Finally learning how to play...

Millie is finally learning how to play with the other dogs and it has not come easily to her for some reason... She has little of the usual canine behaviors and social skills, other than becoming submissive when she's reprimanded by another dog... Originally she would growl and show her teeth when reprimanded - now she drops the head and tail as she lowers her shoulders in canine doggie language when fussed at... 

However, with these learning processes comes progress as well... Last night I watched Millie engage in a game of 'catch me if you can' in the backyard with everyone... She watched for awhile and learned what was going on, then couldn't resist joining in... 

She quickly was taught that if she caught someone, she couldn't bite them hard... That nipping was not allowed, but only 'air nips' along with the sounds that accompany this game... This took her a bit of time to learn as the game stopped several times when she'd actually nip and someone would step in to 'advise' her she wasn't following the rules of the game!

But this is progress... 

There are dominants and submissives in society... If Millie is to learn how to get along with other dogs, she has to go through this process... There is a functional level that balanced dogs work hard to achieve, and she is learning from some of the best with the pack... I am pleased with her bravery to engage, happy with how she handled being reprimanded when she did wrong and continued to enjoy the game with everyone else for quite some time...

Otherwise, she would be sentenced to the lifestyle that some Chihuahuas live - not interacting with other dogs or the general public, becoming one of those 'nasty, snarfy, rat dogs that yap too much,' etc... Not what I would choose for any Chihuahua or Chi mix... These little guys truly do love interaction with other dogs of their breed and their human owners... While they might have originally come from the fox side of the canine species, they have been deeply bred to be companions... And how can you offer companionship if you don't what it is all about?

This is what happens to puppymill puppies (PMP)- they don't get the correct nor proper amount of socialization from their moms nor the millers... They get shipped off to a petshop and bought by a human, who usually doesn't have a clue what they are getting into with a PMP... We all have images of Lassie ingrained in our subconsciousness and don't understand why this new puppy can grow into such a terror and misbehaved adult dog... So many of the things we humans consider 'normal' in a dog just doesn't exist in these PMPs...

I compare this same situation to a child whose birth language is not English, then gets set down in America without parents at the age of five... They can't understand what is expected of them, nor more than they can communicate to find out... The process is frustrating, although I'm not so sure dogs experience frustration to the intelligent level humans do... But they do feel and have feelings, so at some level there must be something, if not irritation or annoyance...

Millie is only learning by watching and experience... She still has a LOT of things to learn (like potty-training, learning how to receive pats and love without going ballastic in your lap, what toys are for, self-esteem, etc.)... And it is a process that is ongoing, depending on how much she is willing to learn and how much tolerance the other dogs have that particular time to teach her...