The Dog parks we don’t go to anymore

Tags

aggression, bay area, belgian tervuren, canine body language, dog bites, dog parks, dog play, food aggression, pit bulls, san francisco bay area, shiba inu, socialization, stupid pet owners

I’m addicted to dog parks.

Does one admit “addiction” to anything other than ill habits? I’ve often felt defensive about this dangerous love if only because discussions about dog parks tend to focus on their negatives — you could get yourselves killed at these places, for God’s sake! The way I see it, every dog park is beholden to specific contexts, moments, and patrons, because they are, by definition, spaces carved out of some kind of community. Rejection of dog parks is not so much a pronouncement of their inherent evilness, but more a rejection of the types of sociality that accompany them — which is fine, as neither human nor dog can be expected to socialize in the same ways. But unlike some more extreme critics of dog parks, I’m less likely to blame the park itself than the people who designed it and established patterns of antisocial use in the first place.

Now, what I call a “dog park” includes many different arrangements. For me, it’s any public space that permits the presence of dogs, ideally off leash. Some are fenced, some are designed with dogs specifically in mind and thus equipped, some are multi-functional areas that just happen to allow dogs, perhaps in designated or segregated spaces. At any rate, we have many to choose from here in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Dog parks in the East Bay (from DogGoes.com)

How do you choose, when not all options are created equal? Experiences will vary according to you, your dog, the time of day, the way the air smells at the moment… point is, I don’t know that I can generalize. I just have stories and experiences and a handful of lessons learned through repetition and observation.

Stories behind a jump for length and pictures of bruises and punctures and pain.

December Basenji meetup, staying under threshold

Tags

aggression, basenji, basenji mixes, canine body language, food aggression, meetups

December’s monthly Basenji meetup came early, since the last Sunday of the month is Christmas Day. Some B’s were more than ready to celebrate!

18 December 2011

Let’s see if I got this right: from left to right, Dannii, Scout, Zak, and Jenna.

And the one below, from left to right: Dannii, Jenna, Baree, Zak — four tongues to the wind in anticipation of handouts.

Lean and leggy Angus:

And his recently adopted sis Roxy, sporting some new accessories:

This cute pup named Beta paraded through the crowd at one point. Looked a lot like a Taiwan tugou to me!

Everyone insisted that he is a brindle Basenji mix. I’m not entirely convinced, but it’s certainly high on the list of possibilities!

Beta would have been the youngest, if we count him as an unofficial attendee. The eldest, I think, is Sunshine. On this overcast day, she was a bit shivery in the absence of her namesake.

By the end of the meetup, I came to a couple realizations regarding the Two Bows. The first, about Bowpi — even though she typically loves her time at the park, and even though she has played with other B’s before, she’s become increasingly antisocial at these meetups.

Maybe this is because she’s been jumped by too many Basenji gangs, or she just prefers to stay out of crowds. At any rate, it’s evident from her body language that she’s not as into the meetups as everybody else, and no amount of treats can convince her to enjoy herself.

Still, I did manage to get a shot of her alongside Dannii of the Troublemakers pack. What a dainty leg-lift!

Then, there’s Bowdu.

Oh, Bowdu.

In sharp contrast to Bowpi, he’s too into the idea of jostling amongst the horde and competing for treats. There’s usually a lot of teeth-flashing from him, directed at his neighboring dogs. His line of vision in the picture below remains fixed on the human, but make no mistake — he’s simultaneously communicating with the dogs at his side using a very different type of language!

That day at the meetup, he was really having a hard time keeping himself contained, and he crossed the line with a couple spats. Bowdu was also recently on the punishED end of a minor incident that was serious enough to result in an exchange of personal information (but no vet visit). I don’t know if that memory contributed to his bad behavior this time, though this was a different park and crowd altogether. Whether or not he’s the instigator, obviously I’d like to minimize such scuffles.

I don’t want to set him up to fail again, so I think we’ll cool it with the meetups for a while. Frankly, there are too many variables outside of my control. As much as I love taking pictures and seeing so many Basenjis at once, Bowpi gets overwhelmed, and Bowdu is too easily pushed over threshold in the presence of food.

I know that he’s not a bad dog, but lately, he has not been doing his breed any favors!

