More Party Time Considerations

Continued from yesterday's post!

Addressing 4: Over-stimulation
Imagine how you feel when you are over-caffeinated. Fidgety, jittery, possibly irritable, chatty, short attention span. Having new people and encountering all their smells and all their voices and all their words can feel like over-caffeination to your dog. You may be jittery yourself. You may have ignored, or simply not noticed or observed, your dog's cues about being over-stimulated and stressed, or having to go outside or being hungry.

A party can be a chaotic experience for you as you try to meet each of your guest's needs. Plan ahead to meet your dog's needs too. A long, structured walk before the party is a great choice, and when someone asks if he can do anything to help you during the party, say, "Why Yes! Could you sit by the fire with Foster?" You could give your guest a few treats, and both your guest and your dog feel useful and taken care of.

Addressing 5: Lint Brushes
I never use lint brushes. The layer of dog hair in which I am continually ensconced never registers in my brain. If you have a dog that sheds, you have dog hair on your clothes. You have dog hair in your socks poking at the bottoms of your feet. Not everyone enjoys this. I work to keep all dog hair out of the food at a party, and I keep lint brushes in every bathroom. My guests can attempt to remove the layer of hair throughout the evening.

Addressing 6: Dressing up
I think it's fun to give my dogs a bandana to wear for a party that goes along with the theme. For my Tour de France themed birthday party, my dogs wore yellow bandanas. It just gives me a smile every time I look at them, and I hope others realize that with this small accessory I am showing how much my dogs are included in every bit of planning for an event.


Luna in a festive Christmas bandana

My dogs are members of my family and I like my Whole Family to be included in special events. I help my dogs enjoy parties and by preparing them with training and planning I help everyone see that dogs can be present in anything you want to do.

Everyday Is A Party With A Dog - Party Time Considerations

First, I do not have the attitude that guests come into my dogs' home and therefore guests must tolerate my dogs' behavior. No. I do hope that my guests tolerate my dogs' presence because I don't want to think about sequestering my dogs. I hope my guests will tolerate dog hair on their clothing, some drooling, and two dog beds in front of the fireplace. These are things I cannot control or will not change, but I do not expect my guests to be unafraid, if they are in fact afraid, of dogs, or be forced to interact with my dogs. I do not expect my guests to tolerate bad manners.

Some things I think are important to consider for your dogs' and your guests' party enjoyment:
1. Underfootedness
2. Door manners
3. Food avoidance
4. Overstimulation
5. Lint brushes in every bathroom
6. Dressing up

Addressing 1: Underfootedness
Dogs are dependent on us and they are aware of our emotions. Not all dogs respond the same, but your stress is felt by your dog. If you are stressed, or even simply excited, about your party, your dog may become more clingy and underfoot, or he may stay far away.

The underfoot option can be dangerous for you, your dog and your guests. You don't want anyone stepping on or tripping over your dog. One option to help with this is to have a space for your dog to be as you prepare food and greet guests. A dog bed within sight of all the action is often a good choice.

Addressing 2: Door Manners
While dogs can be curious, calm and polite at the door, not all guests want to be sniffed when they arrive. The dog bed within sight of the door can be used in this instance as well.

Addressing 3: Food Avoidance
If you allow your dog to share your food, eat anything that falls to the floor, or pilfer food from counters or tables, parties can be especially chaotic, tempting and dangerous. No one wants a dog begging as they eat, but no one wants a dog sprinting toward her feet to snatch a fallen meatball either. It is a terrible lack of manners, but also a fallen tomato or hot pepper can make your dog sick. A fallen macadamia nut or handful of M&M's could kill him.

If you need ideas for how to teach these manners and boundaries, just ask. I'll cover the rest of the list in the next post.

Until then, here's a look at one of my favorite party guests:

Everyday Is A Party With A Dog!

We live in a very busy household. We have ~75 people in and out of our house every week. There are also the doorbell ringings of delivery people and fundraising kids. It can be a lot of work for a dog. The alert barking, the open door and guest greeting manners, the dance of being close by, but not underfoot - these all require skill to employ. We work on and refresh these skills daily. When there is going to be a party at the house, these skills need to be perfected.

