Lou the Black Dog, Chez Lui

Now I know why experienced dog adopters are reluctant to put in writing their advice beforehand; each dog comes with 'previous', good and bad, which affects his reactions; each adoptive family offers and wants different behaviour from the dog in widely differing family contexts; much of 'what you should do' is in body language, relationships and good timing - so difficult to explain or teach; and most successful dog adopters have absolutely no idea why they're good so they can't explain the skills they've added to instincts from experience. I still think it helps to share what we learn so here's my experience so far.

Balou on Day 1 in his new home

I've already blogged about choosing Balou, the seven-year old dog no-one wanted, who's spent over two years in a shelter and won the hearts of the people working there. Yesterday was the day of truth; Day 1 of the rest of his life, chez nous, earlier than planned because the rain just keeps hammering down and we cancelled our holidays. Great! We could get Balou sooner! Note crucial fact already mentioned; the rain keeps hammering down. Lou is not a dog; he is a furry hippo who threw himself into a deep, full mud-hole in our garden and wallowed. He already smelled like two years in a cage, fur like a carpet from a dumpster. I very rarely bath dogs but I decided to make an exception, using the special 'shampooing pour les chiens noirs' that had tempted me with its promise of making black fur blacker and shinier.

'I wanted a garden and a cute blonde'

Would I advise someone to throw buckets of warm water over the new arrival within hours of starting his new life, followed by a soapy massage, more buckets of water and then a game of chase round the garden with a towel? I don't think so! But it worked for us. While my Great Pyrenees watched the peasants cavorting and stayed well away from the wet stuff. It didn't take a canine genius to figure out that Lou liked water (the dirtier, the better) and I felt confident in handling him because of the car journey.

I haven't told you about the car journey? No problem getting him in the car with a traditional 'run at open boot' method. We waved goodbye to Nice Lady at Shelter, who wants 'after' photos. Then we fought to keep dog from jumping over to join us in the front seat, stopped the car, and re-arranged the people for Plan B. I put a back seat up and joined Lou in the Berlingot boot. An hour's drive later, I knew where he liked being stroked and I smelled like 2 years in a cage.

I was wrong in thinking it would take time for Lou to take an interest in us. He's lying beside me as I type and, now he's away from the shelter, there's no doubt he wants us to be his people and he wants to be with us - both of us. If he hears a door, he checks out who's coming through it and his tail will need a service check from wagging so fast and so often. Change is difficult and tiring, even change for the better, and I know many dogs try to run back to what is familiar, even if the familiar is physical abuse or neglect. There's no sign of Lou trying to do a runner but we're being careful - walks are on-lead.

He loves grass. He rolls in it, chews it, lies on it. The only grass he's seen in two years was a strip where the shelter dogs get walked every 3/4 days. He hadn't been out his cage for 3 days when we picked him up. He loves being brushed, apart from two knotted dreadlocks dangling from his ears. I don't know whether he's been brushed at all in two years (or before that). He lived in an infernal noise at the shelter, amid construction work as well as all the barking, and he seems surprised at Blanche playing guardian to a passing bicycle or the postvan. When she barks, he points, in the classic gundog pose, but so far he hasn't spoken.

Pointing

Amazingly, his behaviour indoors is civilised - no attempts to steal or destroy - and he is house-trained. When you think about him spending up to 3/4 days in a cage without leaving it, it is a miracle that he has kept  the habits presumably learned with the family of his first five years. That doesn't mean there's been no territory-marking. He's a full-blooded male and when he peed on the verandah door, he was told a clear 'No.' I cleaned it by the book, with white vinegar (never bleach or the smell encourages repeat crimes). He watched, waited and returned to finish the job that I'd interrupted. He obviously hasn't read the same book! Since then he's lifted his leg against another interior door, recollected himself (or decided that I was watching) and refrained. My husband is already referring in franglais to 'the Big, Bad Loup' since we shortened Balou to Lou.

I am exhausted but, so far, this is an easy adoption of a dog who wants to please, who gets on with people and other dogs. However, the Princess already in residence is not an easy dog; she is polite to others (human and canine) but unknown humans should keep their distance and dogs should show respect, especially in doorways. So far, we've passed potential flashpoints without incident; going in the car together, mealtimes, a quiet night (hooray), even doorway negotiations. Sometimes it doesn't matter what decision you, the master, take; what matters is that you do take a decision and give clear signals to the dogs, over matters such as getting in and out the car. With dogs like Lou, anything goes; not with dogs like Blanche.

They have played chase and fallen asleep together (in a thunderstorm - an unexpected flashpoint!). It's a good start to what I hope will be a great friendship but I'm watching my Great White very carefully - almost as carefully as she's watching me...

My top tips on dog adoption? 
Tell your dog sweet nothings in a low, purring tone. Tell him when he's doing things right (which includes when he's doing nothing at all) Thank you, Michel Hasbrouck, for this simple but under-used technique.

