Some years ago, I read a short piece by one of our long-time contributors, Barbara Dobbins, talking about dogs she knew, including one of her own, who had achieved the age and status to have earned a “permanent hall pass.” I was so charmed by the piece that I asked Barb if we could publish it here as a blog post and she agreed.
At the time it was published, my darling Otto was five years old – in the absolute prime of his well-behaved life. And today, he is 13 years old, and I renew his permanent hall pass every few months, as it gets stained and torn with use.
Don’t get me wrong: Otto is still a Very Good Dog. If dogs are being asked to perform a variety of behaviors on cue and the prize is treats, he can still sit, down, stand, and back up faster than any other canine on the property. He wouldn’t dream of chewing up our human things, or jumping up on people rudely. And he’s always going to be WDJ’s top model – knowing just how to jump up on an object and hit a pose and even find his light.
But there are a number of things that dogs are not allowed to do here in my home or on my property, and Otto has decided, “To heck with it, I’m doing them!” And, precisely because of his long and distinguished record, we now look the other way when he sneaks a cookie off the coffee table, snarfs down the horse poop we come across on the trail, digs in the winter vegetable raised beds, or chases the mail truck along our fenceline, barking furiously the entire time. Oy! That last one is hard for me, especially because I am hosting an impressionable young foster dog who would absolutely love to join Otto in this fun activity (Coco now gets shut in my office at a certain point in the afternoon when the mail truck usually makes its rounds). But he has earned these privileges, in honor of his many years of near-perfect behavior.
I don’t know how much more time I will get with Otto, but I’m not going to spend any of it yelling at or even being annoyed by his new naughty behaviors, that’s for sure.
Do any of your dogs have a permanent hall pass?
Ramses was always the perfect gentlemen. He never jumped on people, humped legs, drank out of the toilet and wasn’t a trash digger. In his older years he remained a gentlemen. But very near the end he did soil the house a few times. He was on meds and a few times he couldn’t make it out the back door in time. He was always highly embarrassed. But I always told him it was all right.
I notice Otto has a really great memory foam bed. I bought that exact same bed for Ramses and have always regretted I didn’t buy it sooner. He had arthritis (and a bad back) much earlier than I realized and once I bought that bed and set it up it was his favorite spot. He loved that bed. I’m so glad Otto has one.
Wow Nancy i remember when you first got Otto and published his first picture with you….i didn’t realize it was 13 yrs ago! In answer to the hall pass, my Abby, a springer doodle who looks like a cocker spaniel, gets a hall pass at 12 yrs for having a poop in the house now and then when she can’t hold it like she used to (well neither do i get the warnings/urges i used to so i can commiserate with her). She is the best girl in so many other ways that it is much easier to just pick it up and i know yelling after the fact doesn’t work! So that is her hall pass for life! love her lover her lover her so much! Thanks Nancy for the article! and Congrats on so many yrs with the big guy!
My 14-year-old miniature Schnauzer and my 13-year-old GSD mix both have a permanent hall pass. Bonita. (the Schnauzer) spends most of her time sleeping and snoring. I have had her for about 8 years now from a rescue. She has occasional accidents in the house and sometimes stands in the middle of the yard and barks. I believe she has dementia and I know she now has sight problems. . Mec (GSD mix) has always been a good dog. She is still the demo dog for puppy class and the most trusted of my dogs. She is beginning to have a few problems with her sight I think, but she is doing well otherwise. She has started tearing up paper. cardboard boxes, and pee pads when I go to work. I may have a mess to clean up when I get home, but she still gets to be the one dog loose when I leave.
My Lobo, a husky. We adopted him on what probably would have been hos last day in LA county pound. He was perfectly behaved, never destructive, the best alpha dog ever, very hard to get riled up but willing to enforce the rules.
He was very laid back and super smart. We lost him too soon, but he left us his way.
He was my souldog. Even after more than 10 years since his death i still miss him.
My American Water Spaniel is 15 and has a hall pass.
Our 15 year olds Akita girl, who left us in June, had CCD and had lost most of her fearing and eyesight, so for most of the last her I’d her life she had a permanent hall pass for most everything.
Our 11 1/2 year old wire haired terrier mix, Kochany, has a permanent hall pass now. He did not when we first got him at 8 months old. He was (and still is) fearful of new people and situations, but always has loved other dogs. We really have no idea what breed he is, but he’s got that lovely wiry fur, much like your Otto. When Kochany was younger, he would chew any and everything. I left him for just a minute and came out to a hole in the arm of my armchair and stuffing all over the room. I literally left him for 60 seconds unsupervised. After that, he was never left unsupervised until he was almost 4 years old. He was either in day care or in a crate. Over the years, he stopped chewing everything and learned to chew the things we gave him to chew on. He got very good at making sure it was appropriate to chew on by watching our reaction. Now he rarely chews any toys any longer. However, if he did, I would not yell at him, simply take away the object. He still sits beautifully and waits. He is a great little dog and we think he’s perfect.
SO. Many. VERY. Good. Dogs!! I love it!
NK
My 15 year old beagle Pepper has been on hall pass most of her life. The sign on her pen said “Perfect Pup” and she has indeed exceeded all expectations. A new pup entered our home. Grandma Pepper not only trained her but has served as a canine model citizen.
I would love some feedback on this if anyone cares to reply. I completely agree on a “hall pass” when it revolves around behavior due to health or age, like incontinence or not being very able to perform sit or down, but do you also give a pass for naughty behavior that you don’t normally allow? Doesn’t that send a mixed message to other dog members of the house and undermine training? It seems cruel to let one dog get away with murder while the others look at you like “hey, that goes against everything you have taught me- I am confused.” That seems like it could be dangerous for the dog. Consistency has always seemed to me to be the key to wheel behaved happy dogs. If I am lax with one dog, the other dogs pick up on that. What if one decided not to listen and ran out into the street, or killed a neighbors chicken? Maybe I am unclear on what you mean by hall pass.
Hi Tom, perhaps a trainer will weigh in. For my part, there is only one naughty behavior that Otto is doing that I fear might be “contagious” — the running down the fenceline barking at the mail truck. Woody knows he’s not supposed to do that; usually, when I hear the dogs bark at anything when they are outside, I just give my recall cue — and reinforce GENEROUSLY for quick returns. AT this point, Woody takes *Otto’s* barking as a cue to run to me! lol However, the young dog I am fostering, who has much less of a reinforcement history for recalls, is conflicted. Running and barking is VERY funI Perhaps more fun than getting food treats! She’s not sure; maybe 50/50. So I prevent her from being reinforced for joining Otto in his fun by making sure she’s in the house or in my office in the late afternoons, when the mail truck is due.
In general, though, I don’t think of it as dogs having a concept of, “Hey, not fair! Otto gets to steal cookies and I don’t!” As long as I keep the reinforcements high for NOT taking cookies off the coffee table (“Leave it!… Good boy!”) for Woody, and manage the situation (don’t leave cookies unattended), the blatant, right-in-front-of-me cookie-stealing by Otto shouldn’t drift over to Woody.
NK
Thank you for the feedback Nancy, I appreciate it!