Ernest, Part 1

This is a story about how learning to understand your dog can change your life, and maybe save your dog’s life.

Ernest is a cocker spaniel mix – the cutest little 20 lbs you’ve ever seen. He’s all attitude, and will take no guff from anyone.

Ernest had been slated for euthanasia at a municipal shelter when he was accidentally transferred to the shelter where I volunteered.

When I met him he refused to talk to anyone – he had threatened and even nipped me and most of the folks at the shelter who’d interacted with him. Fortunately for me and for Ernest, I was undaunted.

I made Ernest a personal project. After a few weeks at the shelter he was a foster in our home. A month later he was a family member. And now, after 8 years has become my velcro dog. He shows no serious behavior issues (though he won’t stay out of the kitchen!). While we’re cautious with him he greets every visitor to our house joyfully and with curiosity and not a trace of anxiety.

How did this massive change happen?

First I learned to give Ernest space. At the shelter, I did have to control Ernest with a leash, and I did make decisions about where we walked or where we would sit together, but he got to tell me when it was OK to touch him or to brush or pet him, or when he wanted to go back into his kennel. Over time I learned what would make him tense up, or what would cause him to throw a “stink eye” at me, or when he would relax. It was clear that Ernest lacked confidence, that he did not feel safe and really didn’t trust people very much.

Occasionally he would demonstrate some concerning behaviors like charging or nipping. When this happened I would observe everything I could about the situation, his level of alertness, his energy – anything that I could see surrounding the behavior. Eventually I developed confidence in my understanding of what would trigger the behavior. Then I would work on a way to accommodate his behavior while I gradually taught him that I was trustworthy.

Here’s an example. At the shelter if I tried to leash or unleash Ernest while getting him out or in the kennel, he would charge and often nip at me – of course not a good thing at a shelter with many kennel staff members, vet tech and volunteers.

However, after a few tries I learned that I could invite Ernest out of the cage into the room, and he would gladly let me put his leash on. Likewise, I could take his leash off before asking him to get into his cage, and he would willingly comply. After less than a week, I learned that Ernest was perfectly willing to allow me to pick him up, to take off his leash and feed him gently into his kennel – so long as I got my hands out and the door closed before he turned around!

If I hadn’t learned this about Ernest, there was a good chance that he would have gotten into serious trouble nipping or worse. In many shelters this behavior could be a cause to trigger euthanasia. Fortunately for Ernest and I, but also for many of the handlers who had to interact with him, we learned these little tricks, the events were very limited, and he was safe.

And now, after 8 years in our home, I can actually reach into the kennel where Ernest sleeps to leash him, to pet him, or just to let him know how much I love him!

Ernest has changed our home in many ways.

Both my wife and I are madly in love with our little Bug and he with us!

He has become a member of our family, a Happy Dog In A Happy Home, and we’re all the better because of it.

In future posts I’ll tell you more about many other behaviors and lessons we have learned from helping Ernest.

– Dave

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