Dog Talk with Uncle Matty: A Tale of Two Adoptions
By Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Adopting a new dog can feel a lot like that famous opening line by Dickens. You've just come home with a new furry companion, in some cases plucked from the jaws of death. In all likelihood, he's latched on to you as his new best friend, the person he loves more than any other in the world. It's a great feeling. But there's almost always more to the story.
Unless you live alone and prefer a solitary existence, your dog will have to get along with people other than you -- namely, your significant other, your children, neighbors, friends and extended family. If you plan to introduce him to the world beyond your home and yard, he'll have to tolerate strangers, too.
The following two letters from readers tell the tale of two adoptions. I print them both here in the hopes that the writer of the first -- along with any readers experiencing the same -- will heed the inherent warning of the second.
The first reads as follows:
"I just adopted 'Red' a week ago from a woman who rescued her from a shelter. She is showing signs of fear aggression: She has growled twice while we were walking, once at a person rolling a suitcase, and once at a person bent over gardening. She has also growled while in our yard at people she could hear talking next door in their yard and also at the occasional inanimate object.
"Red plays well at the dog park and with my children. She displays no signs of food or toy aggression.
"I work full time and am concerned that I don't have the time to train her properly for aggression issues. The growling was not disclosed to me upon adoption. Your advice would be appreciated."
This next letter could be right out of Dickens, with his stories of children forced to endure abuses at the hands of unfeeling or unthinking adults. It is what some might deem a "cautionary tale," and it's what might happen should the writer of the previous letter opt not to make time in her busy schedule to get immediate and thorough professional training for Red:
"I have three children, ages 4, 2 and 1. We adopted 'Ginger' on Monday. Today is Sunday. So far: He mounted my 1-year-old and bit her ear while I was feeding her. He stole her bottle and growled at her when she took it back. He pinned my 4-year-old to the floor and ripped his pants.
"Ginger's tail was tucked up under his body in all of these instances, and I had to physically remove him from my children. When he bit the baby's ear, he saw me coming and let go. But while I was chasing him, he ran up to her and grabbed her ear again, biting and pulling on it until she was bleeding. I don't know whether training will help. I just don't know what to do."
Training almost always helps. But in any situation involving an aggressive dog living with children, the answer is to find the dog a new home -- one without children and that includes an adult who is prepared to devote as much time as necessary to the training and socialization of an aggressive dog.
This may not be the popular answer, but it's the truth. And in some lesser known words of Dickens, "There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth."
Woof!
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Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Read all of Uncle Matty's columns at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com, and visit him at http://www.unclematty.com. Send your questions to dearuncle.gazette@unclematty.com or by mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
Copyright 2010 Creators Syndicate Inc.
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