Secure the perimeter and walk on lead for at least 2 months (and better forever than lose your dog).

Predict the flashpoints, especially if you have another dog, and plan for the practicalities. Anything involving travel, food, close quarters,sleeping arrangements, attention from the master, comings and goings, visitors, could be stressful.

After you've got him home - 4 common stages in dog adoption

1) Just Visiting 
The first 2 months can be honeymoon heaven, with artificially good behaviour because the dog hasn't yet got his paws under the table. Family pets can be over-polite to each other and all the bad habits you allow because you feel sorry for the woes suffered by your dog in the past, can bite you in the butt (literally) when he's settled in. Escape bids are common because the dog is seeking to return to familiar territory.

The beginning of an adoption can also be hell, especially with a dog who's known abuse - and often you don't know the history of your new family member. Be calm and careful with introduction to other animals, other family members. Avoid more flashpoints than are necessary - life will bring more than enough.

Whether heaven, hell or in between (does that mean purgatory?!) this will pass.

2) Integration
Usually some time in the first 2 months. Everyone realises the new dog is here to stay - including the new dog. Everyone tries to figure out how he fits in and where he fits in. Resident dogs stop being polite to the visitor and they have dog-dog sort-outs of the pack hierarchy. One new dog means that every privilege, every toy, every relationship, is up for grabs.

3) Testing
The new dog has his place in his family but he's the sort who wants more. If you've given him everything he wants from the start, and he's been easy-going about it, he might start to cash in on it now, bullying you. Or he might be a 'benevolent tyrant' who knows he's in charge but doesn't bother acting on that knowledge. If your adopted dog starts pushing you around, you have to stop him, without hitting or shouting.

4) Your dog in his pack
Everyone is happy but...

5) Testing
never stops with some dogs and you go through Steps 3,4, and 5 all of the dog's life. It's how the dog checks you are up to the job of leading, that you are 'Someone to look up to'.

Be happy with your dog - the Dogmasters' Credo

amazon.com

Hot off the press; bestselling author and dog-trainer Michel Hasbrouck, and his dogmasters, have just published their credo and it might shock dog-owners who have suffered the 'Don't do this' and 'Don't do that' school of modern dog-training. This is our philosophy and believe me, if you've trained with Michel or his dogmasters, this is all true.

dogmasters


The French version

More dog stories

I mentioned dog trainer Michel Hasbrouck in my last post. How we ended up working together is an amazing story of Internet connections (of the human kind) and of the friendships that come from them.

Michel with his dachshund
(dog wanting to play!)
 Photo 2011 - Jean Gill

When I was looking for a Pyrenean puppy and new to the French dog scene, having previously been owned by four Pyreneans in the UK, I joined a French Forum where breeders, owners and lovers of patous, talked dog. There I met 'Stratos', who combined an outrageous and cutting sense of humour with an underlying passion for dogs and their training. As an online sparring partner, Vincent (his real name) was fun; as a helpline on dog behaviour, he was a godsend to many Forum friends. His own knowledge was based on the huge problems he'd had with his Stratos.

When Vincent's beautiful Pyrenean puppy of 3 months was left with a neighbour for an hour or two, while Vincent went shopping, something happened. When Vincent came to get his puppy, the neighbour told him 'That'll teach him not to pee in the house' and from that day Vincent had a puppy so aggressive that everyone, including dog trainers he consulted, said that he had to accept the inevitable and have Stratos put down. Vincent's guess from the body language of the man and the dog was that the neighbour had slammed the puppy against the wall. Bear in mind that a male Pyr of 5 months weighs about 25kgs and keeps growing to 60/70/80kgs - even a very young dog can be seriously dangerous when turned agressive. Vincent didn't give up, remembered a chance meeting with a dog trainer, took Stratos to Michel Hasbrouck and saved him. He also made it his mission to publicise Michel's work and so, because I was trying to improve my knowledge of dog training before I started again with a puppy, Vincent recommended 'Dressage Tendresse' to me.

book link below

I read the book, was amazed at how much clicked into place with what I'd figured out from experience but never expressed, and also at how much I'd got wrong and could put right. There were so many mantras that went into my head and stuck there. 'No hitting, no shouting.' Guilty of both in the past but no longer. 'No dog is irrecuperable'. I'm sure you too have friends who have put dogs down for aggression, unable to find a way out of the impasse. In the past I would have had to do the same in their shoes but now I have enough technique, and professional support available, that I am confident it will never happen to me with any dog of mine. But of all Michel's pronouncements the one I still love the best is 'Ignore a dog and he does what he likes.' So much dog training theory is based round 'ignore him' as a punishment, I wonder if these trainers (or comportmentalists, as is the trendy name) have ever met the sort of dog who destroys everything to get attention, including his owner. Or the dogs who find their owners boring because they are being ignored, and who bound off to find something more rewarding to do than hang around said owner.

book link below

I love it when someone writes to me to say he/she liked one of my books so I mailed Michel to say just that and asked whether he knew of such a book in English, for my friends to read. He said 'Translate mine for me' So I did, as 'Gentle Dog Training'. And I found the ideal publisher with Souvenir Press, which had previously published John Fisher and supported all Michel's principles of dog training. I only wish our publishing contract had been directly with Souvenir Press but as Michel had a contract with his French publisher, all dealings for translation rights were between the two publishers.

