The Story of BB the Great Dane

BB gets a romp in the field with Auntie Lisa, 24 wks old

After last weekend, I’ve decided to work on BB’s problem with Emily, myself. My 2 year old neice thoroughly freaks him out, and he’s bitten/snapped at her 3 times in 2 weekends. Waiting for Mom to get on it could get bloody. I guess I’ve given in, taking over when Mom does nothing, but considering how dangerous the situation could become, somebody needs to work on it.

I’ve sworn up and down I wasn’t going to be responsible for BB too, having all I can handle with my own puppy’s training and exercise. Mom promised when we got them she would do whatever BB needed. Hasn’t worked out that way. I just knew I’d wind up doing it, darn it. But a fearful, snapping puppy and a 2 year old who won’t leave him alone is not a good mix…

BB is most reactive when Emily runs, which children are liable to do. That and anyone going near Mom. But even the sound of her voice, or her running in another room will cause him to become visibly tense. And he’s not getting enough exercise to help him burn off his anxious energy. Taking care of that is very hard for me: my healthy guy runs me ragged. But a romp keeps BB quieter and more calm. So I took him out. It hurt too.

Along with exercise, BB is getting himself some fancy puppy training: the word “shush”, and a game called “look at that” from the book “Control Unleashed”. He can look at Emily, but then he is supposed to look back at me. With ample treats, and his natural inclination to look at a person’s face, BB is a whiz at this game! I wish he’d teach Kenai to look at me…

“Look at that”, or LAT, reconditions a dog to glance at what disturbs him, but to return their focus to the handler. It is originally intended for competition dogs, like those in agility or obedience trials. But it is working wonders with BB’s reactivity at home.

Last night, as soon as Emily came through that door for her weekend with my brother, she headed straight for BB’s expen, her Dad no where in sight. I got there about the same time she started tossing his toys from the toy box into his pen, and if I had to tell her a 3rd time not to, I was going to scold her. But she stopped. Ready for a fit, but she stopped.

I’ve caught her deliberately hitting him with toys and balls when she’s throwing them, and he’s tried both hiding on the other side of the pen and snapping at her too. Once he yanked her hair for it –way too close to the face for comfort. I wonder if my brother doesn’t realize that eventually a fearful dog being tormented won’t snap, but attack. He doesn’t seem to get it…

I redirected Em (works for puppies, why not small children?), sending her to Mom for some Grammy hugs, and stood by BB’s pen with a whole handful of treats. He could look, but then look back for a “good BB” and a treat. Any noise he made got a “shush”, and after a moment or two of quiet, another “good BB” and a treat.

At the same time, I’m getting my puppy Kenai to hold his stay on the couch. Considering his brother was getting treats, he had no problem holding focus on me! “Mom! Those are my treats!” kinda thing. Kenai does very well with Em, and she is allowed to gently play with him since he’s so careful with her.

I needed eyes in the back of my head! But it worked, that time anyway. The problem with kids is they move fast. When Em was ready for bed, she came charging in the living room to say good night to us, and BB was out on the couch next to Mom. Whoa, he lunged, barking with wild eyes.

It’s not outright aggressiveness, it’s a fear reaction: her running directly at him and Mom is threatening to a timid dog. His intention is to scare her off, but she doesn’t know not to do that. She’s only 2 so she is far too young to understand what she is supposed to do and not do. It’s up to us (me) to re-train the Beebs.

Mom grabbed his collar, while I grabbed Kenai, who was looking around for the sabre tooth tigers that had BB in an uproar. He is protective of his bro, but doesn’t always know what’s got his brother in a tizzy…he runs to the sliding glass door and looks around. Unfortunately, BB has my Kenai barking and running about now too, sort of confused. That’s the drawback to multiple dogs: bad habits rub off.

Anyway, Kenai in a stay, I got busy with the “Look at that” and treats. BB settled right down. But I still have to insist that Mike control his daughter, or she could get hurt before anyone has a chance to stop it, ya know? If Mom had been sleeping, there’s no way I could have crossed the room in time to stop a bite.

Every time she sets BB off, it reinforces his reaction. I need some warning when she’s coming so I can use it as an opportunity to re-train instead of settling him down after the reaction. He responds extraordinarily well to training, but ending his reactivity won’t be a one weekend shot.

It’ll take time and practice. This level of reaction has taken 9 weeks to develop. But at least I know the LAT game works for BB! Hopefully my brother will get his own place so we don’t have to work on it as much. But I doubt he will until Mom kicks him out. In the meantime, I have an effective strategy for the Beebs.