The Honeymoon Period

I get this phone call at least once a week. It goes something like this.

“I adopted a dog (over 6 months old) a little over a month ago. When I brought him (or her) home he was just the sweetest and quietest dog. He listened, seemed eager to please, and didn’t have a single accident. Then a couple of days ago he suddenly changed. He is pooping in the house, tearing up things and doesn’t listen. Did I make a mistake? I really don’t want to give him up but I can’t have him acting like this. Is there anything you can do?”

The good news is that this can be fixed.

What happened is that when you got the dog you went through the honeymoon period. The dog you brought home was not the dog you were going to end up. And the dog you end up with is dependent on how you acted during the honeymoon period.

When you brought the dog home you were thinking that the dog now has a secure home for the rest of its life. You will love and take care of it. You have rescued it because obviously the dog’s previous life was lousy. So to you the dog’s life has just gotten better.

But that is not what the dog was thinking. To the dog he belonged to a pack. It may not have been a very good pack, but it was his pack. He knew the rules and what was expected of him. Life was somewhat predictable, even in the worse home.

In his wolf and then later working ancestors, being kicked out of the pack is a life threatening event. A dog or wolf is not likely to survive on its own. So when a dog is run off, or loses, the pack, it has two choices. Survive for a minimal amount of time on its own, or find a new pack.

In order to be accepted in a new pack, the dog goes in as the omega dog. This is the lowest ranking member of the pack. It has only three jobs, be the last one to eat, be a stress relief to the other adults, and to play with the puppies. If the dog is accepted as the omega dog it survives.

So when your dog came home he did not think “oh boy my life just improved”, he thinks “what did I do to get kicked out of my old pack.” He is not sure he will be accepted into the new pack so he assumes the omega role.

During the honeymoon month, the dog is trying to figure out his place in this new pack. And he is trying to find out how high in this pack he needs to go. And if you did not give him time to figure out his place in this new pack, and clearly define his place in this pack, then he will try to figure it out on his own.

If you got a dog with high alpha drive he will try to take over. He sees it as his job to tell everyone else what to do. And if you got a dog with low alpha drive, he is pushing you to run the pack in a way to feel secure.

The way to handle this is training during the honeymoon period. You should find a trainer who understands this period and gives you tools and methods that allows the dog to join the new pack in a clearly defined role. Ask the trainer how he handles this period. If the trainer doesn’t know what the honeymoon period is, or says they handle it just like any other dog, find a different trainer.

Doug

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Having a Training Center

The other day I was finishing the first lesson with a new dog. My client looked at me and stated that this was so simple that we could have trained the dog in the park. He then asked my why do I have such a large center, with all the overhead, when Manners in Minutes training could be done anywhere.

I told him when I started I had three other choices. I could work with dogs in their homes, in a park, or in a space rented from someone else.

I will train in people’s homes, but only if they have physical problems that keep them from coming to my center. When you train a dog, you are changing their habits. A dog’s home is its den and pack area. I am a stranger. The dog has too many advantages and we make accepting change that much harder on the dog. In my center is obvious to the dog from the minute they come in that this is my den and I am in charge. The training goes quicker and more smoothly.

Parks are nice, but this is Colorado. We had a huge snowstorm this week and I would have had to cancel sessions. Plus when you are in the park there is always someone who wants to take up lots of time either asking questions or giving suggestions (and the less they know the more suggestions they have). My clients are paying me to work with them and their dogs, not talk to bystanders. And I always worry about the person with an out of control dog off line that they think is friendly. Often it is a poorly socialized dog that causes unnecessary worry and confusion in my client’s dog.

Renting space for an evening pretty much limits you to doing group classes. I don’t mind doing group classes but I prefer privates. In group there is always one dog that has so many problems and or an owner who has so many questions, that the other students don’t get their fair share of instructor time. And I limit my group classes to just four dogs at a time. If I was paying rent on a room somewhere I would have to put too many dogs in a class to make it as effective.

So I have a 3700 square foot facility. Outside we have a huge open area to work with. Inside we can practice stay at 50 to 70 feet, not 10 or 15 feet. We work on long lines so your dog doesn’t think you are only in charge if they are less than six feet away.

Today I was in one of the big pet stores picking up some new collars. I looked at their training area. My office area has more space. Hope they don’t work with many Mastiffs or Great Danes.

But in the end the biggest advantage is that every piece of equipment and supplies is readily at hand. I don’t care how well you plan and pack, everywhere else you run the risk of not having the one thing the client and his dog need to get the most from every training session.

Doug

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