Dog assessment: Lola
Two weeks ago we had a dry run with the Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue for the upcoming dog language and behavior workshop. Fosters brought some of the labs available (or soon to be available) for adoption, learning how to work with them so they’re even better when they do find their fur-ever homes.
One of those dogs was a yellow lab named Lola.
At first glance Lola was friendly, but a little out of control. She was wiggling and pulling and jumping and occasionally barking — always for attention or in excited reaction to another dog wandering nearby, never in aggression. She was also bonding, big time, with anyone who gave her a little attention. (We could see it in the course of the workshop.)
It wasn’t until I pulled her up to work with her on her non-existent recall that I realized what we had in her.
Here’s the thing: she’s a fabulous dog who needs to come down out of her over-excitement. I made sure she knew what “come” meant, then had her handler distract her with treats. Between the food and the fact that she’d already bonded to him, I knew she’d ignore me, and she didn’t disappoint. I corrected her twice before she came when I called, but after that she was determined: she would come every time, no matter the distraction.
Later, I used her again to teach her to leave food alone, even when it was at doggie face level. I body blocked her once (bumped her away with the side of my knee), and she didn’t even glance at the food again.
She’s crazy smart! But that’s not the best part. The best part was that in the very first recall encounter, she dropped out of her over-excitement and became attentive (but not obsessively so), much calmer, and eager to please. What a shift! And why? Because I bumped her for not coming when called.
Lola is going to make someone an amazing dog — as long as they can set some rules with a little bump, maybe a squirt bottle or a noise maker — something annoying that brings her out of her mental spin and gets her thinking. WOW!
Over-excitement is a killer, because most people don’t know what to do about it. The dog seems so happy: it feels mean to tell them to stop being that happy. The thing is, other dogs wouldn’t tolerate signs of over-excitement. We shouldn’t, either; it’s not a healthy state of mind. The signs to look for that your dog is over-excited include:
- Constant pacing
- Doesn’t settle, even after exercise
- Shows stress signals even at play and often when cool, in the house. (Stress signals: whites of the eyes show, ears look pinched against the skull, panting so heavily you can see the insides of the lips and back molars)
When dogs are in a state of over-excitement, they aren’t thinking clearly (if at all). They’re in a state of mental stress. They aren’t feeling normal, which you can tell through the stress signals. They’re far more likely to accidentally hurt another dog through rough play, or think a dog wants to play when it doesn’t. They’re also likely to get snapped at or attacked by other dogs.
Over-excitement is never a good thing, but it’s often easy to stop. You correct them. Just a little bump, or putting them on leash so they can’t pace. If you feel bad bumping for pacing, then do a little training; put food where they might sniff it, stand nearby, and bump when they go to sniff it. Now they’re learning to leave human food alone, and it’ll bring them down from the over-excited state.
In Lola’s case, it took virtually nothing at all to bring her out of it and expose this diamond of a dog. The trainer in me is a little in love with her, I admit.
You can find Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue at their website and on Facebook.
You can find more information on our dog language and behavior workshops at the Translating Dog website or Facebook page.
Jenna
