When I rescued Donner in October 2015, every time he saw a dog he would react by whining, barking, and straining at the leash to go to them. I learned when I rescued him that he had been chained in several LA backyards for his first four years and so probably never played with another dog. He had never been inside a home, either, since when I brought him to my place he reacted to the TV set, the vacuum cleaner, the blender and all other appliances. A friend recommended a “reputable” dog shrink, so I laid out $500 of my hard-earned cash for an hour of her time. After Donner reacted when he saw a dog when she was walking him, she was unable to control him and he knocked her over. She then wrote on her report, “Donner will never play with a dog in his life and he should be on Prozac to calm him down.” Not agreeing with her assessment, I took him to the “best dog trainer” in town. He, too, was unsuccessful in reducing Donner’s reactivity, but he also said, “he’ll never play with a dog in his life.” So, on OTR-8, following the trainer’s advice, not wanting to create an incident on the road, I put Donner on one of those Herm Sprenger pinch collars which totally destroyed the underside of his neck and an electronic collar, which did no good unless I put it on 100, the highest jolt. I also put him on Prozac, which actually made him slightly aggressive. And I kept him away from all dogs, although he strained and whined all the more to go to them.
When I got back from the trip, despite my mobility issue, I worked with Donner every day to reduce his reaction zone when he saw another dog. I then slowly starting bringing him closer to other dogs to see what would happen. Although at first, as he get close to a dog, he would snap at them, not in an act of aggression, but his strange was of greeting. I only had to correct him immediately four or five times and since then he never snapped again. His reaction was his way of saying, “ I just want to play with that dog,” and not aggression as the shrink and trainer said. Now, he gets to meet every dog we encounter on the street and he walks away happy as a, well, dog. My number one goal on the upcoming trip is make sure he gets to meet every dog he sees in all 25 or so of the states and provinces we will visit.
Below is a photo of Donner yesterday at his sometime office at Dean and DeLuca in DC. Do you think this dog needs to be on Prozac, an e-collar and a pinch collar, and kept away from all dogs? So much for professional advice these days.
