When a Dalmatian Puppy joined us, he had the happiest face ever. I named him Kookie. He was as cute as a button. His little black eyes shone with love and adoration whenever he gazed at us. Naturally, we all fell for him.
And then there was our resident Boxer named Bong. He looked perennially grumpy. Don’t get me wrong; Boxers’ big-eyed stares often looked menacing, but they were friendly Dogs. They just didn’t look it.
Kookie became the house favorite, while Bong was often overlooked. We had only these two Dogs at the time, so it was apparent that Bong avoided Kookie whenever the latter came close.
It’s obvious to me now that without intervention, there would be issues. But we were new to being responsible Dog parents back then, and all we knew was to bathe and feed them.
THE INEVITABLE ENCOUNTER
Whenever Kookie wrestled with or pounced on Bong for a game of chase, Bong would always get up and leave, his hind legs kicking the air in disdain. I couldn’t read the language.
When Kookie reached one year old, problems began. At the time, I had a new Dog trainer who was teaching me the basics of leash walking. I practiced with Kookie out on the street every night after dinner, while Bong protested whenever we passed him at the house. Still, I ignored him.
One night, as we entered the driveway after my walking practice with Kookie, I released him from his leash. Suddenly, Bong attacked. He aimed at Kookie’s neck and pinned him down. Despite being surprised by this hostility, Kookie had the advantage of youth and was able to fight back.
Meanwhile, I didn’t have Kookie’s agility. I was too surprised and didn’t know what to do. I ended up throwing everything I could get my hands on at the Dogs, but the fight would not stop.
They fought until Bong collapsed in exhaustion.
THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
What caused the fight to begin with? This started my quest for the answer. I went through websites reading what trainers (and non-trainers) advised and suggested. But I was a newbie. I didn’t understand half of what they said. I couldn’t apply their methods.
I didn’t know what to do with Bong and Kookie as they continued to fight with each other. Their situation kept us tense all the time. We cordoned off places to keep the two Dogs separated, but I knew it was just a temporary solution.
It was then that I met Fred Alimusa. Fred was a columnist of Animal Scene in the 2000s. When I read his credentials, I knew he was whom I needed.
INTRODUCTIONS AND IMPRESSIONS
I didn’t want training tips and tricks. I wanted to know what was going on in the Dogs’ minds. I wanted to know the whys — maybe then, I could figure out what to do.
I wrote to Fred, introduced myself, and told him about my problem. Fred was still in Thailand back then but came to Manila regularly. During his next trip to Manila, we met over coffee. I told him that more than tips, I wanted to know the reasons my Dogs fought each other. There was enough advice about training online, after all.
He explained that Bong was never properly introduced to Kookie. Given the territorial nature of Dogs, it was Bong’s impression that Kookie was an intruder — Bong was there first, and it was his duty to protect everyone from the strange newcomer.
To test his theory, Fred asked me to do a little experiment and walk the two Dogs together. If Bong was allowed to walk with Kookie, he might understand that they were packmates, not enemies.
A WALKING EXPERIMENT
I walked Kookie out while my household staff walked Bong. Kookie kept glancing at Bong ecstatically as they walked together. Bong, in typical Boxer fashion, ignored him.
Fred reminded us that we should lead the walk, not let the Dogs lead us. We learned to walk before the Dogs while they followed on leash. Somehow, they immediately understood what this meant: They saw that the humans were their leaders. More importantly, they did not even snap at each other as they followed us. It was amazing how Fred’s experiment proved his theory true.
I kept this up for a week. Then, one day I saw it: Bong and Kookie lying down together.
GAINS AND LOSSES
Through the years, the more I consulted Fred about how Dogs thought and behaved, the more I understood. He taught me how to deal with canine aggression, how to make Kookie look forward to his vet visits, and how to make Kookie enjoy training in agility sports.
He warned me that my former Dog trainer was old school, using compulsion training on Kookie by utilizing fear. The new trend coming in revolved around positive reinforcement in modifying behavior.
I decided to fire my former trainer, learning to train Kookie the positive way as Fred taught me. Whenever he was in town, Fred often called to meet with me. We’d talk for hours about Dogs.
He died of a brain tumor in 2012.
NO FEAR
Many of Fred’s students, myself included, felt a huge loss with his passing. I will never forget that it was Fred who got me started on the road to being a responsible Dog guardian — by understanding canines instead of using fear to control them.
We need more Dog experts like Fred.
