


YES, WE GOT SNOW
Day 23 of this cold, and I’m almost all better, yay!! Better enough, at least, that I did get to see a couple of clients this week. The attack on the GSHP puppy is discussed below. Meanwhile we got a good 5 inches of snow… not all that much compared to my youthful days in Wisconsin, but enough to shut everything down here. It’s pretty… but it’s times like this that I miss my years in Marin/Sonoma County, California.
Speaking of California – my heart goes out to all those experiencing the horror of the Southern California fires…
MY RESCUE RANT
One of my clients this week was a woman who adopted a 6-year-old Hound mix from a rescue group in West Virginia. I’m not going to go into detail about this case other than to say the dog was in that rescue for a year-and-a-half, and when my client took the dog to her veterinarian, Sandy tested positive for heartworm, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, had to have 8 very painful teeth extracted and still needs another visit to extract 8 more.

Seriously, rescue group? This dog has been suffering in your hands for 18 months!!!
As many of you know, I worked at a shelter in California (Marin Humane Society – one of the best in the country) for 20 years and LOVED it. I am a huge supporter of responsible shelters and rescue groups. I am told they also keep all their dogs outdoors year-round without heat. And windchill temperatures here this week are supposed to be sub-zero. The above rescue group is not responsible. In fact, they should be charged with animal cruelty for allowing Sandy to suffer for a year-and-a-half. And with animal neglect for keeping dogs in inhumane conditions.

My client is a saint for helping Sandy through all this. And no, she had no idea when she adopted him. The rescue disclosed nothing, even though apparently every dog in their hands is positive for Lyme and heartworm.
Okay – rant over. Sorry.
4-YEAR-OLD LABRADOR RETRIEVER ATTACKS GERMAN SHORT-HAIRED POINTER PUPPY
This case is tragic, but we’re looking forward to a happy ending. The family adopted Argo when he was just nine weeks old. This is a family with a long history of caretaking and training dogs. The day after they brought him home, 4-year-old Travis (who gets along well with every dog he’s ever met and had no history of resource guarding from other dogs) and Argo were being fed 15 feet apart when suddenly Travis launched across the room and grabbed the puppy by his head and shook him. His humans were finally able to separate them, but not before significant damage was done. Amazingly, Argo lived.