I won't say we like "to entertain" necessarily because I'm not really sure what that means when you hear it on a home improvement or buying and selling show. I give three or four large parties each year with guests in the 20-30 people range, and I have a few people over for dinner 10-12 times each year. I don't even think about "what to do with" my dogs during a party, but I do know some people who feel they can't have anyone over for any reason due to their inability to predict or control their dogs' behavior.

So how do I prepare my dogs for a party? It starts LONG before the party. I'm not going to tell you how to train your dogs for every social instance, but I will highlight this week the situations that I think need your attention, and how having a group of people over may affect your dog, and your relationship with him or her.

Foster My Big Black Dog

My Fosse. Today is his 3rd birthday! We think.

Foster came to us through Almost Home No-Kill Animal Shelter in Southfield, Michigan. Some paperwork that came with him lists his birthday as March 10, 2009. That could be a guess, but we don't care. We're saying it's his birthday and it is a day to celebrate!

Almost Home had named Foster Jake, and he answered to Jake for the year he lived at the shelter. Being a social, sweet, tolerant, friendly Big Black Dog who looks like a Pit Bull, the shelter's workers and volunteers were prepared for a longer than average stay for him, but they could not understand how people were not falling in love with him after five minutes!

The only way I can explain how Foster became ours is to describe it as Divine Intervention. I had applied and listed a couple of dogs I was interested in meeting and learning more about. I arrived at the shelter in February 2011 to be interviewed, and to arrange a home visit before I could be approved for any dog I might consider. "Jake" greeted me, as was his job as "Office Manager," and after meeting a few staff members who each said, "Awwww, are you the one who's here for Jake? You are SO LUCKY!" I was asked, "So, are you ready to take this guy home?" I was overwhelmed, but not because he was a Big Black Dog. His appearance didn't even register with me until I learned about Big Black Dog Syndrome (BBD). I feel anxious thinking about how long my sweet Fosse waited and waited and waited for me to come to take him home.

Divine Intervention has given me each of my dogs and 4 of them have been big and black. Now that I know about BBD, I may "specialize" in doing my part to remedy the phenomenon, or when the number in our family is wrong, I may simply ask for the dog who has been waiting the longest for me to bring him or her home. I'm still said thinking about how long Foster had to wait for us...and I feel sadder for those still waiting for their families.

Big Black Dogs and A Walk In The Park

A friend of mine has a Doberman Pinscher. She adores her dog and takes her everywhere and to every kind of training class you can imagine. They do tracking and trick training and run 5ks and 10ks together. They're a great pair.



While walking with a friend and her Golden Retriever, my friend and her Doberman, Poppy, were ambassadors for the breed. Dobermans are Big Black Dogs who were originally bred to be guard dogs and have a reputation for being aggressive toward strangers and loyal to their owners. Because my friend is aware of, but saddened by, the belief that Dobermans are dangerous dogs, she is diligent about leash manners and socializing Poppy. She can take Poppy anywhere and feel secure that Poppy will be comfortable, friendly and safe.

The Golden Retriever Poppy was walking with was not so well-behaved. The Golden was on a Flexi-style leash and walking ahead of its owner, crossing their path back and forth with no control or input from the owner. Being in a park, on a walking and bike path, there was enough width to accommodate the Golden's unstructured walk, but when a bike rider approached, he rang his bell several times to get the group to move over a bit. My friend and Poppy stepped to the side of the path, stopped, and Poppy sat down and they waited for the rider to pass. The Golden was barking at the rider, and its owner had difficulty retracting the leash and getting her dog to listen to her. The rider could not get by because of the length of the leash crossing the path. The Golden's owner apologized saying she was trying to get her dog under control. The rider said, "It's not that Golden I'm worried about. It's that Dobe!"

The big black dog who was calm, polite, and following its owner's direction, was feared while the barking Golden Retriever who was not under any kind of safe control was not a concern. Big Black Dog Syndrome.

