Monday, July 20, 2009

Plays well with others (most of the time)

Friday was Zorro's first experience with doggie day care. Dogtopia is located near our office in Tyson's Corner, so putting Zorro in there on Fridays allows us to go to straight to WV after work. Snoop was a regular there before he died and was much loved by the staff. I had some worries about Zorro, though, given his recent aggressive behavior towards dogs on the path and overall anxiety.
I took him in Thursday for his evaluation, which involved introducing him to six of their regular dogs. The staffer, Mark, said he growled at a couple of the dogs "when they got up in his face," but he didn't seem to think that was a big deal. They also check the dogs for "handling" and Zorro passed that with ease; he loves people.
We dropped him off there on Friday morning and I kept my cellphone close by all day, half expecting to get a call telling me to come get my crazy dog. Fortunately, that didn't happen. When Denny went to pick him up, the staffer at the desk told him it was an "eventful" day. They started him in the lounge, on the theory that it would be less stressful, but he got into a stand-off with a "bully boxer" (does that mean the boxer started it? I hope so). Then they moved him into the gymnasium, where, according to the staffer, "he made lots of friends." He also humped a lot of his new friends, she said, so I guess he felt the need to assert dominance. The staffer mentioned that there's one dog there "that everybody humps," which is pretty sad.
Anyway, he was tired at the end of the day, which is always good, and I'm hoping being around other dogs will make him less aggressive on our walks. He was pretty anxious this weekend; didn't want to go far on the towpath or on walks in near our home. Talked to the vet about starting him on Prozac to see if that will reduce his anxiety.
I've become somewhat obsessed with a border collie message board. Partly, I use it because I find a lot of good advice about training, behavior, rescue dogs, etc. But it also helps me to read about dogs with problems that are worse (or weirder) than Zorro's: dogs that are afraid of men, dogs that are afraid of men wearing hats, dogs that twirl, dogs that guard their food and toys, dogs that bite. Someone once pointed out that people only write about their problem dogs, so reading the boards can give someone an unfairly negative view of border collies (or dogs in general). But I still find it comforting to know that it could be a lot worse.

1 comment:

  1. You deserve accolades!!!
    I thought of him over the weekend so I came here to catch up on his progress...I think it's great that he obviously trusts you and listens to you, ie. so sweet he laid on you and running through relaxation drill. Most people give up on even getting their dogs to stop jumping!
    I know plenty of male AND female bossy dogs who like to show it by humping -- in that aspect he's so normal! Zorro did it to my friend's dog Tucker a number of times until he let Z know it was enough.
    Awesome he's ok with Dogtopia too!!! There is a great dog park by the East Falls Church metro he might like. I could meet you there sometime. Give him pats for me!

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