The rehabilitation of Oscar

Oscar is a a year and a half old greyhound/deerhound cross that came into Greyhound Friends for Life as a puppy. He was adopted and returned. He's been in one foster home for about four months, then in a second foster home for about three weeks.

Today we speak with Barbara Judson of Greyhound Friends for Life of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Colleen Combs of King's Kastle LLC dog care facility in Cloverdale, CA about young Oscar's behavioral issues and how he is being rehabilitated.

Barbara, can you describe what is meant by the term 'reactive to other dogs'?
When Oscar would encounter other dogs on leash walks, he would often start barking and lunging at the other dog, even if it was across the street. He was also possessive of certain items, and would lunge and snap at another dog if it came too close. This was an unpredictable behavior. He would also start to play with other dogs and be fine for a while, but then he would get too excited, or another dog would do something that made him fearful, and he would react by starting a fight (which he usually lost).

Colleen, what causes some dogs to act aggressively to other dogs?
It's impossible to narrow this down to one single trigger. Aggressive behavior towards other dogs can stem from fear, dominance, imbalance, territorial protection, resource guarding, breeding, etc. Although we have treated dogs with all of these triggers, the majority of dogs we work with are usually due to poor social skills and lack of calm, assertive leadership from a human. Such has been the case with Oscar.

Barbara, why is rehabilitation necessary for these dogs?
These dogs need an intensive and consistent training program to overcome these negative behaviors. It's important for a behaviorist to evaluate the dog to determine the cause of the reactivity, start behavior modification to determine which techniques work best, and to then work with the adopter to train them in how to continue the training and behavioral management techniques. This is something that we are not able to do at the foster facility.

Colleen, what method are you using to rehabilitate Oscar and how is he coming along?
I couldn't honestly give you the "name" of a specific method that we are using. We use what we have found to work with these dogs. We get into the social and psychological norms of the dog world.

Some refer to them as "Cesars' Methods", we have been doing this long before Cesar made these methods a household name. Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Cesar Millan and secretly envy the fact that he was in the right place at the right time with the right people to escalate his career to what it has become today. However, he himself will admit that he didn't 'create' these methods, he learned them, just as we did. And we learned them from THE best instructors.... DOG'S. Just like Cesar, I couldn't do what I do if it weren't for the best group of colleagues I could find, my pack.

As for Oscar. He is currently in, let's call it an "Immersion" program. It has been nearly two weeks since Oscar arrived and currently he intetacts with an average of 50 dogs a day. He is learning to socialize appropriately, greeting new dogs appropriately, sharing toys and territory, learning to wait for high valued items such as food and affection, and respecting the energy of the pack leader(s)..... the humans. We are very pleased with his current progress and feel he will do very well in a forever home once his rehabilitation is completed.

King's Kastle rehabilitation staff or 'the pack'

Colleen, what kind of additional or ongoing training will Oscar require after leaving your rehab center?
Oscar is a very loving and playful soul. He has a fairly high level of energy and will need a consistent schedule from his new humans. Currently he walks about four miles a day on the treadmill, as well as the social interactions with a variety of other dogs.

He will also need to have clear rules and boundaries provided to him by his human leaders. This does not mean that he needs a dominant or aggressive human. It simply means he will need to have his human determine what the rules and boundaries are 100% of the time, and enforce them with a calm, yet clear, presence.

We are truly enjoying our time with Oscar and believe that if a family is willing to 'listen' to his needs, he will make them a very happy family.

Barbara , what type of person or family would offer the ideal home for Oscar?
As Colleen said, Oscar is a very sweet and affectionate dog with people, but his people will need to have the time, motivation, and understanding to consistently apply the training techniques that King's Kastle has determined work best to manage his tendency towards aggressive behavior and possessiveness.

After his experiences at the two foster homes, I would have said that he needed to be an only dog, but I'm hoping that the intensive training he receives at King's Kastle will enable him to live peacefully with another dog.

• People in Northern California who are interested in giving Oscar his forever home will need to first complete and submit an adoption application at Greyhound Friends for Life.
   
• To help dogs with special needs related to their age, health, behavior or other factors donate to BEST, the Barbara Eineichner Sighthound Trust at http://greyhoundfriendsforlife.org/BEST.htm.
   
• To learn more about King's Kastle dog care facility go to http://www.kingskastlellc.com/.