Beware of Dog

There was a horrible story on the news here not too long ago about a 7 year old boy who was killed by the family dog - a pit bull who was kept chained in the basement (what??!! who would have a "pet" who needed to be kept chained inside the house??). In any case, the parents deserve some credit for realizing that the dog needed to be kept from the children. The poor little boy apparently went downstairs to pet the dog or something. When the father realized what happened and went to help, he got bit himself and shot the dog. My heart hurts for everyone involved.

I know, that all pit bulls aren't vicious and that people play some role in shaping their behaviors, but I also know that Maddie likes to carry things around in her mouth because she's a retriever. It's what she was meant to do, it's nothing we taught her. Certain characteristics are part of any breed and it seems to me that breeds originally developed as guard dogs or something like that will be naturally more aggressive than breeds developed for sport or companionship. If you have a dog bred to be a guard dog, you need to be willing to make an extra effort to work with him to become a good companion.

I also think we all need to realize that this didn't necessarily have to be a story involving a "dangerous" breed. All dogs have sharp teeth and strong jaws and little kids can be annoying to them I'm sure. I've seen our little neighbor, A, stick her finger in Maddie eye and up her nose (she was in that learning body parts phase and was teaching Maddie some of hers). If someone did that to me, I might want to bite them.

There's an article in the current issue of Parents magazine about kids and dogs. I couldn't find it exactly in magazine format online, but you can read most of the content here. They describe four commands that the family dog should know. Here's our report card:

1. Go to your spot.
This order gives your dog a place to go when things get chaotic. Put [her] crate or bed in a quiet spot. Toss a treat into it, and tell the dog, "Go to your spot." Teach the kids to leave the dog alone when [she's] in [her] spot.
Our grade: C. Maddie knows "lie down" and is reliable with it. She also has a favorite spot behind the kitchen table, but we have not taught her to go to a spot. She really wants to be with us and because she is part of the family, we don't want to send her to another room (that would feel like punishment to her, don't you think). Probably what I should teach her is to go lie down in a spot that I point to, so she could be out of the way but still in the same room.

2. Leave it.
This command keeps your dog from pouncing on dropped food or a child's favorite toy. To train: With the dog on a leash, put a dog treat on the floor and say, "Leave it." The second your pet stops trying to get the treat - and especially if [she] looks up at you - quickly give an even better treat from your hand (like cheese or a tidbit of chicken) and say, "Good dog!"
Our grade: B. Maddie is decent at this, but she did grab an apple turnover out of my friend B's house last Spring (she dropped it when I told her to drop it, which was good, but what I really want is for her to not grab it in the first place). She will leave something on the ground if I tell her to "leave it", though. We did teach the command pretty much the way the article describes too, but Maddie's great reward is bits of hot dog.

3. Off.
The last thing you need when you're carrying a baby is Bowser jumping up on you. Teach your dog "off" by never, ever touching [her] when [she] jumps up on you - don't even push [her] away. Instead, turn your back so [she] drops on all fours. Then , bend down to pet [her]. Our grade: C. My girl is really happy to see us after we've been apart all day. I think she knows that she's not supposed to jump, but there is a lot of frantic wiggling, whining and - sadly - mouthing (she does it softly, but it's still her mouth on my hand). Lately I've been ignoring her when she has the "crazies" and then pet and gush all over here when she calms down and greets me properly.

4. Wait.
If you're heading outside, keep your dog from getting overly excited. Put [her] on a leash, open the door, and tell [her], "Wait." When [she] relaxes, release [her] with a cheerful "Okay!" and let [her] go through the doorway.
Our grade: A-. It might have been a solid A, but we don't always use this when going outside. We do use "wait" often on the stairs, though, and it's perfect for that. "Wait" for us is a temporary thing - she knows to stay alert because we're going to call her soon (unlike "stay" where she might as well take a nap). I love this when I have my hands full and want to get up or down the stairs without tripping over the dog. Obviously it will also be great when trying to carry a baby up/down the stairs.

In case these so-so marks are giving you a less than favorable opinion of my furbaby, I should say that Maddie is a very good girl. Our less-than-perfect grades have everything to do with my inconsistencies in training, nothing at all to do with Miss Madness. We need to do more before Nora comes home - "Off" and nice walking on a leash are probably the two things that are most important for us.

Just for kicks I thought I'd share the first picture I ever saw of Maddie (her breeder emailed this to me after they did the "puppy matching"). It was love at first sight.