Last night I had a talk with Ziggy.
I told him that I was deeply concerned about his inability
to make friends with other dogs.
“What am I going to do with you?” I asked.
He didn’t respond. He just gave me the silent treatment, then laid down in the other room.
This morning he woke me up looking very contrite.
He said he wanted to change, but didn’t know what to do. He’s always done the same thing,
See the dog, sniff the dog’s bum, I jump on top, other dog starts a fight.
Why do they get so upset?
“Ziggy,” I said, “you gotta learn some basic social skills. When you meet a new dog, you first touch noses then back up and wait for the other dog to come to you. If the other dog comes to you then you can spend more time with nose play. Stay away from the bum on the first meeting.”
“What if the other guy doesn’t come to me?” Ziggy asked.
“Then walk away, just walk away.” I cautioned him. “If you keep starting fights I can’t take you to any parks, and you love parks.”
Ziggy looked worried. “What can I do to MAKE them want to be friends with me?”
“You can’t MAKE anybody be your friend. You INVITE them. If they say yes, fine. If not, then find another dog.” I suggested. “It would help if you made some FRIENDLY gestures.”
“What do you mean?” Ziggy really had no clue.
“Some dogs use the ‘play bow’ ” and I demonstrated.
“We humans use a ‘smile’ ” and I smiled at him.
Ziggy got very excited, “The bow, I don’t like, but that smile looks like fun. Let me try.”
“That looks more threatening than friendly,” I said, “You gotta smile with your eyes too.”
Ziggy looked discouraged.
I suggested we go to the condo where we have a mirror that Ziggy could use
to see himself and practice smiling. He agreed. He loves rides.
He took his smile practice very seriously.
He spent a good 2 hours at it.Then he came to me to show me his new smile
I think he’s got it!
I took him to Hidden Cove Park as a reward.
Ziggy kept smiling. A robin was so intrigued, he landed close by to check Ziggy out.
Well, the smile works on birds.
Maybe it will work on potential dog friends.
I don’t know.