Harvey the Reactive Dog

 

I was lucky, of all dogs I had had in my life up until Harvey, none were reactive. Mali got alomng with all dogs and Kerouac just didn't care about other dogs. He would just leave them alone, unaffected and uninterested. Harvey was another story. I knew he was under-socialized, but I didn't know anything about how he would interact with other dogs. Unsurprisingly, it turned out he had likes and dislikes when it came to dogs. He didn't mind dogs smaller than him but he did not like German Shepherd type dogs or most black dogs. He made friends with a few Pyr type dogs at the dog park. If their energy met his then he was cool. If they came on too strongly then he would get defensive. For me, it was a learning process.

When he first arrived, he was also picky about people.  He had a dislike for dark skinned people and we actually had to cross the road to avoid him getting worked up. That changed as he grew and experienced life. One of the things that really helped with his people-reativity was going downtown and being around a cross section of people. He always liked kids and most adults, but meeting a lot of street people was a big stepping stone for him. A lot of the street people either had dogs in their lives or wish they could have one, so most were kind and outgoing when seeing Harvey. Havimg him experience a broad array of persona;ities and energy levels allowed him to grow more comfortable with most people.

There is a gentleman that lives a block away and he was the first person Harvey met in Kamloops on his first morning here. Harvey was unsure of anyone at that time and sat back and would not let the man approach him regardless of how much he coaxed Harvey. We saw him regularly in the neighborhood and Harvey would never approach him. One day a few months before Harvey left we were walking past his back yard and he tried to approach Harvey again. He evn had treats which Harvey accepted while he chewed and growled. It was amazing that over 11 years passed and Harvey never shook his initial feelings he had for that man. 

As Harvey aged and became sick with cancer, he became more accepting of people and dogs he wouldn't have liked at a younger age. I'm not sure what it was that made him more accepting, but I was glad to see that he was able to shake the stress that came with meeting some dogs and people.