After a stressful past weekend and week, it was really nice last night to just hang out with Pyrrha and Rainer in the yard.
And now we’d like to come back inside.
To my U.S. readers, hope you and your dog(s) enjoy a peaceful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!
Last night, while brushing my teeth, I asked Guion, “Hey, would you let the dogs in?”
They had been out in our backyard for about three minutes, for their last potty break of the night.
About a minute later, I hear a frantic knock on the door. It’s Guion, breathless and panicky. And he utters the three most dreaded words: “Rainer got out!”
Guion grabbed a flashlight and a leash and ran out the front. I dropped everything, pulled on some rain boots, and ran out to the back, calling frantically for Rainer. It’s dark and I can’t see anything. Pyrrha, however, has let herself into the sunroom and is looking at me with a fascinated expression.
Because here’s the impressive thing: Pyrrha didn’t leave the yard, even when Rainer did. A gate had been left open when Guion was showing a friend our garden, apparently. And so Rainer just sauntered out.
I put Pyrrha inside, grab another leash, and am about to dash out the front door, with all of these horrible thoughts in my mind — we are the worst fosters ever! We are never going to find him! He probably wouldn’t come to us! It’s so dark; what if he gets hit by a car? — but… then…
The front door opens, and it’s Guion and Rainer, who is slowly wagging his tail.
Guion said that Rainer had wandered a few houses over, and the neighbors had seen him. Guion could see Rainer, but he didn’t want to run up to him, wisely reasoning that Rainer would probably run in the other direction if he thought he was being “charged.” Instead, when he saw Guion, Rainer willingly trotted down the driveway and ran right up to our front door. Guion didn’t even leash him, but when he got close enough to Rainer, he slunk down and was very nervous. I think he was bewildered and disoriented, but wow, how surprised and grateful I am that he came back!
Lessons learned:
Glad that we still have you. Shoo. Not a fun way to spend your Wednesday evening.
But the other bright news is that a potential adopter is coming to meet Rainer on Saturday! Will keep you posted!
Our shy dogs, interacting. Check out those calming signals!
So. I’m realizing that volunteering for a German shepherd rescue means that shy dogs just come with the territory. This is probably true for most dog rescues, but GSDs are fairly well known for their sensitivity and predisposition to shyness (particularly if they’ve come from rough backgrounds).
That said, I’m also realizing how many of our potential adopters don’t really know what to do with shy dogs. I was this way myself when we adopted Pyrrha! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
Obviously, I’ve done lots of reading and research since, but Pyrrha is still a work in progress, just as I am. We both have lots to learn. To help myself and to help others with shy dogs or those adopting shy dogs, I’ve created a new resource page:
This will be an active page, which I will add to from time to time, particularly as I hear from all of you about your favorite resources for fearful dogs. Feel free to share in the comments below!
RAINER UPDATE
He is happy to be back inside and home life has returned to a nice equilibrium, as much as we can maintain. As many of you have noted, Pyrrha is generally uncomfortable with Rainer being here (see her body language above), but they have brokered a tentative peace.
Rainer still has some mysteries about his health, which we are actively trying to solve with the help of SGSR and our vet. (Essentially, he’s just kind of weak in the back end and has poor balance. X-rays have since ruled out hip dysplasia, so we are looking into other diagnoses.)
The good news is that he has another potential adopter interested in him, who may meet him this weekend, weather permitting. The former family fell through, but this person sounds like a great fit for Rainer and his needs. Will keep you posted!
Let me know what you think of Living with Shy Dogs and what you’d add, if anything!
My husband graduated from his graduate program this weekend, which was very exciting, and my in-laws came to visit, bringing along their sweet pup Georgia (whom you may recall from our earlier visits).
Georgia baby is growing up!
She has gotten bigger, but not as big as I thought she’d be! Georgia is about six months old now, and I’d say she’s still only about 30 lbs. For those with goldens or golden mixes, how big would you think she’s going to get? I imagine she may never be much more than 40–50 lbs. Sweet little thing! She is still so spunky, and has such a fun, cuddly personality, and we love her…
… but Rainer? Not so much.
Rainer’s introductions to Georgia did NOT go well. Their first meeting was outside, on leashes, and Rainer ran full throttle into Georgia and got her by the throat. Really bad sign. No calming signals, no politeness, nothing: just straight into attack mode.
I was shaken by this, obviously, as was everyone else; thankfully, Georgia was OK. After things had calmed down, we let Rainer into the kitchen with the baby gate up and kept Georgia on the other side of the gate in the living room. But things did not improve. She tried to sniff him, and he lunged at her, ready to bite. We waited for a while, hoping he could calm down, but he seemed incapable of it; he was just fixated on her and doing whatever he could to knock down that gate and get to her.
This was not behavior that we could manage all weekend in our tiny house, so Rainer got to live in the sunroom for two nights.
