Impossible problems, one year later

In January 2022 I wrote a post about the ten problems with my dog that I thought were impossible to tackle. This was almost two years after he came to me, so, after a considerable period of trying and settling and trying again, something else. Another year later, it’s worth looking at that list again and see what has changed. You know, for science. And for our mental well being.

Number 10, settling down, is really gone. The dog settles and calms down at night in a very grown-up manner. After our evening routine, he usually hangs with me for a bit longer, and eventually decides to go to bed, on his own. Outside, it usually takes a few minutes to calm down, but it is straightforward. A bit of food, a good spot, and he will settle at my feet. The entire nervous energy he used to have over the whole day is mostly gone.

Number 9, opinions, or as other people call it, stubborness, is not a problem anymore. My dog still has lots of opinions, and lots of times we disagree. But the standoffs are getting rare. He is much more cooperative on walks, much more willing to see what I’m suggesting to do, and much more willing to come inside when I tell him that this might be a good idea. I’m not even sure why I listed it as a problem, at this stage his opinions are mostly entertainment.

Number 8 is leash pulling, and I’m not sure anymore if that was really worse a year ago. Was it? When I walk fast with him, he doesn’t pull at all, unless he has a very good reason (triggered by more severe problems, see below). When I try to walk slow, it takes a bit of time to convince him, but it’s fine. Is this still a problem? Sometimes, sure. The dog walker says that he is never really pulling, in contrast to most of her other dogs. So, I’m going to say that this shouldn’t be on the list anymore.

Number 7 is sniffing, and to be honest I have no idea how this ever made it on the list. I think the thought was that he should be able to walk without sniffing, or run without sniffing, for a while at least. But I guess I got over this. He is sniffing, and for the most part I’m not trying to stop him. It has the advantage that I can catch my breath. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t bother him, so, that’s fine. Unless of course when we go fast and he suddenly has to sniff a few metres behind me. But let’s not talk about that.

Number 6, lack of focus, is really not that much of a problem either. Wait, is this the fifth problem that is just gone? Maybe. I mean, he gets absorbed in things, but it is nowadays fairly easy to get his attention. We seem to work better together than a year ago, in general. All this is saying is that behaviour does change in desired directions, even in adult dogs, and adult dog handlers, if we keep trying.

There is by the way a new problem that didn’t make the list last year: After the ordeal with the leg, Bunny has, understandably, grown suspicious about vet visits. He will take their treats, and their cuddles, but the moment they try to do something with him that is not petting, he protests, loudly, and often impolitely. I’m not looking forward to the next vaccination. And I hope he doesn’t get seriously ill anytime soon.

Now onto the big stuff. Number 5 is scavenging, eating stuff off the ground. He still does that, but somehow it hasn’t happened much recently. We also worked on that a lot, like, an awful lot. His ‘leave it’ is now way better, and I am way better at recognising problems early. He also tends to ignore more things. He used to pick up everything that smells like food. Not anymore. He hasn’t eaten plastic in a year, I think. A lot of progress. Sure, exceptions, the day he found an entire deer coat, with blood and skin and lots of hair, and proudly carried at home, but, come on. I get that.

Number 4, the aggression towards human, is always something to watch out for, but it hasn’t happened much recently. Partly because I’m very cautious. I am very selective in allowing strangers to say hello to him. I have a no-children policy. And I limit interactions to a few seconds, before he might get uncomfortable. I tend to keep a metre or two distance when we pass random people. There are still occasional lapses — in tight spaces, or when people smell like dogs he doesn’t like. But I’m now also confident enough to know that he won’t bite in those situations.

Resource guarding, the number 3, is still with us, and always will be, but it is a lot more managable now. So much that I can give him bones occasionally. Partly again this is me learning where to be and where not to be. Partly this is a lot of work following standard conditioning protocols, every day, every week. Partly this is him feeling safer, overall. But at this point, after all this, it is pretty much under control. Which is amazing to write down, but yeah.

Let’s continue with number 1, prey drive, because it’s not number 1 anymore. Maybe it’s number 2 or 3, but it’s really far behind the new number 1. He still likes chasing and stalking, but in the daily routine, that doesn’t bother us at all. We worked a lot on, or rather with, cats and squirrels. He still freaks out about sheep, perhaps once a month. Prey drive is an issue in the wild, in the hills, with free-roaming sheep, herds of deer, and lots of other smells. And it limits our camping adventures quite a bit. But I don’t even think about it as a problem anymore.

Finally, the new number 1, lunging and barking at dogs. If I were able to change one thing about Bunny, I would choose this. He gets upset about dogs about 5–10 times every month, consistently. Given that we meet hundreds of dogs every month, that’s a very small fraction, but every time is a problem. It is also creating other issues — aggression towards humans who smell like dogs he doesn’t like, and, more recently, lunging at cars because something in the air smells like a dog he doesn’t like. What has improved is the intensity. The freakouts are not anymore minutes, but rather short. And they are, for the most part, easier to control. I’m getting better at reacting decisively, and fast, without getting mad. So maybe there is a path to gradual improvement. But the problem remains.