Have Dog, Will PCS

There are dogs all over my base.  Obviously, military people have a lot of dogs.  In general, we like dogs.  Our kids like dogs.  While our spouse is gone for deployments and lengthy TDYs, not only is our dog extra company with undying devotion and love, but they bark if someone comes to the door.  I can't speak for everyone, but having that extra alarm system makes me sleep much easier at night.

Our dog will go wherever we go.

Sometimes, though, that creates quite a problem.

If you will be renting, having a dog can often stick you right in the wallet.  We've had to both pay more rent and pay a several hundred dollar "pet deposit" for having a dog.  And I really don't blame the landlords - they don't know us from Adam.  Our Ike is exceedingly well mannered and trained, but how would they know that? 

I have been working with Ike for about two years.  He sits, stays, lies down, fetches, and "gives paw" with whichever paw you request him to hold out.  He's been totally housebroken since two nights after we brought him home, and he has never once chewed our furniture.  I'm lucky enough to have friends that are dog trainers, and who have been available to help Ike along the way via emails and phone calls.  I know that Ike is a good dog to rent to, but with a move rapidly coming upon us, I need a way to prove this to prospective landlords.

Enter dog training class.

And not just any dog training class, either!  I can't just sign Ike up for Joe Schmoe's House of Pooch class.  It's got to be name brand, something recognizable.  People in the Jersey area might recognize Joe Schmoe's brand, but chances are that no one in Alaska, or Hawaii, or Florida will. 

Actually, since most elderly Floridians are Jersey transplants, that might be a bad example.  But I think I've made my point.

So I grumble and grumble, but I paid the 120$ to sign Ike up for an 8 week class that has a "diploma" at the end of it.  I told the instructor, when signing up, that Ike already knew all their basic commands and asked if he could "skip a grade."  The look she gave me made me want to offer to take a polygraph on the subject of Ike's training, but her carefully chosen words left no doubt that there was NO testing out of her program.  It's start at the beginning and finish to the end.  Period.  End of Story.

So, today I show up.  Ike is NOT on his best behavior and I'm totally embarrassed.  I find myself using our signal for "You're being an idiot!  Knock it off!"  which is basically me affecting a baritone and telling him "uh-uh-uh!" 

Then the other dogs show up.  Suddenly, Ike seems like Lassie in a Staff Terrier's body.  I'm in the corner with my dog, occasionally reinforcing his "sit" and/or "stay" and he's doing well indeed!  Although there is mighty barking going on, Ike is keeping out of it.  I'm wearing my best "I'm listening and we're being good" smile, hoping the instructor will see that we obviously do not need to come to another seven classes on dog behavior.

Nothing doing.

And just to add icing, it seems that my rather, errrr, overwhelming personality and Ike's obvious ability to run circles around the class doesn't make the instructor feel the warm and fuzzies towards us.  She's very nice, understand.  VERY nice.  Nicer than I would be in the same situation.  But she really does feel a need to assert some kind of control over us and reinforce her "lead dog" of the pack.  What happens is this - she decides I need to change Ike's command words.  I refuse.  She insists.  I don't react well.  She stops insisting.

At this point, I'm wondering if Ike is going to get his diploma.  Which we need.  Because WE NEED A HOUSE WHEN WE MOVE!

Now the instructor changes tactics.  When Ike lunges at a maniacally barking dog, I use our code term for "You are in SO MUCH TROUBLE, Mister!"  Which is a baritone sharp, "BEHAVE!"  Ike immediately stops his lunge and sits down, giving me the "Ooops, I screwed up.  Have I mentioned how much I love you?"  look.

The instructor tells me, "You should NOT yell at your dog!"

Yell?  I was a cheerleader.  She has not heard a yell from me.  They train us to yell from the stomach.  This noise was slightly above what I use to converse with my children.  Loud, yes, and authoritarian. But not a yell.   I informed her of this.

"It was too loud," she said.

It was at this moment a realization hit me.  I knew Ike did not need to be there.  And she knew Ike did not need to be there.  I think even Ike knew he did not need to be there.  But we did need the paper.  So I remembered one of hubby's big lessons from basic training. 

Sometimes, it doesn't matter that you don't need to do something, you have to do it.  So just shut up and get it done.

As an aside, I think quite a large number of military maxims have the phrase, "just shut up and get it done" in them.

Anyway, with 15 minutes left in class number one I suddenly relaxed and went with the flow.  I vegged out.  That last 15 minutes passed more quickly than the first 5, and without any confrontation.

So, next week I'll go back to Ike's class for that diploma, and this time I'll remember hubby's training secret.  I'm hoping it will pass much more quickly, and I'm willing to bet you dollars to donuts that it will.

