "she won't leave me alone and I just want to explode and make her stop!" Much to the delight of the younger one, she pointed out that Stevie must be her sister.
My house is peaceful. I will still not leave the dogs alone uncrated while we are not home for now, but it feels like we have an understanding of what has transpired, and my kids know that unspoken and unresolved feelings carry weight and have a bearing on ALL of us.
Interestingly Stevie is the one who was twice injured with significant punctures. Marley was sore, and his skin abraded, but Stevie never broke his skin even when thrashing him and holding him by the neck. He seemed frustrated, like he just wanted Marley to STOP. I also thought it seemed a lot like two kids thrashing each other.
We used the wheelbarrowing technique (from Leerburg.com) to split them up. The final (I hope) fight was in the yard, and I was alone. After contemplating a 2x8 (seriously), running into the house several times to get leashes and caribiners to tie them each to the fence, and finally deciding to go with a bottle of lime juice to avoid owner inflicted injury. It actually worked and kept them apart so we could make a safe transition to crates in the house.
The downside of the lime is that Stevie now won't play tug with me, but we're working on recovering from that.
I did have to juice them twice more at later dates to interrupt some posturing.
Neil Sattin and Kevin Behan both suggest looking at your home when dogs are fighting. What is going on among the humans? The dogs are our mirrors. After entertaining several possibilities, it occurred to me that their behavior was a fairly accurate mirror of my 11 and 13 year old daughters who have been struggling with space and privacy issues in just the past few months, and at times have gotten downright nasty with each other. They are otherwise best friends and have a very cooperative relationship.
Once we talked about this, the girls themselves suggested the dogs were mirroring their behavior. My older daughter said "she won't leave me alone and I just want to explode and make her stop!" Much to the delight of the younger one, she pointed out that Stevie must be her sister.
My house is peaceful. I will still not leave the dogs alone uncrated while we are not home for now, but it feels like we have an understanding of what has transpired, and my kids know that unspoken and unresolved feelings carry weight and have a bearing on ALL of us.
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