Prairie Dogs: Intermission, a word about Ralph

Ralph is our other Briard, although legally I guess he is a mutt, since he is not registered with a kennel club, and has no proper pedigree. We got Ralph when his family could no longer keep him, because of changes in their job situation. Because he was presented as a not yet 2 year old Briard, who gets along with cats and kids, and allows them to dress him up, we asked to become his new owners. His home was in Canada, so believe me, it took some doing to get an international adoption to work.

Ralph could not fly anywhere close to us, since his kennel was simply enormous, and could only fit in planes that landed in a major international airport, with the customs available 24 hours, and believe me, the nearest airport to us is Kansas City, and it closes at night. So Ralph flew to Chicago, and Harold drove there to pick him up. Ten hours one way. I was expecting another visitor at the same time, so I could not go with him, besides, there are all the other critters to take care of.

I wish I could say that Ralph settled in right away, but he was not at ease with our other dogs. He would do this preemptive nipping at them, and it was always unprovoked. If they reacted, he would scream and whimper as if he was viciously attacked, when he had caused the whole thing. It was only once I realized that he was truly afraid during that performance that we began to get a handle on it. A friend of mine said to send him to a time out. That worked like a charm. Ralph would go into his crate, and he was safe, the other dogs were able to settle down, and all was well. He would have to stay in there for 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the severity of his misdeed.
Ralph always loved his crate, so he did not dislike being in there, but he would ask to be let out ONLY when he was in there as punishment. If I forgot to open the crate right after feeding him, for example, he would not make a sound, just patiently wait. But if it was a 'time out', well then he would make this high pitched woof, asking to get out.
We took him to obedience classes, and the good news was that the instructor did not rate him as dog aggressive. He learned fast, and is a very obedient dog in class. It spilled over, as it does into his 'private' life.
Ralph learned to get along on the farm, stick around, when we did chores and had him off leash, and became a decent enough dog. Still, he seemed 'bottled up'. He hardly ever played. He wanted to play, but seemed afraid of it at the same time. So we let him play a very controlled game, of tug and bite into a bite sleeve.
Let me stress that control was the main theme. He only grabbed the sleeve after the command was given, otherwise no play. He had to release immediately on the command. He had to wait in a sit or down, before he could grab the sleeve, no anticipation, no early moves.
Ralph loved it!
He loved the order and rules and regulation of the game, and he loved the tugging and roughhousing, and releasing on cue. He still loves playing the game. He can now wait and let another dog play, and come when called, play, then release and wait again for his turn.

It was not until early this year that we realized that Ralph had grown up in a puppy mill. He had spent his first seven months in a barn with up to 300 other dogs, (20 to 30 different breeds), and for a Briard who was not properly socialized, he is really a very good dog.

When Decibel came, Ralph was rather against the pup. She was submissive, tiny, and a female, and still he saw her as a threat or an annoyance, at best. But Decibel never doubted that Ralph loves her.
Every morning she would smooch him in spite of his growl, in spite of his raised lip. She risked the occasional nip or two from him. She would cry and need a hug, although to be just to Ralph, he is all growl and very little actual bite. He grabs hair, occasionally. Never more. He never bites, nips, or threatens to do so with people, and has good bite inhibition, even when hurt.

Well, the reason for the intermission is that this very morning Ralph and Decibel were playing tug of war with a toy. Ralph let go. His tail kept wagging. He was playing! With a dog almost his size now.
He was relaxed and happy. He still growls at Decibel now and then, but she always surrenders. I think he is beginning to like her!
I could cry, because he is now finally being the dog he could be. He has been with us 3 plus years, he is almost five and a half years old. It just goes to show, you don't give up on a dog. Love finds a way.

Ralph on his second birthday, just a few weeks after arriving at our place: