A Good Day

Today was a good day.

Kaful arrived yesterday afternoon and I had to get him out of the car using a dog-catching pole. Kaful did not like it, and he thrashed around like a hooked fish. I led him, in wild circles, to his new home: a kennel and run shared with two females. As I predicted, once his doting family drove off, Kaful calmed down considerably, and looked a little lost … and in need of a leader.

Today, Kaful was barking ferociously again at anyone who went near his run and snapping aggressively at anybody who didn’t understand the instructions to stay out until he had been rehabilitated. But I know how a dog’s mind works, so I slowly approached Kaful’s pen and sat with my side to the wire fence, remaining calm and confident and ignoring the gnashing canine beside me. He barked ferociously at the fence for a while before doing what most aggressive dogs do when countered with nonchalance: he lowered his head and quietly came closer for a sniff. You see, people don’t understand that, in polite dog circles, the first thing new acquaintances do is smell each other. They don’t make eye contact, they don’t speak, and they don’t touch; instead, they approach sideways-on for a smell of the stranger -- anything else would be perceived as possibly threatening by the other party.

So, once I’d introduced myself (my unique smell) to Kaful properly, his aggression dissipated. I had made friends with him. He sat near the fence, with his eyes averted, signalling that he had accepted my presence as non-threatening. So I quietly went inside with the dog who, just a couple of days before, had made some vicious lunges at my legs, arms and face. I remained aloof, giving Kaful the impression that I was confident of my status as the more dominant of us two, and Kaful backed off with nothing more than an interested look. I sat looking away, and almost immediately he came closer for a quick smell before laying down beside me, his eyes relaxed and looking away. As he had approached me, I stroked his side gently while speaking praise, and he closed his eyes, showing his enjoyment.

After a few minutes, I decided he was ready for the next phase in our new relationship: me leading Kaful on a walk down the hill and back. I reached for the noosed leash I’d hung over the fence already and carefully hooked it over his head. Once you get a dog on the end of a leash, particularly one that will tighten with pressure, you are half way to cementing your position as a calm, assertive leader and his as a calm, submissive charge. I stood up and gave a light tug to signal we were on the move and Kaful responded as I knew he would and stood up to come with me. He approached the door but I held him back and made a noise that showed my discontent with his attempt at going through before me. He respectfully backed up, I walked out, and then I gave a little tug again to show he could now follow.

In stark contrast to the wild and crazy antics the day before, Kaful instantly accepted his place either by my side or behind me and we headed off down the muddy path at a brisk pace, which Kaful clearly enjoyed, as his behaviour when out with his family had meant no walks in a long time for the 

energetic young canine. For the first ten minutes, Kaful wasn’t allowed to stop to smell or go to the bathroom; only once he'd mastered the walk with me was he granted the opportunity to go about taking in the smorgasbord of doggy smells along the trail.

When I felt it was time for wagons to roll again, I gave him a gentle tug and we went on our way, with Kaful looking every part the show dog walking calmly, obediently, and happily by my side. It was a great feeling, and I couldn’t help but smile when I returned him to

 his run when I thought about the rapid progress we had made. Of course, Kaful wasn’t a bad dog; he’d just been allowed too much of a free rein with his family and was acting up because of it. As I headed back to the cabin, I looked back to see the golden retriever’s eyes following me lovingly and longingly. I looked forward to taking him out again later in the day.

The Brit girls arrived mid-afternoon and immediately set about helping me with the chores and cleaning up the clinic and guest room. Lucy and Alexis had only arrived in Guatemala one day before, as part of a round-the-world trip, but had decided to roll up their sleeves and get straight into volunteer life. I walked them into town and bought all the ingredients to make a curry of sorts for our evening meal. The ladies took it upon themselves to care for a two-month-old pup who was refusing to eat, was covered in fleas, cold, and dehydrated. It looked like the little guy wasn’t going to make it to the end of the day, but my fellow Brits got him eating raw chicken, taking in some water, and warmed up on a hot-water bottle. It was great to see him improve so much under the care and attention he was receiving. The last I saw of the sick pup was his tail a-wagging as he was being prepared for a night sleeping inside Lucy’s sleeping bag to keep him warm. The runt had made it.