A busy weekend: bad news and possibly good news
Well, this weekend was when I took Navi (Skella) to be evaluated for SAR. She wasn't accepted, mainly because she isn't independant enough (constantly looking to me for direction) and didn't have sufficient drive in all circumstances. She won't really play with anyone but me, so that's a big deal-breaker.
On the up side, I got to talking to the evaluators about Rakka, who I hadn't considered because she is snarky with other dogs, but they are willing to evaluate her and see if she'll do. She certainly has enough drive! She was definitely too dog aggressive when I got her, but I think living with other dogs and getting a bit older and more mellow has brightened the possibilities.
If not Rakka, then maybe the next dog I get. I told them I would just keep trying until I got in, haha.
On the up side, I got to talking to the evaluators about Rakka, who I hadn't considered because she is snarky with other dogs, but they are willing to evaluate her and see if she'll do. She certainly has enough drive! She was definitely too dog aggressive when I got her, but I think living with other dogs and getting a bit older and more mellow has brightened the possibilities.
If not Rakka, then maybe the next dog I get. I told them I would just keep trying until I got in, haha.
Comments
That would be very cool if you got Rakka to pass! Keep us posted!
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Good luck with Rakka!
Thanks!
[several minutes pass while I fumble around on my PC]
Ok, there, now SAR is added to the Acronym list.
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SAR is intense! There is a GSD breeder local to me that breeds specifically for SAR training. I'm sure you will find a dog that excels at it - it might even be Rakka!
How would Navi do with herding?
The only trouble is that she was too busy sniffing around to be terribly interested in playing fetch with the tennis ball... after doing the evaluation with Navi, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, though. I will email them.
I dunno that I would call "a raised lip and some posturing" snarkiness. I would call that communication. She was telling the other dogs she didn't like being crowded. That is not "dog aggression/aggressive".
It is really important that we don't over use / misuse terms like "aggression", "alpha", and "dominant". Lots of dogs get put down or given up to rescue because people don't understand that growling, showing teeth, and posturing are forms of communication and are natural between dogs.
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It's hard to explain to people that dogs are just communicating. Like with Ninja - when I heard him growl and snap at a dog for being in his face - I immediately thought "CRAP! I have an aggressive dog! What the hell do I do?" But then after TONS of research and reading...and being told by my behaviorist...Ninja is not an aggressive dog. He is mos def fearful, territorial and will defend himself if he feels threatened - but he is not out to kill just for the hell of it. He can tolerate things to a certain extent and then he gives warnings (growl, showing of teeth) when its getting to be too much for him.
Like the first time I took Ninja to daycare for socialization. I went to pick him up and my behaviorist invited me into her office to show me how well he was doing with her dogs. One of her aussies came up to Ninja's face and Ninja growled. The aussie wouldn't back away so Ninja snapped. I immediately grabbed his lead and of course my behaviorist said "NO! DON'T DO THAT!" And then explained to me that it wasn't aggression - it was a correction. Her dog wouldn't back away after Ninja gave him a warning, so Ninja corrected him.
A lot of people don't understand how dogs communicate...shit, I didn't! So even if your dog isn't aggressive and is just reactive or doesn't have patience for dogs who are over-excited or annoying - it's hard to explain to those people that your dog is not aggressive and just giving a correction. Most people think growling or showing of teeth equals aggression - I did!
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Heidi - I know you know that, I didn't mean to make you think I didn't think you knew that [I hope you can follow what I just wrote]. I have just become hyper-aware of the misuse of terms like "aggression" and I would like to try and keep this a place where people learn the truth about dog behavior and not "Dog Whisperer" type nonsense. Ya know? [not to imply you made a "Dog Whisperer" type comment]
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If not, then I guess I wait for the next dog.