I’m not talking about the Jurassic park kind of dinos, in this case it is an acronym.
Dogs in Need of Space
If you have a dog like this you probably know what I’m talking about. I’m not an expert on the topic, that person is Jessica Dolce. She coined the phrase in 2011 with her viral blog post My Dog is Friendly PSA!. I don’t remember how I came across the phrase or even when, but I knew at once that it applied to K’Ehleyr completely.
There are lots of reasons a dog needs his/her space away from other dogs and humans. The reasons can be medical, for special training or behavioral. The DINOS website has all the information if you are interested, I’m not going to regurgitate it here.
My experience living with a DINOS
K’Ehleyr’s was a goofy 9 month old when we adopted her. As she became an adult dog she started having a hard time sharing. She would claim the water fountain at the dog park as hers or she wouldn’t let other dogs play with her adopted sister Varel. It became apparent she felt she needed to be in charge and wanted all other dogs to know it. People and puppies she loved and she did have some best dog friends. But when you have a dog who is 130 lbs. you can’t take chances on her reaction. It was like walking Jekyll & Hyde or Bruce Banner & The Hulk. You just never knew when things might turn into “K’Ehleyr SMASH”.
The consequences
We couldn’t go to dog parks or off-leash areas. The most frustrating thing is when you specifically go to a leashed area and an unleashed dog is running towards you followed by the phrase “my dog’s friendly”. My response… “my dog isn’t, control your dog please”. This frequently resulted in an irate owner who didn’t like being told that they needed to follow the leash rules. Luckily, the other option of the other dog being injured never occurred.
The options
If you live in a rural area with lots of land then it might not be a problem. For those of us in cities where we have to walk our dogs 2+ times per day it becomes a challenge.
We turned to a training class which didn’t understand what I was telling them and put her in a situation which got her kicked out of class. Next was a private trainer with unlimited follow-up group sessions. They ended up changing their policy after we went to over a year of follow-up sessions. Ha, taught them a thing or two. Seriously, they were great and if you are in Arizona and need training look up Lose the Leash. However, we still had to endure an owner, who couldn’t control her unleashed dog, yelling at us that our dog should not be allowed in public. At the time K’Ehleyr was under our voice control with our trainer and muzzled.
If you have a dog like this I feel for you. It isn’t easy at times but when you adopted a dog they are yours for life, please don’t give up on them. Accept the challenge and move forward.
“Never give up, never surrender.”
Commander Peter Quincy Taggart
To help make things easier in public, the DINOS website offers some leashes, vests and other products, that advertise that your dog needs space. I’m not affiliated with them, I just want to help spread the word that it is OK if your dog needs space.
