# "He's Retarded"



## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

From Sit/Stay post by trainer Darcie.
“He’s retarded.” | The Dish by Darcie

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Darcie
“He’s retarded,” she said.

“He doesn’t look retarded,” I replied.”He just looks like a normal dog.”

“The vet diagnosed him as retarded,” she told me. “Lay down,” she said to the dog. The dog went to the floor doing as she asked, then he got back up again.

“What do you mean he’s retarded? What does that mean?” I’ve never heard of a dog being diagnosed as retarded. She motioned him to lay down again and again he did what she asked, then he got back up.

“He was slow to learn, I had to work so hard with him to get him to do even the simple stuff. I finally took him to the vet. The vet said he’s retarded.”

The dog came over to me. I didn’t reach out, she was still trying to work with him and I didn’t want to interfere. She motioned with her fingers for him to sit, she said “sit” and he did. Then he got up again.

“See?” she said. “He’s retarded.”

“What is it that you couldn’t get him to do?” I smiled at the dog and he wagged his tail at me.

“It took me a long time to get him to sit, lay down, and come. He still doesn’t stay when I tell him to. It was frustrating to try to train him and I’ve handled dogs.” She frowned just a little bit and looked at me again. As she talked, I found out that she’d been using traditional training methods with him.

“Can I play with him, see what I can get him to do?” I asked. I popped some roasted chicken from my salad into my mouth.

“Sure. Go ahead.” Good luck was written all over her face.

“Hey, little buddy.” I gave the dog a piece of chicken. I had his full attention immediately. I gave him another little piece. He sat in front of me and scooted closer. “Touch.” I held my hand out to him. His nose automatically touched my hand. Bite of chicken. “Touch.” I said it again and again his nose touched my hand. Another bite of chicken. “Touch,” I said a third time. He looked at my face, then at my hand. He leaned back slightly and a little to the side, his nose went up and he was looking up at the ceiling. Frozen in that position.

“See,” she said. “He’s retarded.”

“No. He’s just thinking,” I said. “Wait, he’ll come back and touch my hand with his nose. He’s deciding if he wants to work with me and working out exactly why he should. My guess is that he will.” I waited with my hand out, she and I talked a bit.

It did take this darling dog several minutes to have his aha moment and it came. He startled, looked at me and touched my hand with his nose. I laughed and gave him six pieces of chicken, one right after the other. I asked him to touch my hand again and he did it instantly. He laughed too and wagged his tail. Then we did some sits, downs, comes, and stays. He did them all perfectly, even the stays. He didn’t break once.

“Wow,” she said.

“He’s brilliant. He’s a brilliant dog. Look at that brilliant dog.” I smiled at her and rubbed the dog with both hands. “Sometimes it’s simply the match that we make. Some dogs don’t want to work with some people. I know you love him so you probably have to make some choices. You have to find a better way to communicate, positive training is so fast and easy, and hope that he will work with you, or give him up to someone who he will work with, or decide that good enough is good enough and love the relationship that you have now.”

She was a very nice woman and she really likes her dog. Sometimes we just don’t know until we know.

I didn’t even use a clicker. I may have blown her mind if I had. – Darcie


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

thanks for sharing


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

Good_Karma said:


> “The vet diagnosed him as retarded,” she told me.


For some reason this line cracks me up


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## gsd_lover (Aug 22, 2010)

Now that's a great story!! It's so true that some dogs don't work well with some people. It's all in the approach.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I once had a dog that I think may have been, er, developmentally disabled. She could only play chase in a straight line.


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## Korubell (Apr 6, 2010)

Emoore said:


> I once had a dog that I think may have been, er, developmentally disabled. She could only play chase in a straight line.


LOL - I was starting to think that my lad came off the short bus too, when I thought back to how my past dogs were. When I threw or rolled a ball he'd sit with me and watch it bounce away. I soon discovered that he will chase and retrieve anything BUT a ball. He'll go after leaves, feathers, other toys, small dogs, cats, rats. At 5 months he even picked up a Bichon pup by the scruff and started to run off with it, but brought it back when I started running away from him. Yes, it's owner just about fainted! It's just balls he doesn't see the point in, for some reason. Maybe they're too predictable.


