Find the real reason your rescue isn’t bonding with you and how to fix it.

By Jessica S. Tighe
Asankadogs.com Owner
Updated: 2:41 p.m. CT Feb 26, 2007

Christine*, a 20-something year old woman, spent over $2000.00 on emergency intestinal surgery for her rescue dog who didn’t seem to like her much. "I love him even if he doesn’t love Me." she stated emphatically.

While the word “imprinting” is not technically correct when dealing with mammals, the word does present the correct image in mind when dealing with rescue dogs that prefer one gender of human over another.

Imprinting is a social instinct that occurs during a critical point in an animal’s life. This is nature’s way of optimizing behaviors in baby animals that don’t require full long-term parental care, usually in birds. The imprinting process causes the young animal to form strong attachments to “targets”, i.e. its parents or parental surrogates. When imprinting has occurred has occurred in birds, there is a marked tendency to approach, remain near, and follow these “targets”.

Puppyhood is an important time. This is when puppies form attachments to humans...and theoretically a particular gender if the owner is living alone. An owner gender switch in later years will increase the odds of acquiring "target" issues. A rescue dog with a “target” problem, for instance being pre-disposed toward men and now living with a woman owner, will tend to seek out men in his path and express contentment or pleasure that is reserved for that gender alone. The woman is left a bit envious and wondering what she’s doing wrong.

 

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But is the woman who cares for her target-impaired rescue dog doing anything wrong? Most likely the theoretical woman is perfect in every way as a dog caretaker. If the woman were to try to rehabilitate her dog to change gender loyalty, it can be done depending upon the rescue’s breed(s) and psyche. For instance, a dog that is predominately Chow isn’t going to generally make the transition well.

Terry, a 21 year old woman, abruptly changed addresses from Minnesota to Iowa. Six months later she was asked via a phone call if she would take her ex-roomate's Chow mix due to his unexpected death in an accident. No one considered keeping this dog due to her aggression, if not rehomed the dog would have to be put down. While Chiquita tolerated Terry, she was only truly happy around Terry's father. Chiquita ended up being graciously passed to Terry's dad and lived out the remainder of her days loyally at his side.

Most dogs aren't such an extreme case. Look for dogs that have some recognizable “family” type breed(s). Some of these “family” type breeds are the Retrievers, Terriers, Corgi, Schnauzer, Irish Setter, Poodle, Bichon Frise, Basset, Airedale, Beagle, Boxer, Pug, and Whippet. Always keep in mind that each dog is unique and has its own personality traits irrespective of its breed (or main breeds). Always heed the rescue's attitude toward the opposite gender before bringing him/her home.

Currency is key
To bring your dog to accept your gender, you’ll need to find your dog’s highest “currency”. Currency is a medium of exchange and a dog is always willing to barter. The trick is to find the one thing that he cannot resist, something truly worthy to him, and is something only YOU can provide.

Common Dog Currencies
Common activities that have value to dogs are:

• Exercise the body. Buster was clearly irritated being petted and loved by women. After learning and experiencing the joys of the Trikke (a form of dog scootering) he became a different dog. He lives for his bi-monthly Trikke rides in which he runs and the Trikke rider follows, attached by a hands free leash. The result is an insanely affectionate dog who no longer bullies as it may mean he doesn’t get his Trikke ride. His woman owner drives him to the Trikke and a woman Trikke rider makes sure he gets his run. Buster now prefers women over men owing to the fact that his highest currency is provided only by women. Exercise can be jogging, dog scootering, skijoring, 5 mile walks, and sports like flyball.
• Eating. Give a dog raw meat. You may already feed kibble by itself, but adding some chicken, hamburger, and raw egg to his diet will cause him to look at you through fresh eyes. Meat carries the highest weight with dog omnivores, i.e. currency.
• Exercise the mind. Teaching a dog simple tricks to impress friends is a guaranteed simple way to cause consistent "targeting" behavior. The time invested, in addition to the treats, is valued by your dog. 10-15 minutes a day, 3 or 4 days a week, has a positive effect.
• Playing. Playing with dogs is underrated. Throwing a Frisbee, a retrieving toy, or playing tug-of-war is an important way of challenging the dog to work for you. During play, your pet will approach, remain close to, and follow you.
• Obedience training. A huge difference separates manners training and obedience training. Obedience training will help you learn to trust your dog and your dog to trust you. The dog will have faith in your ability to know what is going on and that you will give him proper direction. An obedient dog is much safer in a human world than an unschooled dog.
• Positive attention. When walking past your dog, on the way to complete a task, bend and give 30 seconds of belly rub or ear scratch. As this crucial action becomes habit, you’ll see the positive change in your dog’s attitude toward you. The dog may end up posing for you, to look as cute as possible, for a belly rub. Truly Kodak moments.

 

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Rescue dogs aren't the only dogs that suffer from target problems . Target issues can derive from unexpected changes in non-rescues after years of a status quo. To give a more personal twist, I'll tell you about Candy. Candy, a 14 year old Doberman mix, was my single mother’s dog until two years ago. We determined as a family Candy would live with us because her back legs constantly failed. My husband's task was to manipulate her spine, so Candy was able walk again. None of us wanted to put her down, Candy certainly wasn’t ready to give up, it was in her best interest to live the rest of her life in retirement with us as we were able to quickly fix her when she “broke”. Candy, a woman's dog, wouldn't leave my side and did everything in her power to annoy my husband. If he got up in the middle of the night, she stole his spot on purpose and refused to vacate the area on her own. He’d call her for a butt scratch, she’d ignore him and act as though he didn’t exist. However, she stayed close to, and watched me like a hawk. Candy was a one woman dog.

Due to Candy’s advanced age and lack of strong mobility my husband was able to earn her affection by:

• Patting her butt or side when he wanted her to move out of his spot. This was part of her “manners” training. When he enters a room now she looks at him for direction. He becomes her target.
• Giving Candy meat treats. When Wayne cooks he’ll cut off pieces of a roast or steak and throw a piece to the dogs. When he walks into the kitchen, he becomes an instant target to all three dogs.
• Wayne will get on the floor with his limited time, and give Candy a minute or two of belly rubs and sweet talk. She has decided men aren’t so bad.

Your dog is wired to think the world of you, sometimes all that is required is a flip to the correct breaker switches to achieve quick and reliable results. Combine points on the currency list to find the bond you deserve with your dog.

 

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Sources:

Darmaillacq AS, Chichery R, Dickel L. . "Food imprinting, new evidence from the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis." National Institute of Health. September 22, 2006: 345-347. Online. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17148399.

Klinghammer, Erich, Hess Eckhard H.. "Imprinting in an Altricial Bird: The Blond Ring Dove (Streptopelia risoria) ." Science. October 9, 1964: Vol. 146. no. 3641, pp. 265 - 266. Online. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/146/3641/265.

McClelland, Gary.. "IMPRINTING Simulation, The formation of social bonds in young precocial birds ." Problem Description: Imprinting. January 8, 2001: 1. Online. http://samiam.colorado.edu/~mcclella/expersim/introimprint.html.

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