Rainer in exile in the sunroom.
Rainer still got time outside with Pyrrha in the backyard, and I took him on two walks by himself, so he wasn’t completely isolated, but I know he was sad to not be inside with us. We just couldn’t have him snacking on Georgia, so this was the best solution for the weekend. Sigh.
That aside, however, the rest of the weekend with Pyrrha and Georgia went well. They still get on very nicely, even though they had a few sibling squabbles over toys (nothing too serious and nothing that a time-out for both of them couldn’t fix).
At least these two still love each other.
Pyrrha will be spending a week with Georgia in June while we’re at the beach, so I am of course always glad to see how much they enjoy each other’s company.
Caged beasts!
Moral of the weekend: Thankful to have taught these dogs that crates are happy places! Rainer, Pyrrha, and Georgia all got treats and kisses when they went into their crates, and they go into them willingly, without a fight. This made the whole dog-separation shenanigans all weekend SO much easier. And easier on my conscience, because I knew that they didn’t feel like they were being punished when they were crated.
The other lesson learned, however, is that Rainer probably isn’t great with small dogs.
Based on my short descriptions of his behavior, what do you think about Rainer’s aggressive behavior with Georgia? It didn’t really look like fear aggression to me. Do you think it could have been territorial aggression? Or just straight-up prey drive? Ever seen such a thing in a dog before? (No signals, no typical dog-greeting behaviors, just straight into attack mode.)
What do you think? And how can we help Rainer with this? I am now frightened for him to meet any small dogs going forward.
A year ago today, we brought this scared little pup into our house:
Pyrrha, the day she was pulled from the breeder. Late April 2012.
She was so scared of us that she couldn’t even make eye contact with us. She sulked around the backyard, avoiding contact with us at all costs. When in the house, she would hide in whatever rooms we weren’t occupying. I was starting to think we’d made a terrible mistake, that this dog was too withdrawn to ever be happy and stable…
Second day with us; too scared to interact. 19 May 2012.
But gradually, little by little, she started to bloom…
1 June 2012.
… into this super-weird, goofy dog that we know and love today.
1 November 2012.
Yeah, she still has her issues, and we still work on them every day, but we love this crazy dog, neuroses and all.
30 April 2013.
Happy first anniversary of your life in our family, Pyrrha Louise! Here’s to many more years together.
I’ve been looking for a handy, non-dorky* treat bag to wear while training Pyrrha and the fosters. (*This may be oxymoronic. Wearing ANY kind of treat-dispensing pouch is probably the pinnacle of dorkiness. But whatever.)
If you’re a lazy trainer like me, you come up with lots of excuses as to why you aren’t training your dog regularly. One of my main excuses is that I hate having greasy, meat-scented pockets and fumbling with a plastic bag of treats doesn’t make for a very fast reward schedule.
Enter the Rapid Rewards Training Pouch, created by Doggone Good.
Rapid Rewards Training Pouch, by Doggone Good.
This thing is like the multi-functional Cadillac of training pouches. Yes. You didn’t even know that was a thing. Well, now it is. Look at all of these features!
Rapid Rewards Training Pouch, by Doggone Good.
Plus, it’s discreet (I bought one in black) and not huge, so you don’t feel like you’re wearing a fanny pack. I bought mine through our trainer, at Canine Campus, and I tend to clip it onto the back of my pants (mine didn’t come with a belt). I LOVE it. I particularly like the feature of the magnet at the top, which holds the top together, so you don’t feel like all of your treats are going to spill when you move.
You can buy the most recent model on the Doggone Good site for $18.99, and there’s also a version on Amazon for $21.50.
Highly recommended. I love this thing.
Do you use a treat pouch or other apparatus for training your dog?
Disclaimer: I was NOT given this product to review; I bought it myself, but I loved it so much that I had to share!
Source: mymodernmet.com
The dog’s agenda is simple, fathomable, overt: I want. “I want to go out, come in, eat something, lie here, play with that, kiss you.” There are no ulterior motives with a dog, no mind games, no second-guessing, no complicated negotiations or bargains, and no guilt trips or grudges if a request is denied.
— Caroline Knapp
. . . . . . . . . .
True, isn’t it? And yet it’s somehow comforting to know that our dogs’ needs are made so apparent to us (if only we’re paying attention).
Rainer has recovered well from his neuter yesterday, although he’s still a bit groggy today. Pyrrha continues with her annoying behavior toward him (essentially just harassing him, particularly when they get let out of the crates), and we’re trying to keep her away from him. Poor dude doesn’t need this crazy bitch abusing him all of the time!
I’ll be gone for a few days next week, so Guion will be holding down the fort with Rainer and Pyr! Should be a fun time…
Happy weekend, everyone, and happy early mother’s day to all of you moms out there!