Story of a puddle

Tags

aggression, canine body language, dog parks, labrador retrievers

The intermittent winter rain has left large puddles at the dog park, which Bowdu adroitly avoids…

Photo taken 31 December 2010

Bowpi is also careful to avoid splashing through the mud, even in the midst of a chase.

She appeared puzzled that some dogs would choose to lie in the middle of such filth — ON PURPOSE, even!

Bowdu also thought this was not right, so he came over to boss around the doofy Labrador.

At this point, he started growling/vocalizing at the Lab. It wasn’t an “attack” growl by any means. It was one of his low, communicative arrrrarRUUruus that lots of other dog owners often misinterpret as aggression. I’d agree that he’s being offensive, maybe the equivalent of another driver leaning out his window to tell you your music sucks or you’re driving like a granny. But he was “just” being a jerk, and not a violent psycho who’s likely to explode in a figurative fit of road rage.

Bowpi was acting as the rubbernecking sidekick, completely harmless though somewhat in the way.

Note that both Shiba and Basenji avoided stepping directly into the puddle. Bowdu got in there a bit, but mostly he’s leaning in (like Bowpi) to get his message across. In fact, their feet didn’t even need to be wiped off when it was time to return to the car.

The man with the Chuck-It thought Bowdu was being rude, and told him to knock it off. He didn’t appreciate that Bowdu was trying to lecture his oafish Lab on the error of his ways, and how totally inappropriate it is to muck around in rain puddles when cleanliness is so much more dignified.

Bowpi’s attention was diverted to the angry yelly man. This is why I say she’s not really that shy. Even when strangers aren’t super friendly, she’s still bold enough to check them out, though sneakily and preferably on her own terms.

As soon as the Labrador acknowledged the know-it-all Shiba’s advice and stepped away from the puddle, Bowdu came bounding back, mission accomplished. Chuck-It Man glared at me some more while Bowpi chased his dirty, drippy ol’ Lab, quickly overtaking him and looping back up the hill towards me.

I’m so glad that Shiba Inu and Basenji are dogs that usually take pride in their cleanliness.

Shiba Inu & breed-specific profiles for aggression

Tags

aggression, akita, breeders, canine genetics, canine hypothyroidism, ethology, health tests, hemopet, shiba inu, thyroids, veterinary endocrinology, yukari takeuchi

I hope that breeders and those with any interest in behavioral issues in Nihon Ken are following and taking notice of Dr. Yukari Takeuchi’s work (武内　ゆかり, DVM, PhD). Takeuchi is at the University of Tokyo’s Laboratory of Ethology, and has done extensive research on genetic linkages and manifestations of aggression by breeds, with special attention to native Japanese breeds like the Akita and Shiba Inu.

In a 2006 report surveying a broad range of breeds, “A Comparison of the Behavioral Profiles of Purebred Dogs in Japan to Profiles of those in the United States and the United Kingdom,” Shiba were found to be ranked higher than average in aggressive behavior towards other dogs, watchdog barking, territorial defense, and snapping at children. They were clustered in a group known to have “high aggression, high reactivity, and medium trainability” along with the likes of Pomeranians, American Cocker Spaniels, Yorkshire Terriers, Irish Setters, Maltese, Pugs, Mini Schnauzers, Mini Dachshund, and others. The tag “medium trainability” says to me that Shibas may potentially have these unfavorable behaviors trained out of them, bringing home the point that socialization is key.

In another article from 2009, “Association analysis between canine behavioural traits in the Shiba Inu and genetic polymorphisms,” (Takeuchi Y, Kaneko F, Hashizume C, Masuda K, Ogata N, Maki T, Inoue-Murayama M, Hart BL, Mori Y, Animal Genetics 40: 616-622), what I understood was that there are tentative causal links between certain genes and Shiba aggression. However, because there are many social factors that contribute to aggression, as well as many ways to define aggression, more research needs to be done.

It was also noted that the Shibas surveyed were all from Japan, where many are still kept as watchdogs, particularly in rural areas. In such cases, certain types of “aggression” as noted in the 2006 study are favorably linked to their function.

In the meantime:

The reasons and motivations for having dogs vary from owner to owner; some want a watchdog for security while others desire a companion for family members. If veterinarians working at clinics know the behavioral profiles of purebred dogs and the tendencies in gender differences shown in this [2006] study, they can more appropriately advise prospective owners. This can facilitate a better quality of human-animal bond and perhaps prevent behavioral problems due to a mismatch between dogs and owners. In addition, veterinarians should inform potential owners of the importance of understanding the pedigree line within a breed, the behavior of the dam, sire, and siblings from previous litters, and the early environment during the socialization period, as has been repeatedly emphasized in previous studies (p. 7 of the 2006 study).