Big Black Dogs and A Walk Down The Street

Once upon a time, a friend of mine had a Rottweiler. So sweet. Her name, the Rottweiler, was Roxy. My friend was an advocate against Breed Specific Legislation, and at the time, Rottweilers were particularly targeted. My friend liked to take her dog everywhere and she continued to when she had children. She told me about an upsetting day at the park when families were actively avoiding her dog, her and her kids. She tried to encourage people to see Roxy as a friendly, gentle companion, but no one at the park was going for it. I said, "Cindy, when people are afraid a dog is going to bite their heads off, they don't feel comforted by the idea of giving them a treat from their hand, you know?" Cindy just didn't understand why she was experiencing the shunning.



I understand not being able to think like a person fearful of dogs. I also understand being concerned that people are not in control of their dogs, but when I see a family interacting with its dog and the dog is calm and obedient and comfortable with people being near, I smile. It's a beautiful thing to see: dogs as trusted family members participating in daily family activities. I love it. Sadly, I see families making excuses for their dogs' unsafe behaviors - "Oh, he just wants to play!" or "Oh, she's just worried my little one is going to fall off the slide!" - when what the dogs are doing is barking, herding and guarding which can turn into nips, trips and bites. Especially when you have a powerful breed of dog like a Rottweiler, you have to be triply conscious of how your dog's behavior not only is being interpreted, but is potentially escalating into a fear creating situation.

There are wonderful Rottweilers in the world who are calm and obedient and socially comfortable breed ambassadors, but even those Rottweilers can be feared. People have told me they've observed other people crossing the street to avoid them as they walk with their big, black and brown, loving, friendly-to-everyone, completely-controlled-with-a-loose-leash, slobbery, tolerant-of-toddlers-pulling-their-ears Rottweilers. They see it as people crossing the street simply because they have a Rottweiler. I'm sure that's true, but I have my own experience.

A few years ago, I was walking with Luna in our Perfect Place of Glen Arbor. We were walking along the sidewalks of downtown and it was off-season, therefore, not many people; just the way we like it. Luna could have been off-leash, but I assumed there was a leash law, and it's just more polite for her to be on-leash. The leash was loose because she doesn't pull, and we were just traipsing through town, two girls enjoying the sun. A man was approaching, and we smiled and made some room for him on the sidewalk. At about 15 feet away, he crossed the empty street to walk on the other side until he was about 10 feet past us, then he crossed back again to go into a store basically right behind us. It took me a block or two to realize he had purposely crossed the street to avoid walking by us. He crossed the street so he wouldn't walk near me and my Black Lab. My Big Black Dog.

So yes, people are concerned about big Rottweilers and may avoid them, but it's not just Rottweilers. People are afraid of Black Labs too. My Sweet Luna. I can't imagine anyone being afraid of her, but I have to accept it. It exists. I saw it. I think it had to be Big Black Dog Syndrome.


My Big Black Dog Named Luna

Big Black Dogs

Whether we like it or not, people who encounter us with our canines make their own assessments of our, and our dogs', personality traits based on how our dog looks, acts and behaves. Have you ever heard of Big Black Dog Syndrome (BBD) or Black Dog Bias? It is a phenomenon experienced by shelters in which black dogs are passed over for adoption in favor of lighter-colored dogs. Predominantly dark dogs take longer to be adopted, and are often among the first to be euthanized, in comparison to their lighter counterparts. Also, large dogs tend to take longer to be adopted than small ones.

Theorized reasons for BBD:

1. Fear of certain breeds that are typically dark such as Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers.

2. Black dogs are often portrayed as "villains," dangerous and aggressive, in film and on television.

3. Their coloring is associated with evil or misfortune such as black cats being unlucky or ominous.

4. Black dogs' facial features are more difficult to highlight in photographs, and dark eyes against dark fur make it more difficult to read facial expressions, mood, or make an emotional connection when browsing the darker animals on shelter websites.

There is some validity to the claim that there are more black dogs in shelters because there are more black dogs in the world due to black coloring being a dominant gene. However, this does not explain why rescue workers find it much harder to find homes for black dogs than for dogs of other colors. For some shelters, the problem is so bad that they've developed special promotions to help draw attention to their black animals, such as reduced adoption fees.

There seems to be only anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon, and I will share some of my experiences this week.

Sources:

"Travels With My Dog Casey: Black Dog Syndrome," by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, 2012

Black Dog Rescue Project

NY Times Opinion Pages, October 13, 2009

Luna, J & Foster - We are, apparently, a Black Dog Family