carlos

carlos was picked up as a stray & taken to the manhattan ACC on march 31, 2010. by april 2nd he was on the euthanasia list. he was sick (kennel cough), and had snapped at the hand they use (think it's a fake hand/arm on a stick) to assess food aggression. he'd barely gotten a chance to settle in before he was already going to be disposed of, and that's just not right. so i brought him home to recover and then let him find his forever home. over time i noticed a few things about carlos. . . 

he loves food. skinny as he is, it's no surprise. the first clear picture i ever got of him was when i had some tasty bread bits to tempt him with:

and here he is begging for frites (note the drool bubble):

 

and guess what - he's never shown any aggression when it comes to food. sure, he'll try and steal any food he can get his maw on, even if it means facing the ire of the original owner (my dog doesn't take kindly to unvoluntary sharing, and neither do i!) but i did find out how it was carlos bit the test 'hand' during his evaluation...

carlos loves to play - tug, keep-away, chase, doggy wrestling and running around the the park are just a few favorites:

and on and on and on. when he's excited and can't channel it into food or running outdoors, he starts to chase his tail. for the most part it's harmless. however, if you direct him away from something like chasing his tail, he can then decide he's going to play with you, and will run to an item (sometimes my shoe or BRA!) to put in his mouth in an attempt to get you to chase him.  if the 'toy' is taken away before he's had his fun, he sometimes decides YOU are now the toy and he'll jump on you, mouthing legs, arms, and snapping at any limb in the way. he then starts to think this is an appropriate way to communicate with people in any situation. NOT GOOD!

this happens with dogs as well. at some point if a dog corrects carlos for being too pushy to play, carlos starts to bark at the dog's face, jumping around the animal in order to get it to keep playing. sigh.

it was like dealing with a child on too much sugar who won't listen to you (presuming he can hear you at all over his own screaming).  carlos had to learn appropriate play, but i was finding it impossible to get him to stop mouthing when his brain had just simply turned OFF.

the solution was bitter. apple. seeing as any sort of 'physical' punishment (even just leading him away on leash) sometimes got him more worked up, i had to find a deterrent that didn't end up simply feeding into his state of mind. something that would have him snap out of 'crazed puppy mode.'  armed with a spray bottle of this liquid, i was ready when he next started flipping out. i escalated my response in this way:

1. first the 'positive' command - carlos, easy.
2. next the 'negative' command - carlos, no!
3. and after continued mouthing of my hand - i squirted some bitter apple on my finger and then stuck it on the inside of his lips.

he immediately stopped what he was doing to contemplate the nasty flavor in his mouth. the displeasure of the taste had brought him back from psycho-puppy land and was once again able to hear me again.

as with EVERY correction at this stage, there is a reward for complying. when he lets go of the leash he's yanking on, i then release him to grab for it on my terms and play tug for a bit before getting him to stop again. i will also resume play (tug, chase) or do some training exercises w/ treats to reward him for complying with a command. this time, after he made a yarking noise because of the bitter apple taste, then sat back down and looked at me, i put the bottle down and started petting him again. because i love it when he listens to my "please stop acting like you're mauling me" requests.

i just need to make sure it doesn't dampen his spirits by accidentally associating ALL play with the spray. just crazy-cracker-dog activity that can make it so difficult to place him with his own happy family.

anyway, solution well under way, i can focus on more of the cute things carlos does. like, on the rare occasion he DOES get enough of playing, he often crashes out in the typically contortionist doggy way:

he also likes to relax by simply throw himself down on the cool floors after a big day:

that lipstick mark was not staged! a woman at the run thought he was so sweet she bent down to give him a little kiss on the head. she had forgotten she'd put on lipstick and didn't even notice the mark until i pointed it out to her. he immediately was the center of attention on our walk back from the park. it's hard not to smile at a pup with hound-dog look and kiss mark right above those dark dark brown eyes. 

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the email i initially got about him:

 

CARLOS – A852949 – 2 yr old male pittie/Lab mix – 44lbs – Stray, 3/30

Carlos is anice dog and was not tranq. the officers have no further info on this dog.

A Volunteer Wrote: Everything about Carlos is soft. The way he feels, the way he walks on the leash, perfectly by our side, the way he takes treats from our hands. It's safe to say this 2 year and 5 month old, 44 pound baby made his way to the soft spots of many of our hearts instantly. He is playful with other dogs, he is leash trained, he is housebroken, and he is ranked so very high on our dance cards as a partner we love taking a spin with. Please come meet him-just one pet and kiss will convince you love is in the air!

Look 2:Pulls out of the assessors cupped hands without settling during the three repetitions

Sensitivity 1 :Leans in to the assessor with soft body ,low tail and ears back

Tag 2 :Not fearful,but unresponsive to the assessor with soft body ,low tail and ears back

Squeeze 1 :Gently pulls paw away

Squeeze 2 1 :Gently pulls paw away

Food 5 :Lifts head to bite the assess a hand

Toy 1 :No interest

Rawhide 1 :No interest

Dog to dog 2 :Approaches the helper dog  by rushing in with soft body ,low tail and ears back

SCAN NEGATIVE

BRIGHT, ALERT, RESPONSIVE, HYDRATED

PHYSICAL EXAM

Too nervous and tense

Mild tartar

Nosf