Takeuchi seems to consider veterinarian expertise the first line of defense against uninformed dog owners acquiring a potentially volatile breed. This statement stems from his methodology, wherein he asked veterinarians to answer based on their familiarity with the breeds surveyed, instead of breeders and purebred dog owners. In practice, I doubt most owners consult with a veterinarian before bringing home their dog; you usually get the dog first, then bring him to the vet. But his very efforts to find a genetic basis for aggression is intriguing nevertheless. If such a clear, direct genetic factor could be located, this would put a lot more weight on the selective breeding of purebred dogs, as well as throw open a whole set of related cultural issues on why breeders select for the temperaments and the individual dogs that they do.

I also find it interesting that a number of breeds considered to be “highly aggressive” also rank relatively highly on the Michigan State University’s charts for breeds at risk for thyroid disorders. Specifically, I’m looking at Maltese (#9, 16.5% autoimmune thyroiditis), Beagles (#10, 16.5%), Dalmatians (#11, 16.3%), Cocker Spaniels (#13, 15.7%), Irish Setters (#25, 12.6%), all grouped in the same cluster as Shiba Inu. In another cluster of dogs with “high aggression, low reactivity, high trainability,” there are breeds like the Boxer (#6, 18%.0), Great Dane (#36, 10.1%), Akita (#46, 8.6%), and Doberman Pinscher (#50, 8.4%). A lot of the smaller breeds rank pretty far down the list, like Yorkies and Pomeranians, which matches what I understand about hypothyroidism usually affecting medium to large-sized dogs.

But the notable overlaps make me wonder if a statistical correlation between breeds documented to be “aggressive” and thyroid disorders could be made even clearer by someone else with more rigorous analytical methods. While there is a lot of online and anecdotal information about hypothyroidism as an underlying factor contributing to aggression and behavioral changes in dogs (I’m thinking in particular about the work of Dr. Jean Dodds who presented her findings at the 1996 International Symposium on Canine Hypothyroidism), American DVMs seem to downplay the link between hypothyroidism and aggression, and there hasn’t been much published information in peer-reviewed journals echoing Jean Dodd’s findings.

Considering that 1996 wasn’t that long ago, in my mind, and that was the first (and only!) large-scale conference on canine hypothyroidism to have appeared in my searches, I bet more work can still be done. I just hope the specialists are talking to each other, and not content to let endocrinologists do their own thing, while ethologists do their own thing, and dermatologists and neurologists and hematologists and so forth are not limiting themselves to the information immediately at hand.

LINK: Genetics — Pet Project

Tags

aggression, canine genome sequencing, genetics, labrador retrievers, shiba inu, yukari takeuchi

I was alerted to an article on Nature.com from a Shiba Inu Forum poster entitled, “Genetics: Pet Project.” It looks at some current projects related to canine genome sequencing that are motivated by problems in canine temperament and behavior. It is also hoped that these types of problems might offer suggestions for new applications to human genetic problems, even if the specific genes don’t map neatly across species.

The whole article’s pretty interesting. Here’s one paragraph that caught my attention:

At the University of Tokyo’s Laboratory of Veterinary Ethology, Yukari Takeuchi has collected DNA samples from 200 Japanese shiba inu and 200 labrador retrievers to look for the genes underlying the former’s aggression and latter’s lapses in concentration. It could help solve a practical problem, she says. Distracted retrievers do not make good guide dogs, and knowing the gene variant responsible could help breeders to limit the trait in their stocks.

This passage is footnoted with a citation to a recent article by Takeuchi et. al which I think could be worth a glimpse, as food for thought.

On a related note, the list of Dog Genome Resources hosted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in Bethesda, Maryland is worth taking a look at as well.

Hypothyroidism and thyroid testing

Tags

aggression, basenji, breeders, canine hypothyroidism, health registration, lick granulomas, michigan state university, orthopedic foundation for animals, shiba inu, temaril-p, thyroids

Aside from more antibiotics for Bowdu’s feet, I’m asking my vet to test his thyroid levels based on the following observations:

Photo taken 14 July 2010

— Bowdu’s been more lethargic for some time now. This could be the side effect of Temaril-P, but his energy levels have obviously not been the same. He tires quickly on long walks, and will take advantage of a pause to lie down and rest, if I wait too long.