Comments

[Tracie (Navy wife)]

Airforce Wife, that was priceless! I have two labs and I know exactly how you feel. We only had one dog at the time when we PCS'd last time and renting was definitely a challenge. We lucked out with our first landlord being cool with dogs and luckily, there were no major disasters because Allie was a puppy then. Although she did manage to destroy one of his 4 rose bushes that he had in the yard, but, he was not steaming after the incident thank goodness. We too put Allie, and our second lab through Petsmart Training classes, which came with diplomas. They were great, but I sometimes think that my dogs selectively listened during some of the sessions. Their behavior sometimes makes me look as if I lied when I said they were properly trained and well-behaved.

One thing we found that helped us with the PCS and dog situation was making a pet resume for Allie with a list of all her "trained" behaviors and references from various previous renters and copies of her pet diplomas. It seemed rather silly at the time making a pet resume but I think it actually helped us when we moved to California. Most rentals were not pet-friendly so we were very limited as to places. And it worked out in the end. Gotta love our pets!

[Butterfly Wife]

I had not considered any of this. We are facing a possible (probably?) move when my husband gets back from this deployment in the fall and we have 2 dogs and a cat that are our children. I will have to keep this all in mind. Thanks for sharing.

[Tracie (Navy wife)]

Butterfly Wife, I'll be happy to provide any insight I have on moving with the dogs. The size of the animals is one aspect that comes into play. You'll find more landlords likely to rent to people with small animals rather than larger animals. Although, in my experience, large animals are not necessarily more destructive and a lot depends on the animals in question. Ask away if you have any questions.

[Shell]

AFW,

We've been in this position before and got our Golden tested for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen® (CGC) Program. This was a simple 15 min test at the local dog club. We left with a receipt and certificate in hand. The CGC cert helped us stay in hotels from Ohio to Las Vegas during our first PCS with Pooch (who weighs 80 lbs). We made reservations before leaving and had several hotels tell us they would only take dogs under 25 lb. A little begging, playing the military card and the CGC cert went a long way toward saving that trip!

Try this site for info: http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

[US Navy Wife]

It's not only PCSs where dogs can make life interesting... we now live in a hurricane-strike area. When we evacuate, it's me, a teen-aged boy, and two 50# labradors. Hotels are a bit of a problem.

My husband is a dog handler, and our dogs are as near to perfect as a dog can be. Still, we have to beg for permission to stay. (I think it's their hair... wouldn't it be wonderful if we could train dogs NOT to shed?)

[Emily]

We're about to move in together once he PCSes home to the states...and he's looking at a TDY a few months after that. I've informed him we're getting puppies so that I'm not home alone while he's gone.

I'll be going through my pre-milspouse training while trying to train the dogs, AND find a job. Anyone familiar with the Phoenix area?

[liberal army wife]

It's not only the behaviouror the accidents. I have both a dog and a cat. It's the allergies! The hotels have to worry about dander and hair and that's why some will have a couple of rooms that they will allow pets in, they then have to superclean the room. I asked once why I had to pay so much for a doggy deposit when we moved the last time. This PCS, the cat is coming, the dog will be moving to my neighbour. She'll have a boy there, and stay where she has 10 acres to run after wabbits and such. I couldn't put her in an apartment in a big city.

LAW

[Jennifer]

I really appreciate you posting about this. My husband and I were just married and I am moving in the process of moving overseas...I just found out he bought a dog for us. Neither one of us had even thought about the problems we could run into with housing. I will definitely have to look into training and a "doggie diploma". Once again, thanks for posting! :)

[Jennifer]

I really appreciate you posting about this. My husband and I were just married and I am moving in the process of moving overseas...I just found out he bought a dog for us. Neither one of us had even thought about the problems we could run into with housing. I will definitely have to look into training and a "doggie diploma". Once again, thanks for posting! :)

[Army Wife]

http://www.dogfriendly.com/ is a great web site that lists pet friendly places for travel. We have used it many times. I have found that many "Holiday Inn" express hotels are both pet and kid friendly without hitting you too hard in the wallet. You can get government rates too if you are on PCS orders. I agree with the pet training certificates. It has made a huge differnce for us when it comes to renting houses off-post. I usually stick a picture of the kids with the dog on our application also. It seems to give the owners some assurance that he is who we have portrayed him to be. Dogs are great to have around especially when the boys are gone! They are company and peace of mind all wrapped up into one.

[Andy]

I think that there are fewer problems with cats. They are much more quiet, and you don't need to walk them 2 times a day. Plus, what I like about cats is that they are more independent than dogs, and it is quite challenging to find an approach to the cat :-)

Cheers,

Andy Moore
http://dalloway-school.com