Can a force-driven young Rottweiler learn self-control without confrontation?
Diesel is a 16 months old Rottie and onto his third home already.
His new owners have had him for just five days and are determined to turn his life around.
Force and dominance
It is evident that people previously have used force and dominance. Because of this, aggressive human control is the only ‘language’ he really understands. People have to be increasingly forceful for him to even take notice.
If we continue down that route (domination, force, pinning down and so on) where does it end? Shock collars? Beatings? The situation has escalated and got out of hand – to the point where Diesel controls his world through sheer strength and determination. He may eventually do someone serious damage.
That would be the end of Diesel.
Baxter’s new lady owner is covered in bruises from nips and grabs. He’s not aggressive as such. He’s a big teenage bully – like a human adolescent who has grown up in a violent family.
Like most bullies, he is also a coward and is easily spooked.
The lady is up for it and we will be working closely, avoiding all force. Diesel needs to learn straight away which behaviours don’t work. Most importantly, learn what behaviours DO work.
Loses control of himself.
Diesel loses control of himself very quickly. They will now watch for signs of stress and immediately stop what they are doing. This could mean going straight back home having been out for only a couple of minutes. It could be coming in from the garden even if in the middle of doing something. It may be walking straight out of the room even if they are watching a good TV programme.
He will be expecting them to use force. Punishment, shouting ‘NO’, pushing him away, pinning him down – which can only make things worse. This is a ‘language’ he’s already good at and gets better at all the time. It simply reinforces his scary behaviour.
This is now a learned behaviour – a habit. The only way to replace it with another, desirable habit, is constant repetition and consistency with no opportunity to rehearse the unwanted behaviour anymore.
But what can they do instead? That is what we are working on together.
A week later:
Today I visited Diesel again – the delinquent young Rottie. I was feeling a little apprehensive on the way there, knowing what a big undertaking this is going to be for his new owners.
For the past week they have worked hard at being non-confrontational and keeping Baxter as calm as possible. They have done all they can to give him kind, consistent, convincing guidance and to keep his stress/arousal levels down.
Four days ago, three days after my initial visit, I had a message from the lady. Diesel was being so bad she felt she couldn’t cope.
I begged her to stick with it. Any attention she gave him immediately turned him into a growling, barking and biting demon. Yet he did the same when she ignored him. He was thrown by the absence of force.
This is a familiar pattern, where things go worse before they turn the corner.
Four days later and they now have four good days without the manic episodes where Diesel loses control of himself, jumping and biting when he can’t get his own way. This might just be four days’ grace and a flash in the pan, but if he can be like this for four days now, it can later be five days, then six.
He already is showing his true potential as his stress levels reduce. Being treated with kindness and respect, absence of force, he’s learning self-control and respect himself.
Diesel’s new owners are learning the very delicate balance. Balance between the amount of attention they can safely give him and overstimulating him. He then turns him into a Devil!
I could see a huge difference to the dog I met just over one week ago.
Today he was quickly calm. I didn’t have to repeatedly tip his heavy weight off me until I asked them to put him on lead. He only jumped up on me a couple of times. He didn’t use his mouth on me once. No teeth. He was affectionate and biddable.
We must be under no illusion that there won’t be very challenging times ahead, but I am now much happier about young Diesel’s prospects.
