Never Underestimate Your Dog!!!

Kirby

Member
Hello to my fellow animal lovers/dog lovers. Just wanted to introduce my sexy boi Kirby and tell u guys a little about how amazing he is.
Well Kirby is a 3 1/2 year old ridgeback cross mastiff and i've only had him for about 4 months now. His old owners have just recenty moved back to QLD and were gonna give him up to the pound when i stepped in to take over as his master. I knew him from when he was a little tacker but had only met him a handful of times. He was so naughty when i first took over as his master and thought he was just not disciplined. ANyways, the first month was absolute hell i tell you. As you guys may already know, he is a big boi and still growing. He is so big that he was able to jump the side fence which is pretty high and he used go exploring making me chase him for kms. I got so sick of this i had to start chasing him in the car hahaha. I'm lazy what can i say. When he was inside and wanted to stay inside he would drop to the floor and play dead forcing me to have to use unwanted force to get him out. Well now, after 4 months, he stays inside with me and he is the best dog now and the cool thing about it that i didn't have to teach him a thing.
I'll explain the moment things changed with us. he was lying on my bed with me and a friend and her dog. ( If you go to forums under dog tricks youll see a dog under peek-a-boo) and i can't even remember what he did but this moment changed our relationship totally. He was always a little rough with the little dog being so big but i know now he never meant it. ANyways, i had to change my tone of voice so he would learn to be more gentle with her and this look that he gave me, it was like he was terrified of what i was gonna do to him. he looked so sorry he never meant to hurt her then when i realised he didnt mean it, my nasty tone went away and he started licking my face to say hie was sorry. Well, this moment was important because it was the moment i learnt that he had been abused and that he just wanted some lovin. From that moment onwards, it was like he wanted to do anything and everything to please me in the hope of not having to go back to his old life. He is an angel now, he toilet trained himself, doesnt chew up anywthing, doesn't make a noise for a huge dog and is an absolute angel. I know he would never hurt anyone, but i feel so sad for him that people look at him and think automatically, dangerous dog. Dont get me wrong he has it in him but will only show it when trying to protect me. ANyways, enough rambling about my beautiful boi, just a few tips to look out for an abused dog. He is always quiet trying to listen to what was going on all the time. He would never raise his head and look at me in the eye even when i continued to call his name. A broom dropped onto the floor from leaning against a wall and he jumped like a small scared little dog. I always had this feeling that hed been abused but i now know for sure. Anyways enough about him, i guess i wanted to tell his story in the hope that someone else can learn from it and know how to deal with abused dogs and get the best out of them. He now sits up so straight next tome proud with his head up high and he now has the confidence to look me in the eye. Makes me so happy...
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Welcome! Your dog has gorgeous eyes!!!! WOW.:eek: And good on you:D for taking in this beautiful dog to keep him out of the dog:( pound.

A lot of what you describe sounds to me, like ordinary "appeasement" behavior that all dogs do. Dogs are all about "peace in the pack". A good chunk of the dog's language, that we have decoded so far, is all about keeping peace in the pack. Peace is a top priority to dogs. Wild dogs tend to hunt in packs, and the lone dog won't do as well, so peace in the pack may also be seen as 'life or death' priority. Even though our dogs are domesticated, the urge to keep 'peace in the pack' is still there as a reflex.

Prolonged eye contact can be seen as a threat or a challenge in dog language, especially when close, so his turning his face away was just good doggie manners, being polite, and submissive, but he did learn you "like" his looking straight at you, and he could trust you now, he knew you now. Dogs probably "think" we always know what they are "saying", but most of us don't.

If a dog senses a member of his pack is getting upset, dogs do signals a/or behaviors to the other pack members to calm THEM down.
Your dog licking your face to calm you down is an example of that. My dog did the same to me a month or so ago, when i got some bad news, and i burst into tears and was sobbing, probably making very weird noises, and Buddy instantly ran over and began licking my face.
My dog did this to calm ME down, to placate me, in his own doggy way. And animals have been proven to be able to show empathy and comfort each other, as well.

Most all dogs are super eager to please humans. My dog LIVES to please me. If i praise him enthusiastically, THAT is *his* gold. He loves that, he loves being able to cause me joy. So far as i can tell,:ROFLMAO: that is his reason to live. Most dogs are this same way.

Almost all dogs will jump away at a sudden, unexpected sharp noise, like a broom falling. Actually, i'd bet most any animal, (and some humans, too:ROFLMAO: ), would all startle at a broom falling and making a sharp noise/sudden movement.

Perhaps what changed in that moment, was YOUR understanding and compassion towards your dog, more than anything in the dog. but who knows? or maybe that was the day that your dog decided you were trustable after all. :D My dog did the same thing to us. It takes newly rehomed adult dogs a lil while to fully decide that, it does take longer than we humans realize. At any rate, i'm so so so happy for you, that you and the dog are bonding,:love: and finding your way with each other!!!!:D YAY!!!!

and yeah, it takes a newly rehomed, adult dog a long time to decide he IS home, when he is relocated to a new home. This "run-away" thing is why adult dogs, new to a home, should never be outside in their yard alone, as they will try to escape to find "their" home. This is not unusual, in that time period, between when an adult dog is put into new home, and when the adult dog decides, "Okay, i DO live here now." Most humans think in a few meals = the dog knows he lives there, but it takes adult dogs a lil longer to decide that is the case. It's too bad no one told you this, coulda saved you those hours you spend chasing Kirby around.
My adult dog rescue did the same thing for his first month,:rolleyes: trying to find ways out of his new yard, "to get home" again. so i went out WITH him, each and every time, to keep him from trying to "run away back home".

And i could about spot the day, that Buddy decided we were great after all, despite his original reservations. It was like watching a flower bloom. Maybe this is what you describe, too, who knows?

And i am glad you are here, so you can discover better ways to lure a dog, vs. using "unwanted force". Sounds like great changes are coming along for you and your gorgeous dog!!! YAY!!!


FEEL FREE TO POST MORE PICTURES OF THIS GORGEOUS DOG OF YOURS!!
 

Dogster

Honored Member
WELCOME!!!!! I also LOVE Kirby's eyes!!!! GORGEOUS!!!! It's GREAT that you found eachother!!!! And I'm sooo happy you rescued him!!!! GREAT JOB!!!:LOL:
 
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