The Dog Who Wouldn’t Listen

 
 
“Bad” is a human concept, according to dog behaviorists. Dogs aren’t being bad, they’re just being dogs. “Why then,” asked a writer for the Seattle Times, “did my terrier  (Kiley) just flee down an embankment carrying a rock the size of a canned ham?”

The reason, she concludes, is that he knew she couldn’t catch him. He’d done the math.

Kiley’s typical day reads like a laundry list of antisocial behavior. Stealing food off a small child’s plate, peeing on dinner guests, grabbing other peoples frisbees in mid air and trashing them — all are fair game for the out-of-control canine.

I had my own “Kiley” when I was a kid. Our Standard Poodle’s favorite trick was to bolt out the back door on a school morning, then prance around while we tried to lure her back inside with tasty bits of cheese (her favorite snack).

Then Susie would run up, snatch a piece of cheese, and dash off before we could grab her. She’d always flash a big canine grin and wiggle her rump in the air once she was well out of reach. This went on until our dog was certain we’d missed our school bus.

We all know dogs who behave this way at times. They bury toys in the yard, then dig them up and bring them indoors when they’re “ripe”. They leap onto counters to steal foods not intended for canine consumption, and then eliminate them all over the living room carpet. They bark incessantly, chew on furniture, refuse to come when you call them, and greet guests by “nosing” them in private places.

They laugh at whatever discipline you try to instill in them.

And their personalities can be less than endearing…

Our poodle flunked out of obedience classes repeatedly, until we finally gave up. But Kiley’s owner was more persistent. She sought advice from dog books, breeders, obedience trainers, behaviorists, a bad-dog support group and even a pet psychic.

All in vane. Kiley reportedly defied every type of training his owner tried.

Ms. Holt (Kiley’s owner) finally turned to trainer Mathilde DeCagney, owner of “Moose”, the famous Jack Russel from the hit show Frasier. By all accounts, before making it big in television, Moose’s behavior was a lot like Kiley’s. After asking some probing questions, Ms. DeCagney came to the following conclusion:

The fault is entirely with the owner.

She described Kiley’s problem as follows:

• he’s a working dog without a job;
• a social dog without enough companionship;
• a smart dog without enough mental stimulation;
• a hyper dog without enough exercise.

Kiley was frustrated!!! (In retrospect, Susie was too.)

I’ve heard it said that it’s often the owner who needs to be trained more than the pet. Many of us design a life around an average dog,one who’s content to sleep while we’re at work, and happy with a daily walk and weekend trips to the dog park.

But it’s often the case that the pet we choose is not, and never will be that dog. Our dogs don’t tell us when they’re frustrated; they show us!

Shortly after reading about Kiley, I wrote to Ms. Holt to let her know how much I admired her “hanging in there”. Her reply? “In truth, we’re going through another round of training … for me, not him. ”