Photo from 17 August 2010

— Weight gain. He’s at 33 pounds now, up from 29 pounds last fall, about 28 pounds the year before. It’s not a super dramatic jump in weight, but he is definitely chubby though he only gets 9 nuggets of Primal Raw a day plus minimal treats.

— Skin infections. He’s been treated for infections due to broken paw pads twice now, and this upcoming visit will probably be the third, as his paw gets really swollen and pink when he does manage to lick it — believe me, we’re trying to make sure he doesn’t!

Photo taken 7 August 2010

— Hair loss. His tail is still quite bushy, no “rat’s tail”, but there’s been significant hair loss around his neck/collar area, though he hasn’t been scratching himself there excessively. This could be due to the plastic cone or seasonal coat changes. The main thing is that his skin itself doesn’t appear to be marked, but his hair has been falling right out as if the follicles no longer hold.

— Musky, distinctive “dog” odor. He’s a shiba! He usually NEVER smells like this!

Photo taken 13 July 2010

— Discoloration of the skin, especially inside of his thighs and armpits. I’m not sure what color the skin turns on dogs with thyroid problems. His is currently very pink and even dark gray/black in some spots. Obviously, the primary reason for his black, calloused skin is due to him licking himself, like his front left paw above (the photo was taken when it was at his worst). But I wonder if his skin would’ve gotten as dark as it did if there wasn’t something else going on? I don’t know.

Photo taken 4 April 2010

— Dry, brittle hair. This is more evident by touch than by photos, because he still looks so fluffy most of the time. His back and chest are fine, but the fur on his back legs/thigh is pretty rough. I was thinking that his fur is often like this in the summer, so again, it may be more associated with seasonal coat changes and not necessarily hypothyroidism. However, I dug up a picture from earlier in the year that gives a good visual indication of the dryness of his fur, shown above. Bowpi had been with us for less than two weeks, he had just started on Temaril-P and his paws were not yet calloused though if I recall, the black spots had just started to appear on his digits.

— Erratic behavior. Granted, Bowdu’s generally pretty “cranky,” to the point where we joke about him being a “Grumpy Old Man” or a “Hothead.” But looking at the scar on my wrist from a bite that’s still healing, I’m wondering if there could be a medical explanation for his bouts of violence.

I haven’t written much about this, because it’s complex and a touchy subject and one of the most difficult things to discuss about our shiba. The short version is that he has been known to bite. What leads up to the bite is usually quite easy to explain. In this particular instance, I was trying to dissuade him from licking his foot and I came up on him far too quickly and physically startled him — it was very poor judgment on my part. But he has not always been so quick to retaliate with his teeth. On the other hand, his relationship with Bowpi has only improved over time, so I’m not sure how to explain his behavioral changes. One commentator, Marie, over at Inu Baka (a wonderful multi-dog shiba blog, whose author has been pondering hypothyroidism as well) noted that “Thyroid issues are a very common problem in akitas. So common that for any aggressive akita the first thing we recommend in rescue is to do a thyroid test.” Which leads me to my last bullet point.

— Breed prevalence of hypothyroidism? It is prevalent enough in Akitas that it is noted. The National Shiba Club of America describes hypothyroidism as “not uncommon” in Shibas. But it is disappointing that Shiba breeders as a group don’t consider it notable enough to test or register thyroid health, as they don’t even crack the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals list for breeds having at least 50 evaluations between January 1974 through December 2009. To be fair, Shiba Inu were not recognized by the AKC until 1992, but that still leaves a lot of time for them to have accumulated 50 thyroid evaluations from US breeders, especially if the national breed club association has noted it to be a health issue of possible concern. The Akita is on the list, with 77.6% out of 415 testing normal for thyroids. So are Basenji, with 82.9% normal out of 251.

In fact, I first heard about thyroids being linked to behavioral as well as skin problems from Basenji folks. Kudos to Basenji breeders for being proactive about registering thyroid (as well as Fanconi!) information with the OFA, and making that an integral part of responsible breeding practices. As I hear more and more about Shibas with thyroid problems, I’m hoping that Shiba breeders will do the same, if only to help formulate a more complete breed profile.