I finally chose my breeders for my two Pyrenean puppies, was thrown off the Forum for choosing badly (according to the breeder who ran the Forum) and a group of us started the Patou Parle Forum, which has lasted 5 years now, with the usual ups and downs of rivalries and friendships, but with an underlying respect for people's right to disagree - and to buy puppies or adopt dogs, wherever they choose.

PHOTO - Michel Hasbrouck 2006

Blanche and me at the end of the 2nd day, 

so relieved that all that hard work is over -
of course it was just beginning.


Dog training is for life -
not just for Christmas.

I duly went on a 2 day training course with Michel at his base in Switzerland, when my Blanche-Neige was a 3 month puppy . There is no substitute for practical work on the terrain with a dogmaster and Michel is looking for people to train up and add to his team, especially English speakers who can spread the message about his training methods. If you're interested contact him at michel@hasbrouck.com

I've progressed since then. I would never have coped with Bétel's problems without all I learned from Michel. A mixture of health problems and maltreatment from a kennels owner, when the dogs were 8 months old and I left them there for 4 days, gave us a 70kg dog who was aggressive towards vets and strangers. Strange how history repeats itself. Like Vincen with Stratos, we worked him back to his real nature and kept him safe.

This year I decided to continue my own training with Michel and spent another few days in Switzerland, always learning more. He plans to retire in the near future and wants to pass on all he has learned to the next generation of dog trainers. I think I've lived too many careers to start another as a dog trainer but what I am learning will at least benefit my own dogs, and I have not lost the urge to take it further again, and be able to train someone else's dog. When you've seen the tears in clients' eyes because they've found the dog they've always wanted, right beside them, and they now have the technique to build on this behaviour, there is no better reward for work.

PHOTO 2011 Jean Gill
Michel training client in lead behaviour
while dog watches

PHOTO 2011 Jean Gill
one good dog after 'Dressage Tendresse'

Vincent and I passed 6 years chatting dog online. I still have the stories he sent me of his own dogs and he planned to write novels and train as a dogmaster, once they had found a lung transplant for him. More than a year ago he was forced to stop his work making dental prostheses - work he loved. He was confined to one room and breathing aids but he kept in touch with his Forum friends when he could. He had my books in the room with him even though his English was not good. He knew 'Dressage Tendresse' off by heart so he used that as a practice side-by-side with my translation, to help him read 'Someone to look up to'. Vincent gave me permission to use his true stories in my novel - of the newfoundland who taught the patou to swim, and saved an unwilling fisherman by towing his boat along - and to use the name Stratos for Sirius' brother. Both Vincent and I had a sense of 'There but for the grace of God, might have gone the real Stratos.' Only it wasn't God who saved the real Stratos, but a master strong enough to seek help, and a dog trainer with enough real technique to give it.

His health never stabilised enough for the transplant to take place and Vincent died in June, optimistic and full of plans for the future until the last few days. It's hard to believe he's not there any more, about to jump in with a provocative remark, a quote in ancient Greek or exactly the right advice for someone whose puppy is chewing his master's hands to shreds. Online friendships can turn to real friendships, a casual word is a pebble dropped in a pool, and you never know where the ripples will spread. Without Vincent, I wouldn't have met Michel; if I hadn't worked with Michel, I'd never have coped with Bétel's problems. And I know for certain, from readers telling me so,  that other dogs' lives have been saved by reading 'Gentle Dog Training.'  That makes me feel good. And it made Vincent feel good too.

What was it that E.M.Forster said? 'Only connect'.

The puppy top left on the cover of 'A Pup in Your Life' is Vincent's photo of his first patou, José. Michel and I have published this book, a companion to 'Gentle Dog Training,  as kindle .com,   kindle.uk   pdf 

We did try audio-book, with me reading the text. Believe me, it was hard trying to do a deep, sexy voice while reading 'If your puppy has worms...' but some people think I managed it. Sadly, the Internet seems to have exploded with excitement over this particular version and I don't know whether Michel will rescue the remnants. It would make an interesting found poem but I am NOT recording it all again!


TO BUY THESE DOG TRAINING BOOKS

'Dressage Tendresse' on amazon fr

Gentle Dog Training amazon uk     amazon.com

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