Mellie Update: Socializing an Intelligent Animal

Before I get started, I’ll admit I have no idea what I’m trying to say in this post. So many thoughts and memories and frustrations have been rambling through my mind since Miss Mellie returned to the Farnival that I can’t seem to put them in any coherent order, so please bear with me.

Since ICHBA’s inception in 2012, Donna, the head honcho, and her foster network have homed 200 plus dogs.

Mostly because of aggressive or destructive behavior, ten out of those 200 dogs have been returned, and out of those ten returns, eight had been adopted out when they were puppies, meaning 12 weeks or younger, and given back four to six months later.

I’d say that ten out of 200 was a great record, except that when Donna and I are wrong about a family’s potential to raise an animal, then worse case scenario: it can cost the dog their life, especially if the animal’s frustration – for whatever reason – morphs into aggression.

Best case scenario: the dog can be socialized, trained, and re-re-homed to a family willing to work with an animal that has been abandoned twice and carries emotional baggage. And honestly, there are a lot of people out there that WANT to tackle the challenge of taming an un-socialized or abused animal, so right on for that little piece of hope.

The consistencies between these returned pups are too numerous to ignore. Families fall in love with the irresistible charm of a pup, welcome them into their homes and hearts, but fail to socialize the animal, thinking all dogs automatically become Lassie or Benji, an idealized movie star dog that behaves perfectly and looks good on a Christmas card.

What people who adopt smart dogs fail to understand is that socializing an animal is hard work. It’s an everyday commitment. It’s literally a lifestyle.

I admit not all un-socialized dogs turn fear-aggressive, but after rescuing forty-five dogs in thirteen years, I’ve noticed a pattern or maybe more appropriately a link between intelligence and aggression.

An intelligent animal must be socialized, and not once a week, but on a daily basis, meaning it’s essential that smart dogs are exposed to as much stimulus as possible from the time they are pups until they grow too old to care – particularly if the dog is also a large animal. If a big, smart dog isn’t socialized, then frankly, it’s irresponsible and potentially dangerous.

Thank the universe, Mellie, who is both smart and big, falls under the best-case scenario category.

I’ll write more about her over the weekend, but Miss Mellie is going to be just fine. I haven’t seen one ounce of aggression out of her. She’s just extraordinarily energetic and inquisitive. It’s almost like at some point Miss Mellie stopping mentally developing because she behaves like a puppy trapped in the body of a fifty-pound, long-legged, intelligent, hyper, ten-month-old dog.