One of our newest K9 Rehab arrivals has an extensive rap sheet. She has bitten almost everyone in the household: grandma, mom, aunt and two of the three kids. The family has had her for 3 months. She is a rescue, believed to be about five years old. The family’s only requirement was a Blue Heeler, mainly for protection as they explained to me. They live in an area with home break-ins and thought a dog would best keep their home safe. They pulled her straight from the shelter, hence were provided very little information about her. All they saw was some physical scarring on her back. What they believed is that she needed to be loved since she had been “abandoned” at the shelter. For two months they showered her with affection: letting her do whatever she wanted in the household, giving her everything while providing no rules or boundaries. They unknowingly created the menace they were now trying to understand. By never providing the dog with direction only affection, they were now being treated as the herd she was trying to control. She became the one in charge and was trying her best to provide the rules and boundaries the pack needed the only way she knows how: by biting to control them. She is a Heeler after all. Confusion reigned in the relationship. No one was happy. Not her, not the family.
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding dog ownership is that dogs need only love, food, water and shelter in order to thrive. Yes all of those things are essential, hence why the family believed they were doing everything for her. However, as social mammals, dogs need direction almost as much as food and water in order to be the best versions of themselves. Very much like humans (also social mammals), chaos is likely to ensue without rules and boundaries within the pack. All social beings need rules and boundaries to live in a plural society, the absence of those creates anarchy. In our society we all agree to stop at a red light. It is a social agreement taught by our pack to keep everyone safe. If we don’t follow that rule, we get corrected and taught until we do. In a pride of lions, female lions will fight their much bigger male counterparts if they come too close to the cubs in their first few months. It is not about establishing dominance, simply creating boundaries.
Dogs instincts dictate that the pack live in balance. If rules and boundaries are not provided they will fill in the gap to achieve that balance. In the dog world one is either leading or following, there is no middle management. The term “it is a dog eat dog world” comes from that idea. If one is not leading, they are automatically following. Hence why it is of crucial importance for us, as pack leaders to provide direction to our dogs. Providing rules and boundaries is the essence of our responsibilities to our dogs before anything else. That is how we create trust and respect. Our job is to lead, theirs is to follow. By providing only affection we are forfeiting our role as someone that can be trusted and respected. It is important to note that food, water, petting, toys, hugs, kisses, beds etc are all considered affection to a dog and we can surely use all of those in order to teach. But we must teach before we offer affection. We must be worthy of trust and respect before giving affection and we can only achieve with dogs that by setting and practicing the rules and boundaries that are important for the pack to thrive.
I have an immense amount of respect for this family. Even though they have only known this dog for three months and she has bitten the majority of the family, they will not give up on her. That is love in my book. She is an amazing dog, wicked smart and loves to learn. By them understanding their role in teaching her, the pack is becoming cohesive and she will have an incredible future with them. By giving them the tools to communicate with her, by them seeing her for who she is and fulfilling her needs they are becoming the pack leaders she always needed. She will undoubtedly protect their home because that is now her job. She is learning how to direct that herding energy into something that benefits the entire pack. As I explained to them this will be a marathon, not a sprint. They now have to be the pack leaders she needs. I am eternally grateful to people that are always willing to do the right thing. Now they and her are learning the tools in order for the future to be brighter than the past. Love was never what was missing in the relationship, direction was. They are ready to step and provide that. That is the best type of affection.
