The Little Bear Dog Blog

Best Buds - Little Bear & Annie

I can’t remember exactly when I decided that a second dog would be a positive  influence on Little Bear, but I know I waged a long campaign of persuasion with OH. Little Bear would, my fuzzy little brain reasoned, learn the finer points of dog manners from the example of an older, calmer dog far easier than he would from me. I might be doing my best on the learning front, but let’s face it, I’ll never be a dog.

I’d seen it happen many a time. He was far more relaxed meeting a new dog when on a group walk with his friends and far less likely to growl out of fear or try to bully a youngster. He  lives to play and loved friends dogs coming to the house, moping horribly when they left and being reluctant to leave his pals at the dog sitters.  It made me question the limits of what I could teach him. I’d made huge mistakes in his training up until then, but even with the remedial work, would I ever be able to teach him everything he needed to control his fears?

It might have worked a treat, had Annie lived up to her billing as a chilled-out, laid back Lab. But she isn’t. She’s also fearful and reactive. So much for doing your homework before you adopt!

Now I know the pros out there will be shaking their heads at the dumb logic, and they’re right. Two reactive dogs have a sort of synergy that just means more barks and lunges per square kilo. So, instead of one fear aggressive dog to train, I now have two.

But, despite the hindsight, I still stand by my initial instinct. Little Bear is a happier, more contented dog because of Annie. There have been things that she’s been able to teach him that I just wasn’t able to. His loathing of dog coats for example. Years of flat-out refusing to go out in the rain or walk in a coat evaporated the day Annie got hers.

Pre-Annie, Fireworks night was hell in our house. LB would cower and shake so hard it broke your heart. But this year, as Annie sat and watched the pretty lights in the distance from the patio, LB decided it was safe enough to venture out and join her. No shaking in sight.

And then there’s the miraculous u-turn on the clicker. Pre-Annie, clicking the softest clicker on the market, in my pocket, from another room would send him scurrying upstairs to his bed to hide. We muddled on using a marker word, but it never felt as comfortable and my timing was never as good. On a hunch, I left the door open at the end of a clicker session with Annie and was amazed to see LB scamper in and line up happily for his treat. He’s now a click addict and actually gets waggy when he sees it!

I still wonder how we came to have not one, but two reactive dogs. It’s hard not to feel an occasional pang of envy at the ‘take anywhere’ dogs but if Annie has taught Little Bear something about dealing with fear, it’s nothing compared to what the pair of them teach me every single day – and for that I’ll be eternally grateful that they found their way into my life.