Argo, now 6 months old, has permanent brain damage, is blind in his right eye, has a depression in the middle of his forehead and has started having seizures (perhaps from brain damage, vaccinations or a combination of vaccines and brain damage – no way to know for sure). He is receiving medication for the seizures, and it helps but is not 100% effective.
This family is amazing. They have invested many thousands of dollars to treat Argo and help him through his trauma, and will be spending more. They have kept the two dogs separated until recently when they did some muzzle training with Travis and started allowing them to interact for short periods with the older dog muzzled. There have been no further incidents, but they were understandably very wary of allowing them to interact without the muzzle. Especially stressed about this next step were the mother and adult son who were present when the attack occurred.
When father and son arrived at Peaceable Paws with both dogs we put them on opposite sides of a barrier, no muzzle, so I could watch them interact. Both dogs were, by the way, exceptionally friendly and affiliative with me.
As we talked with the dogs free on opposite sides of the barrier, both dogs were more interested in getting into things in the environment than focusing on each other. The son played with Travis with tennis balls and toys, while we kept Argo occupied with a large stuffed frozen Kong. The several times they did connect through the barrier there was no sign of tension except for one time when there was a tennis ball at Travis’ feet. In that moment he gave Argo a hard stare and a low growl, and Argo immediately turned away, deferring appropriately to the other dog’s “this is my ball” signal.
Interaction With Muzzle
After an hour of discussion and observation, we agreed to put the dogs on the same side of the barrier, with Travis muzzled. We did this first with no toys. The dogs interacted well, with no sign of tension. Then we added toys. Both dogs chased and played with the toys (Travis could pick up a ball with his muzzle on!), and I laughed when I realized that when the ball was tossed for Travis, he would bring it back and toss it into his human’s hands. (They do use him for bird hunting, so he has a great retrieve.)
There were several occasions when Argo passed closely by Travis when the older dog had possession of a ball. On a few of those occasions (not every time) Travis would give Argo a hard stare and/or a low growl. Argo immediately deferred and moved away each time, and Travis immediately de-escalated. This is exactly what I was hoping for.
Without Muzzle
With his humans’ consent, we then removed Travis' muzzle. We picked up all the toys first and observed no tension in the dog’s muzzle-free interactions. We then added toys and saw the same behavior pattern as when Travis was previously muzzled - a few "go away" signals from Travis that Argo immediately respected. Yay!! The only escalation occurred when Argo (wild teen-ager that he is) unwisely leapt up in the air and landed on Travis. Travis snapped at Argo and connected with his cheek. Argo yelped and ran to his humans. There was no skin broken, no blood and Travis immediately de-escalated. Phew!
We removed the toys, and for quite some time after that Argo was very subdued, although Travis showed no further agonistic behaviors. (Agonistic behaviors are those behaviors which cause, threaten to cause or seek to reduce physical damage. Agonistic behavior is comprised of threats, aggression and submission.) I suspect some PTSD for Argo – he undoubtedly remembers being attacked by Travis. Probably also some PTSD for the humans who witnessed it! We started tossing tennis balls again, and Argo gradually relaxed and began to engage with the balls, although giving Travis a wider berth than before.
Discussion
Finally, we separated the dogs again so we could talk without having to supervise closely. I said that I was very pleased with how the dogs did, and father and son agreed. In fact, given the severity of the puppyhood incident, it’s fortunate that Argo is not more fearful of Travis! Although we will never know for sure for sure what happened to trigger the attack, I shared that aggression is caused by stress. They said that there had been a fair amount of extra household stress due to family visiting, and that Travis had tested positive for Lyme at around that time (pain is a HUGE stressor). We agreed that bringing a baby puppy into the home can be very stressful and was perhaps the straw that broke the already-stressed camel’s back. We agreed that the family could now begin very gradually allowing Tucker and Argo to spend carefully orchestrated/closely supervised unmuzzled time together.
Our Plan
We discussed how to implement the dogs’ re-introduction at home – as follows:
1. Exercise Travis and Argo well in the woods – with Travis’ muzzle on at first, then removing the muzzle when the dogs are well-exercised, and you are comfortable doing so. I would do this at first with two humans present. First just with these two, then add Luna, and when you are very comfortable doing so, add Halo to the woods hikes.
2. Initially, muzzle Travis to bring them back to the house.
3. Once in the house, with the other two dogs in another room, give Travis and Argo a little time to settle, and then remove the muzzle for a period of time. Watch for any signs of tension. As long as the tension de-escalates as it did here, continue to let them, interact. If at any time – during this step or the following steps, you see tension escalating – if the intensity of Travis’ warning increases, or if Argo does not appropriately defer, we need to back up in the program. Let me know immediately if this happens.
4. Replace the muzzle while the dogs are still calm, before they are ready to be active again, and release the other two dogs.
5. Gradually – as you are confident that things are going well, increase the amount of time the dogs are together muzzled, and add Luna to the mix.
6. Eventually add Halo as well. Be sure she is well-exercised at first as well.
I advised them that this may not go quite as smoothly at home, where there is some history and where Travis may be more possessive of certain spaces, beds, etc. in the home, as it did here. I asked them to let me know if they identify “hot spots” - we can work on those as well. It is important for the dogs' quality of life - as well as the humans who live with them - that we succeed in making this work.
Once again, I realize how extraordinary the vast majority of my clients are – the humans as well as the dogs. If all humans were as committed to their dogs as most of my clients are, our dog world would be a much better place!
MY ANIMAL COMPANION LIFE LIST
A few years ago I decided I wanted to make a life list of all the animal companions I have shared my life with over the years – at least all the ones I could remember. I shared all 35 dogs, 40 cats and 27 equines in my last 3 blogs. Here are my 45 Others! And hey, I’m still waiting to see your life lists!!!
Other
1. Linus - Sheep
2. Chuckles - Raccoon
3. Lolly - Rabbit
4. Pop - Rabbit
5. Sicle - Rabbit
6. Winter - Mouse
7. Spring - Mouse
8. Summer - Mouse (I took him to school in my pocket and he rode on the handlebars of my bicycle…)
9. Fall - Mouse
10. Snap - Rabbit
11. Crackle – Rabbit
12. Janey – Cow
13. Mary – Cow
14. Cindy - Cow
15. Wings – Kestrel (yes, I had a falconry license)
16. Sunshine - Canary
17. Happy - Lovebird
18. VW - Rabbit
19. Feather - Boa
20. Monty - Python
21. Fred - Tortoise
22. Wilma - Tortoise
23. Jammer – Tortoise
24. Mara - Tortoise
25. Sturgis - Pig
26. Barack - Rooster
27. Michelle – Hen
28. Sasha - Hen
29. Malia - Hen
30. Blanche - Hen
31. Bianca - Hen
32. Buffy – Hen
33. Beatrix – Hen
34. Winkin’ – Goat
35. Blinkin’ – Goat
36. Nod – Goat
37. Skittles – Goat
38. Gruff - Goat
39. Dexter – Pig
40. Snap– Chicken
41. Crackle – Chicken
42. Pop – Chicken
43. Kellogg – Chicken
44. Cocoa Puff – Chicken
45. Frederick Cute and Curious (Freddie) - Pig














As I write this, it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Inauguration Day. My only political comment is to quote what my mother used to say: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything…”
So I am saying nothing.

Warm Woofs,
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA

I know, right!!!
Thank god for Sandy having found a caring home. Agree with you on all in regards to the shelter who was holding her. That is so sad, we have to have better animal welfare laws.