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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2017 57 MY DOG IS AGGRESSIVE, WHAT SHOULD I DO? Aggression is a normal part of the way all animals behave. Often people only consider aggressive behavior in a dog to be a problem when it reaches the extremes of biting, but it can include lesser degrees, such as"grumbling," growling, snarling, teeth baring and snapping at the air without making contact. Bites too can vary from light touches with the teeth right through to inflicting serious injury. Aggression is the outward expression of an emotion and can be used to communicate various intentions by the dog. Rather than being something that switches on and off suddenly, aggression is part of a range of behaviors that dogs have available to them to deal with life's everyday challenges. Many of these behaviors are passive and it is only when the dog changes from trying to avoid a situation, through things like moving away or showing that they are not happy, to actively trying to manage the situation, that we term it "aggression." When a dog has to cope with a particular feature of its life it has a number of options available to it. Aggression is simply a part of some of those options. Sit down and work out the circumstances that caused the aggression so that you can avoid them in the short term. What you do next depends on when, or towards what or whom, your dog is aggressive. Some dogs will only be aggressive in one context and others will show aggression in lots of contexts. The more often and the more contexts in which your dog is aggressive, the more difficult it is likely to be to treat. For example, if your dog defends high quality food, such as bones, with aggression, but shows no aggression over ordinary food, you may be able to deal with it by simply not giving it bones. However, the use of aggression can escalate quickly and the more that dogs use it, the more they are likely to use it in the future, so getting help early is crucial. Your veterinarian will be able to refer you to a qualified experienced dog behaviorist who will be able to guide you through changing your dog's behavior. Pack Walk Schedule (please, no retractable leashes): Saturday: Leaves at 8 am from the Spa parking lot Wednesday: Leaves at 4 pm from the Summit parking lot Info., contact Patrick and his dog, Ricky Ricardo, dog_owners@ yahoo.com. ~ Patrick Gerety D.O.G. Tails & Trails - All Pets Looking back at 2017, we think about successes and failures. Our group is no different. We are pleased to say that our young group is off to a great start and we look forward to building our service group in the coming year. Over the past 12 months… We finalized our Mission and our Charter and we identified our initial leadership. We facilitated numerous rescues and rehomes through social media and partnering with local rescues, animal control authorities, and our counterparts at Sun Lakes. Fostering, transportation, adoption, live trapping, and other services performed by our members have protected or saved the lives of Sophie, Daisy, Jimmy, Sassy, Jayco, Buddy, Sammy, Mimi and a number of other pets who came to our attention and care but, fortunately, did not remain long enough for us to know their names. Our mission is infused with the spirit of service, helping neighbors experiencing temporary incapacity with fostering, assistance walking their dogs, or providing care for other pets. Thanks to the generosity of our residents, we purchased a "live trap" to help secure lost pets and to trap domestic animals that have been spotted around the community. Their altruism also enabled us to secure our own universal chip scanner. Having these tools available 24/7/365 is invaluable when time is of the essence. In addition to the monetary donations that helped us with these purchases, we have received material donations of food and other equipment. More than we would like, we have consoled friends and neighbors who have lost their precious companions during the year. Rounding out our 2017 were the planning and sponsorship of the Annual Blessing of the Pets and working with our Community Ambassador to share a program on coexisting with our wild neighbors. Our efforts are enabled by a core group of passionate and dedicated animal lovers. We leverage our expanding social media, phone, and email networks to spread the word quickly. Our Facebook group is especially helpful, providing a platform for sharing great information on pet psychology, wellness, and other aspects of responsible pet parenting. Residents do not need to be a formal member of our group or even own a pet to join. Check us out at Four Seasons D.O.G. | Tails and Trails on Facebook. You can also join our mailing list by emailing us at fsbtailsandtrails@gmail.com. ~ Martha Baumgarten

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