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## shilorio (Mar 21, 2010)

hah! thats to funny my father says shilos an Rtard but i know shes just stuburn  like owner like dog  shes like her momma alright lol


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think it's more likely that most people
don't know how to work with dogs.



gsd_lover said:


> Now that's a great story!! It's so true that some dogs don't work well with some people. It's all in the approach.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Cool!


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## shannonrae (Sep 9, 2010)

I have a developmentally challenged pomeranian. He was perfectly normal and learned quickly up until he developed epilepsy and had some pretty serious head trauma. After that he failed to learn anything. He is the most good natured dog ever though.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I love potential puppy buyers who tell you about their lengthy history of retarded dogs. 

And, uhm, you want for me to send a puppy home with you???

Right.

Just as soon as I win the lottery and the fiery pit freezes over.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I did own a labX once that I'm pretty sure was retarded. He had a hard time remembering things as well as a bad habit of getting excited and running into walls...


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## emCee (May 23, 2010)

I actually took my dog to the vet today, and he said that my dog may have something wrong with him. Something along the lines of autism, and he wasn't the first person to say this to me alot of other pet owners at the dog park told me that he was a little strange. I was actually wondering if dogs can have these types of problems. he said that my dog exhibits some behaviors that could be a sign of this. Is there any truth to what he was saying?


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

I dunno, I think I had a mentally challenged dog at one point. He'd walk off the edges of things, like porches, high decks, steps... and just fall right off. Never seemed to catch on that there was an EDGE and he should stop walking! (No vision problems either).


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## emCee (May 23, 2010)

well so far my dog walks into walls and doors (repeatedly). He is afraid of doorways and stairs he wont go through them w/o my other dog showing him. On walks he is a spaz and when left alone he freaks out, but if i put on this life jacket my girlfriend got him he walks fine and is an angel when left alone. My vet also said that the behavior he displays at his age is more like a young puppy and not an adult dog.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Shawn, that sounds like Cypher.. He was a total love and would do anything you asked. He just wouldn't remember how to do it if you asked again 5 mins later. 

So it was like re-training him every day..


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## Greydusk (Mar 26, 2010)

When I lived/worked on a sheep farm in England I had a dog who had _something_ wrong with him. We had at the time four working border collies, and this collie-mix showed up near the farm. The thought was maybe he could herd, or had the potential to. Nope defiantly not. We tried basic obedience but Red never really got it. Sometimes he would walk out into the middle of the paddock and just bark at nothing. The other dogs always looked at him like he was crazy. He was never able to herd, sit, stay, come, or even fetch a ball like the rest of the dogs but he was kindest and gentlest dog I’ve ever had, if there was ever a lamb that was ill and had to be kept in the barn, he would sleep with it throughout the night, curled up next to it. 

He was perfect. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about him.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I wonder how vaccines play into dogs behaviors or lack of...especially the way vets over-vaccinate so young.


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## frillint1 (Sep 2, 2010)

Wow, what an awesome story


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

emCee said:


> well so far my dog walks into walls and doors (repeatedly). He is afraid of doorways and stairs he wont go through them w/o my other dog showing him. On walks he is a spaz and when left alone he freaks out, but if i put on this life jacket my girlfriend got him he walks fine and is an angel when left alone. My vet also said that the behavior he displays at his age is more like a young puppy and not an adult dog.


When you mention how your dog feels better with the lifejacket on, it reminded me of what Temple Grandin talked about in her book "Animals Make Us Human".
Amazon.com: Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (9780151014897): Temple Grandin, Catherine Johnson: Books

She talks about this very thing as being very comforting to children with autism, that feeling of being "tucked in." There are even specific ways you can wrap your dog up to make him feel safer. I think you can find it in this book too: Amazon.com: Getting in TTouch with Your Dog: An Easy, Gentle Way to Better Health and Behavior (9781570762062): Linda Tellington-Jones: Books


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