June 10, 2005
Invasion of the friendly Pugs
My neighbor's extremely cute one year old pugs have found a way under their fence and have come over for a visit at my back door a few times.
Which as you can see drives Charlee insane.
The Pugs mean no harm, but it sets my reactive dog off and raises her already trigger happy adrenaline levels off the charts.
If your dog is in a fight, or is invovled in a highly charged experience like Charlee's where adrenaline levels rise quite high, they will be in an aroused state for about 10 days afterwards. It usually takes at least 10 days for their adrenaline levels to return to normal.
It is best to keep the dogs calm and away from too much stimulation during this time frame so as not to set them off again. Dogs who have been in a fight are more likely to get in another one right away.
Even the best made training plans can go off course by events that we have no control over. All we can do with problem dogs is try to control their environment the best we can.
Pugs are always looking for trouble.
Posted by
AaronJune 10, 2005 07:10 AM
My eskies would have been attacking the glass at first glance of any pug, friendly or not!
Posted by
chrisJune 10, 2005 10:50 AM
TEN days ? ! Was there a lab study to learn this? Or is this your experience? Does it vary from dog to dog? from breed to breed?
I wonder what the survival benefit of such a trait would be.
Susan
Posted by
Susan FreimanJune 10, 2005 11:35 PM
Great questions Sue! This is info that I have learned from various trainers and dogs over the years. Turid Rugas discuses it in her seminars.
Living with a reactive dog and working with other peoples, I have seen it for myself time and time again. People are always asking me why their reactive or aggressive dog can be great for months and months and then one little thing sets them off and all of a sudden it seems like all progress is lost.
Most people find hope and comfort in knowing that it is a physical response and that their training plans will get back on track in about 2 weeks.
I am sure it has been studied, but besides Turid, I am not sure where you would find clinical findings.
Yes, recovery time does vary from dog to dog and breed to breed. It would also depend if both nature and nurture worked against them. Dogs lacking both good breeding and proper socialization have the hardest time, followed closely by the poorly bred dogs. Dogs with more elastic temperaments, the dogs who snap back quicker from an incident, tend to recover in fewer days.
Post pug incident, Charlee is still trigger happy and I cannot take her to work today like I normally would. This is something I have learned in the 5 years of living with her. Last week she was wonderful, but today (post pug) , she would be aroused and nervous before I even drove in the parking lot.
Living with truly reactive dogs is tough, but so much better with good management.
As for what the survival benefit would be...love that question! In the wild if there is danger, say a pack of invading animals in the area, dogs are programmed to be on alert and ready to fight or flight until danger has passed. Adrenaline controls the fight, flight, and fright response.
And Aaron....sorry-Pugs just wanna have fun!
Posted by
nancyJune 11, 2005 06:17 AM
I just have to comment to Aaron. Pugs are fun loving and only look for love and want to give it back in return. Although I know not everyone and "every dog" wants to "share the love" they are only looking for friends and don't want any trouble.
Posted by Karen (happy pug owner)
June 15, 2005 03:29 PM
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