Boulder Dog

     Sadie is sometimes snarky. So am I. Aren’t you? Aren’t we all? 

     (I know. Snarky is not a real word. But, it should be. It just so onomatopoetic.)

     Have you ever met someone who just rubbed you the wrong way right from the start? At first meeting they enthusiastically get real close, violating your personal space with ‘friendliness’ and curiosity. They didn’t intend to be obnoxious. They just were. You put your hand up like a traffic cop to stop them and say, “Excuse me?” hoping they will take the hint and back away. Then, minutes later, as if they didn’t hear a word you said and were totally oblivious to the impact they had had on you, they’re in your face again! This time you turn your reaction up a notch with a staccato, “Get. Away. From. Me. Please!” 

     Who’s being inappropriate here? Do ‘friendly intentions excuse obnoxious behavior? Are you rudeness incarnate? Or, are you merely asserting your right to your comfort zone?

     I’m sure the nice lady with the Porteguese Water Dog puppy thought Sadie was being bitchy today when she snarked at the puppy as it squeezed its nose between me and the car and toward Sadie’s kennel while Sadie was still in it. In Sadie’s world that is the height of uncouthness.

     I know Sadie doesn’t like dogs sniffing around when she’s in her kennel in the car. That’s why I tried to block the PWD as I saw her and her person head in the direction of our car, and why I was feeding Sadie treats. It was, I had hoped, a little classical conditioning moment. Sadie while in her kennel sees a dog and salmon jerky lands in her mouth. But that puppy’s head wiggling towards Sadie was too much for Ms. S. Whatever conditioned emotional response we might have been working up to unraveled. That pushy puppy sent Sadie over her threshold. Sadie let go with a few growly ruff-ruff- ruffs, “Go away!”

     Minutes later we arrived at the trailhead. The puppy, now about 50 yards in front of us and off leash, as was Sadie, turns and runs full tilt towards Sadie, who, for her part, just stood there in the face of the onrush and pivoted her head away. I wondered if this puppy had been to puppy kindergarten. Surely learning not to rush into other dogs head-on, especially those signaling “I don’t like this,” would have been a lesson learned. Sadie, still not aggressing, tolerated subsequent butt sniffing for about, oh, three seconds. Then she ruffed at the puppy as if to say, “Enough!” I had again tried to make this a rewarding moment by clicking and treating Sadie for being tolerant. But, I was one second late with the clicker. I clicked just as Sadie snarked! Great. 

The puppy’s person called to her PWD, “Apollo. Apollo,” and Sadie and I walked past them without incident. I apologized for Sadie’s outbursts, but I could tell by the woman’s pursed lips that she was having none of it. Looking at the situation from her point of view, her fluffy puppy was being friendly and playful and my dog ‘attacked’ for no good reason.

I’ve played this scene over and over. I wish I had thought to give Sadie her “turn” cue when I saw the puppy running at her, and we could have walked off in the opposite direction. But, the PWD still would have caught up with Sadie and likely would have startled her from behind and Sadie still might have needed to tell Apollo to stop!

Or, maybe, especially in light of  the snarky episode at the car, I should have waited until the PWD was out of sight before setting out on the trail. What’s that they say about hindsight? It’s 20-20?

We met six other dogs on that same walk, all ‘sans snark’. A beautiful maniac of a Weimaraner that raced in circles around Sadie. A Border Collie mix puppy that tried to herd Sadie as she chased after her ball. A Boxer and an Australian Shepherd, neither of which wanted anything to do with Sadie or her them. A Golden Retriever and a chocolate Labrador that raced at Sadie and submissively licked at her muzzle. 

I hate it when Sadie snarks. But I also think that people, as I’m sure was the case with the PWD’s person given her expression, have unrealistic expectations that dogs should tolerate obnoxious behavior without complaint, especially when ‘my sweet 6 month old puppy is just being friendly.’

What do you think?

Tags: Behavior, calming signals, Classical conditioning, Conditioned emotional response, Dog behavior, Dog greeting behavior, Positive reinforcement