EDIT 19 August 2010: I just found the .pdf file from the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health at Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI) breaking down thyroid statistics by breed. This file was not appearing on the OFA website when I checked.

It’s located here:
http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Sections/Endocrinology/

Scroll down to the file “Canine Thyroid Registry Information.”

The stats are up through 2005. Of 305 Shiba tested, 2.3% tested for autoimmune thyroiditis and 3.0% were equivocal. That puts them at rank 127 of 140 breeds.

Akita, by contrast, at rank #46:
2673 Akita tested, 8.6% autoimmune thyroiditis, 8.2% equivocal.

Basenji are ranked at #35:
741 Basenji tested, 10.8% autoimmune thyroiditis, 5.5% equivocal.

Some breeds from the MSU list show significant discrepancies as compared to the OFA testings.

If you want to train him, you can have him

Tags

aggression, dominance, puppies, rescue, training

This post was drafted last week, when my parents blew into town for a brief visit. I’d been sitting on it because it’s a doozy. The story’s probably boring because it’s so common, but it’s been on my mind.

—

One night I was invited to a dinner party at my parents’ friends’ home. Another pair of their college classmates who now happened to live in the area was invited. As the three couples reminisced and talked shop and vied for their turn to be loquacious, the topic eventually drifted onto the subject of pets. My parents somberly noted the recent death of one family cat, a dear calico named Lucy who had lived to be 18 years old. I was a kid when we first got her, but as I’ve not lived at home in over a decade, my memories of her have grown faded and her affections, if she had any for me to begin with, had long since turned elsewhere, specifically towards my mother. Another couple regaled us with stories of their cockatiel. Through their charming narration, expertly paced and animated with all sorts of facial gymnastics, I felt like I learned much about the manners in which birds express personalities.

For his contribution to the conversation, our host had nothing but complaints about their recently adopted dog, a Manchester terrier mix. “We were lied to,” he grumbled, resentful that the adorable, 9-month-old puppy they had brought home three months ago revealed himself to be “aggressive” and prone to fits of hyperactivity. “Do you want another dog? You can have him!”

After dinner, I asked the hostess if I could see the puppy. I’d caught a glimpse of him, crated in the garage earlier in the afternoon. We entered together, she popped open the crate door, and out shot a quicksilver black form, slapping his paws against my body in glee, leaping four vertical feet to bounce off my chest. The hostess started yelling at him immediately. “NO. BUDDY. NONO.” She saw me turning my back to him and trying to ignore him (i.e., not reward him with attention) when he was climbing all over me, and started apologizing profusely, saying he should go back in the crate because “He’s going crazy again.” Well… he’s going crazy because he never gets any attention and I’m somebody new, I thought.

I convinced her that it was all right, that we should give him a few seconds to get over his initial excitement, and that I was ignoring him not because I didn’t want to play but because I was waiting for him to calm down.

“Oh, he’s not going to calm down,” she said. “He just gets more and more aggressive, and that’s when he attacks.” As she said that, Buddy leapt up and grabbed my arm. I felt the slightest pressure, like he was about to get his hump on, so I turned and told him to sit.

And he sat.

And then he started jumping up into my face again.

“He knows his commands…” she said. “He knows ‘Flat.'”

“That’s great! What’s ‘flat’?” I asked. She showed me how to do it, putting my fingers (with or without a treat) in front of his nose and pulling towards the ground until he was completely down on his side, tummy exposed. I didn’t know this command because we’d never trained our dogs to go any lower than a down/stay, as I don’t really see a use for this particular position — just as I avoid parlor tricks like “crawl” or “play dead.” I took it as an indication of our differences in training philosophies.

“Did you work with a trainer?”

No, they hadn’t, was the answer. They hadn’t taken him to training, because their vet had told them “It’s not worth it” with the extent of his “aggression” (I couldn’t call her out on a lie with no proof, but really?!). The family was working with him based on the mother’s prior experience with an easy-going, highly trainable German Shepherd, and consulting their in-laws with dogs — but this dog proved recalcitrant to all efforts. What I heard made me think the problem was less in Buddy, but with their approaches. The dog had already been through three other owners (including breeder) before them. He was neutered. He appeared to be quite healthy. His faults, as they assessed the situation, was that he was “too dominant,” that he’s an “alpha dog,” that he had some “aggression” that wasn’t adequately disclosed at the shelter they got him from. She said Buddy had been described as dog aggressive, but good with kids. The match did not live up to their expectations, and they felt burdened by a dud dog.

