[Dailydrool] Alpha roll clarification

[alice]

Hi,

 

Well, the penny dropped, finally.  Judging from some emails I got about my
post on alpha rolling I clearly didn't explain properly in my post about
Bayley alpha rolling herself.  When she ran over to me and rolled on her
back she was NOT doing it out of fear.  She trotted over, eyes dancing, big
doggy grin with tongue hanging out the side and alpha rolled herself, and
demanded her reward (a belly rub-which she got, of course) for doing the new
trick she learned-the don't bite Jolene trick.  Good grief, what kind of
person would think it was hilarious that their dog was frightened of them?
What was funny was that she'd turned it around on me and made it a game.
Just like a basset.  I'd sooner lose a limb than do anything to make her
lose her joy.  I foster seniors-usually emotionally damaged dogs and
Bayley's the first confident, relatively undamaged dog in my home a very
long time.  Bayley's innocent joy of life is my joy and my goal for the
other dogs.

 

And I should probably say again for the record-alpha rolling is not usually
a particularly good option and I don't advocate it.  The second and only
deliberate time I did it I DID NOT roughly and angrily put her on her back,
I gently pushed her to her side and held her only until she stopped
growling, which only took about 15 seconds.  The real key to doing it, I
think, is the mental state you're in.  I was very calm, which is totally
unlike me, and though I don't usually talk about my beliefs, but the calm,
unfrustrated state of mind didn't come from me.  It seemed to me as though
being on her side would be less threatening to her than being on her back
and apparently it *was* easier on her.  If you aren't Cesar Millan and don't
possess that incredible calm energy, don't do it.  

 

I do have to say I have noticed a big difference in the atmosphere in my
home-all the dogs had been too afraid of Bayley to even come to me for
affection.  I had to seek them out to love on them and even *I* would check
to see where Bayley was, which is so much less than they all deserve.  These
last few days they've all felt brave enough to come and ask to be on my lap
and Bayley has tolerated it.  Last night, we had our first ever group play.
Bayley wants to play with them but they've been too afraid of her to want to
play with her.  She does, however, still get up on my chair and dare me
(laughing eyes, not aggressively) to make her get down.  So, we're back to
normal on that-I pull her gently down, saying "off" and she gets down
without trying to bite me.

 

Alice, rescued by Bitsy, Bayley Ann DeBasset, fosters Fred, Jasper and
Jolene, and the bridge crew, Jack, Bethany and the Amayzing Daisy May

 

 

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