Of Training and Temperament
I had a very uplifting training
session at
The Canine
Club this evening. I had taken Glindy in because I was having
difficulty training retrieves and handshakes. While tonight's
session didn't advance things all that far, some positive things
did come out of the session.
As usual, the trainer was exceptionally generous with her time. One
of the things we did this evening was a bit of unofficial
temperament testing. I've had problems recently in places like
Petco with "growliness" from Glindy, and just wanted to be sure
that the problem is other dogs.
Glindy was introduced off-leash to a dominant but stable pit bull
to measure her reactions. Glindy offered a polite greeting,
followed by a series of calming signals. In fact, after the typical
butt-sniffing, and a bit of a (literal) pissing contest, she
settled at my feet and pretty much ignored the other dog. Other
than taking turns over-marking each other, which is the canine
equivalent of testing another person's grip during a handshake, it
was at the very least a cordial introduction.
The trainer and I agreed that the recent problems were most likely
the result of subtle challenges from the other dogs we've run into,
possibly exacerbated by an increased arousal level from being
on-leash or the stress of meeting in busy, scent-heavy place like
Petco. In short, Glindy is quite stable, if a bit excitable.
We also agreed that Glindy is ready for the Canine Good Citizenship
test the next time it's offered here in town. While not necessary
to meet the requirements of the ADA, it's certainly a good way to
show that Glindy has mastered polite behavior in public.
Until then, Glindy and I will continue to work on the retrieve, and
on shaking hands. Of such small steps is progress made.