Now, the entire family was avoiding spending time with him because they were being bowled over by their hyperactive, 20 lb., year-old puppy. Buddy had gotten loose once and charged and bit a neighbor’s dog. He “wanted to attack” every dog he saw on the streets so walking him around the neighborhood was a chore (the hostess was too nervous to let me walk him by myself, though I cheerfully offered to do so twice). He would get too worked up when playing with their only, elementary school-aged son, and so they weren’t allowed to be together unsupervised. Meanwhile, nobody in the family had the time to consistently train him and most importantly, expend some of his energy. He just sat in a crate all day, released for a manically blissful hour or so each day to annoy his family and terrorize the roses bushes in the backyard, before being tossed back into the crate in the garage for the rest of the night.

What a life. No wonder the dog had problems.

At this point, I went to fetch a sack of treats, which I still had in my bag from my park excursion with Bowdu and Bowpi to tire them out for my long evening. With a fistful of Zuke’s salmon training treats, we started playing “It’s Yer Choice” (this was recommended via knowledgeable folks at the Basenji Forums for a puppy who jumped up on people and nipped) while continuing the discussion. She said that she had contacted the SPCA about surrendering Buddy, but nobody could guarantee that he wouldn’t be put down — probably because she was describing him as a severely aggressive dog! However, what I saw was a dog that was 1) still very much a puppy with a lot of unspent energy, and 2) very capable of focusing, as he quickly knew to look up at me and sit nicely with his tail wagging by the fourth treat. If he had motivation and focus, then as far as I was concerned, he could be trained. They just hadn’t tried hard enough.

Then the host poked in, followed by my parents, who had finally noticed my absence. Upon seeing “daddy” and so many new guests, Buddy immediately started streaking around the room again, darting inside the house at points and getting chastised for it. Daddy sat down on a chair at the side of the garage, and Buddy leapt right into his lap, squirming wildly. Daddy placed his hand on the dog’s back, which caused him to burst into a noisy fit of emotion before being shushed into stillness, appearing calm with his ears pressed backwards. “This is what the vet does — he’s really good!” he said. “The first time he laid his hand on Buddy’s back, he kept snarling and turning back to bite him, but the vet didn’t submit until he did. He doesn’t like it because that’s what alpha dogs do, and he thinks he’s alpha. Well, I’M alpha now!”

“Alpha to the dog, but I’m YOUR alpha!” retorted his wife, and they laughed at their little domestic inside joke.

I had nothing to say. Buddy was visibly more controlled in daddy’s hands, but I’m not sure that it was a matter of submission, and certainly not obedience… As soon as he was released, he resumed his whirlwind tour around the garage. It was time to move back inside for dessert, so Buddy was to be put away again, like a wind-up animal back into the toybox. That’s when Daddy started yelling at Buddy to get into his crate. Whenever he tried to dart away, he’d shout “NO!” in a really mean voice, and even stomped his foot a couple times, but it did not serve the end goal of getting Buddy where he wanted.

Hoping to show how just a little reward was all he needed, I brought out the training treats again, told Buddy to sit (treat), told Buddy to stay (very good), then come to me next to the crate (treat), then “Get inside” (their command) — and then jackpotted him when he did. An easy-peasy three steps with absolutely no resistance.

But then it all felt like a miserable lie and cheap trickery when I closed the crate door and reluctantly joined the other guests. If I hadn’t asked to see the dog, Buddy probably would’ve been ignored all night. And then there’s tomorrow, and the day after… and there’s nothing I can do to help this beautiful little dog with his sleek black fur and eager eyes and a need to be part of the family. I tried to talk to the parents, already knowing there was little I could do to change their minds in one night. “I don’t think he’s aggressive,” I said. “I think he has a lot of potential.” Not that I’m a professional evaluator by any means, but some things are just frightfully apparent…

The woman with the cockatiel commended me for being able to see Buddy’s positives when his owners could only criticize his behavior. “Well if you know someone who wants to train him, they can have him!” was their final word on the matter. They’ve made up their minds that they’re not going to keep him, and they’ve already prioritized him out of their life, just as my family did with a Golden Retriever a long, long time ago…

(To be continued.)

Note: This dog is still available for adoption if anyone who lives in the Bay Area/Northern California is interested.