Just a hug?

The Lions Club of Canada has a building, a few minutes walk away from where we live, which is devoted to training service dogs for vision, hearing, seizure response, autism and diabetic alert  needs. The dogs are provided at no charge and, as The Dog Guides are dependent on corporate and individual financial support, one of their fund raising events is a dog walk!

When Ray first came to live with us, we soon realized the value of having the The Dog Guides so close. We were often meeting their dogs in a nearby park, or on a sidewalk, while they were being trained.  It took so much pressure off Ray (and us) when we knew that an approaching dog was being trained responsibly, and will generally show little interest in Ray.  Given his reactive nature and total distrust of other dogs at that time, it was an invaluable experience for him to keep meeting either puppies (future guides) or older dogs in training.

Last Saturday was the Walk for Dog Guides and, as in the past few years, we have entered and enjoyed watching so many congenial interactions between all the dogs participating. Ray’s only issue was his memory! He remembered that they serve food afterwards, and was very hesitant to leave their building area to start the walk. He seemed a little dejected as we moved further away from the location, but soon picked up his pace when he realized that we were heading downtown, and was excited when he realized that we were heading back to the Dog Guides building!

Our local Fire Department had a fire truck on display as part of the proceedings, and one particular fireman was giving any passing dog lots of attention… including Ray. He started by stroking him and scratching Ray’s head (Ray was very good!). The fireman then went into a squat position so his face was very close to Ray’s face… and continued to make a fuss of him (Ray seemed very relaxed, but we were a little apprehensive as we discourage such close contact). Before we could say anything, the fireman wrapped his arms around Ray and hugged him… and Ray was fine with it!

Carol and I are the only ones that have ever been able to hug Ray! He has lunged and barked at numerous people who may have shown an inclination to hug him, but his behavior at that moment totally surprised us.  We would assume that it was mainly because of the totally low key and friendly atmosphere, his experience over the past few years, and probably because the fireman took total control and Ray was comfortable with that!

Below is a pic taken after the walk had finished:

Needless to say, we were very happy with the Ray’s “performance”. He has certainly come a long way in his interactions with people he does not know, as well as other dogs!

44 thoughts on “Just a hug?”

    • Hi Laura, and welcome to my Blog! I hope that when you have a few moments, you will visit again; pull up a chair; kick your shoes off; grab a drink, and just chill while browsing around! Who knows, you may find an interesting Post or two! As for hugging Ray? To us, he is a big cuddly teddy bear (most of the time), but for others……. proceed with caution! His life with us has indicated a rather troubled history, which would explain his typical reactions when total strangers get too familiar!

      Like

  4. Way to go Ray! I want a “Ray hug” 🙂
    Like you said it probably had alot to do with the fireman’s approach and attitude. Dogs are so intuitive!
    Great pic of the 2 of you. Like the hair. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Just the other day as I was walking into a home building store. A mom asked if her daughter could pet my dog. I always error on caution with a child and say no. Yule was the same size as the little girl, and like you mentioned they seem to always want to pat on the head.

    Liked by 1 person

      • So true! I felt guilty saying no, and wish I could have rewarded somehow the mom for asking. Do you have a good comment I could say to both mom and daughter that would make the daughter feel ok?

        Liked by 1 person

  15. What a handsome dog and a beautiful moment. My dog shows similar behaviors when interacting with people (usually children or short females) so I definitely relate to your experience. Glad it went so well and I can’t wait to read more about Ray’s journey in your book 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Julia. Children are often misunderstood by dogs because they are unpredictable and erratic in their movements. Ray would typically bark to make them go away. Perhaps “short females” are seen as children by your dog?

      Like

      • It’s difficult to say honestly! Sometimes he is totally fine and other times he snaps without warning :/ It’s really 50/50 whether or not he is okay around females so I have yet to completely figure it out.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Perhaps it is an overall build, or a scent, or a mannerism… or a combination of all of them! All you can do is stay observant and try and see the common denominator. The problem is that you cannot try and acclimatize your dog to the circumstances unless you can identify them (no brainer eh!), and we did get a behaviorist and a specific trainer involved with Ray to assist.

          Like

Comments are closed.