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| Day 1. That Gentle Leader was the only thing that kept Molly sane. |
The first couple days were a little rough, as to be expected, and yet, it always takes me by surprise by just how hard it can be. It's like letting a delinquent move in with you for a few days. All this crazy behavior just happens out of nowhere and you never know when it's going to come or what will happen next.
Owners learn to live with it for so long that they almost become immune to the problems. They learn to live around them or adjust their lives to it. Only when things get really bad do they finally get help.
I was told that Molly counter-surfed. I was excited about this because it's a common problem that many people have with their dogs and I have yet to really experience it. Once in a while, Ace goes through the garbage, but that's about it. But it wasn't until they dropped Molly off when all the horror stories began to come out..."she literally jumps onto tables and walks all over them...I've had full meals disappear....I found her once on the counter eating all the lemon bars I just made." And then they say, "Well, good luck!" and leave her with me.
Molly is not a little dog. Not as big as Ace, but taller than Joey, and only 11 months old. I was beginning to wonder just what I had gotten myself into.
Other than counter surfing, their other complaint was Molly's jumping. She jumped on me, she jumped on Henry, she jumped on Anna, she jumped on all of us. For the first couple days, we learned to defend ourselves with knee blocks and "hey!" or "oof!" We even discovered that Molly jumps on the trampoline. At first, we thought it was funny until she got so crazy that she grabbed onto Henry's arm and wouldn't let go.
Molly was hyper nearly non-stop. She grabbed things out of your hand, played tug of war with just about everything, stole food and harassed the kids. I found out from her owners that they "rough housed" with Molly as a way of getting rid of her energy. All that taught her was how to play aggressively. By day 2 I was seriously considering driving her back to her owners.
But, amazingly, it all worked out. I have no idea how. I started with her jumping behavior and then I realized it was due to her constant hyperness. So I decided she needed more exercise so I played tug of war with her (something her owners played with her often) and realized that she got over-stimulated too easily. So we put that off and focused on more walks and even bike rides.
Amazingly, her jumping ceased. Once in a while, she continued to jump but most of the time, she was too wore out. With all the exercise plus the mental training she was going through, Molly was too exhausted to be hyper.
I also discovered Molly needed leadership. Before I met Molly, I never really saw what a dog looked like with no leadership before. With Joey and Ace, we've practiced it since they came into our home, but with Molly...she seemed very lost. She had no rules or boundaries and so she was just everywhere, constantly going, going, going...
So, being Norm Daoust's daughter (and discovering along the way how much I am like my strict dad), I became Molly's leader. And then Dennis became leader and even the kids. Amazingly, Molly calmed down. She no longer jumped on us or even had the desire to jump on the trampoline. She no longer stole food. She never once jumped on the counter or table.
The only time I had a problem with Molly was when I took her to the lake. She turned into a wild thing and took a mad dash, dragging me behind her, causing her leash to snap into literally three pieces. All that was left of that leash was the clip that was hanging from her collar.
But, you can't take the hunting instinct out of a hunting breed, and Molly was all about the lake. Thankfully, we cornered her on the pier and dragged her by the collar, choking and wheezing, back to the car. Still, it left me shaken up. The memory of chasing Cuba around is still very fresh in my mind. It's one thing when it's your own dog taking off on you, but quite another when it's someone else's dog that has been entrusted to your care.
I'm going to bring Molly back home tomorrow and I can say that she is my first fully trained dog. The Molly that came to us is totally different than the Molly that will be leaving us. I can honestly say I will miss this dog--she is so sweet, once she is totally calm. Very submissive and listens well. I remember the first day she went after every stuffed animal she could find and we could never get it back without a tug of war contest--and now she drops it the minute I say, "hey."
Leadership. It's so worth practicing. I believe this more now than ever. Obedience commands are good and important but it's only part of the recipe of having a well behaved dog. Dogs need a leader. Just like people.
I will miss Molly. I've learned a lot from her. But I admit, I'm looking forward to some normalcy.
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