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January 23, 2009

This week Lilly worked only on leash, unlike recent weeks, because it’s coyote mating season, and we’re seeing much more activity in the valley in recent days. Since more than likely a coyote would ignore us, I might assume Lilly would ignore it too, but I’d rather not take the chance. since even impeccibly trained dog’s like KB’s Labs get tempted. Lilly did, however, encounter some dogs this week — some on purpose, some not. Here’s how it went.

Cattledog on the Road
One day, just as we crested the top of our driveway onto the road, a man who often runs/walks with his cattledog happened to be approaching (about 50 feet out). We went ahead and took our position on the edge of the road because Lilly saw the dog and had no reaction at all. They crossed over to the other side because they walk faster than we do, but for the length of several houses, Lilly and this dog were basically side by side (with the county road between them). Both looked perfectly comfortable and happy.

They essentially ignored each other, which is PERFECT in my book. I LOVE dogs who are handler focused and just do their thing. These dogs do not worry Lilly.

At the fork in the road, they went one way, and we went the other.

Play Dates with Katie
On our way back from a couple walks this week, we went ahead and took up the offer to drop by and play with Katie anytime, even when her parents are gone. We didn’t stay too long since I’m still trying to rest Lilly’s boo-boo hip, but I do enjoy seeing Lilly play comfortably with another dog. I noticed too just how often Katie offers Calming Signals. It’s very sweet how she stands still, sits down, or even lays down until Lilly stops being such a herding maniac with her.

I experimented with joining Katie in showing Lilly calming signals and several times she eventually gave up being bossy and went off sniffing around by herself. What’s interesting is that Lilly would continue to sniff, even when Katie approached and gave her a once-over with her long, long nose. I praised Lilly for allowing it, but I honestly don’t think Lilly was doing displacement sniffing. I think she was just exploring and did NOT mind at all that Katie wanted to check her out from head to toe.

Two Dogs in her Face

Unfortunately, one day while we were out playing with Katie, two off leash dogs (the ones on the corner who bark at us) came barreling down the hill at Lilly and Katie. They were out for a walk on the ranch behind us and saw Katie and Lilly playing.

A rousing episode of fence fighting blew up. I was NOT happy. I tried hard to watch for any signals that the dogs exchanged body language that it was OK to approach, but saw none. To me (and to Lilly, I think) it looked like a full-speed, frontal approach.

Lilly was all noise, teeth, and raised hackles. But, I kept moving closer to her until she could “hear” me, and at about 10 feet, she suddenly turned away from the dogs and came to me when I asked her to LEAVE IT and COME. As she moved away from them and toward me, she has a lowered, submissive, fearful body posture. I clipped on her leash, moved her farther away from the fence, and began feeding her. She still seemed nervous, but not reactive.

As their owner moved to let them into Katie’s yard, I tried to explain that Lilly was afraid and that I needed the dogs to move away, even though they too were no longer barking, but I didn’t seem to get my point across. Thankfully, Katie’s daddy was home that day and had come out to chat, so he let us sneak through the house and out the front door, while the 2 new dogs went into Katie’s backyard.

So, we made our great escape and went straight home to regroup.

Little Dogs Next Door
I’ve decided not to ask for any walks or whatever with the new little dogs next door. And, I call my dogs inside if they happen to be out when the little dogs come out. My reason? I’ve watched the little dog’s posture, and it’s fearful. They bark at us, lips forward and weight shifted back.

Since the young one is only 4 months old, I don’t want to risk my dogs (or me) being the ones who scare him at this tender age, which (as we know) can have long-reaching consequences.

***
I also took Lilly to the vet this week, where there were dogs in the lobby, but that’s a story for another day.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. I didn’t know that it’s coyote mating season. Perhaps that’s why we’ve been hearing howling lately. I’ll have to be more heads up – we haven’t seen any on a walk in a while so my guard is down.

    I’m so glad that Lilly can play with Katie. It sounds really good for Lilly.

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