Now days, there is much concern about bullying in schools, on the play ground, in Physical Education class and even in the dog yard. All age groups can be the target of a bully – puppies, yearlings, two-year-olds, adults and seniors. I want to share a story about bullying in the Just Guts Dog Yard.

When I was a little puppy, just off the plane from Alaska to Wisconsin, most of the dogs were wondering who this tiny little dog was who now lived in the puppy pen and was getting so much love and attention from the humans. I sized up the other dogs that were close to the puppy pen. There was Blackjack – BIG, Black and seemed pretty nice. There was Bootleg – BIG, Black and seemed friendly. There was Bosca – BIG, Wolf-like and barked even when I looked at him. On my first venture out of the puppy pen under the watchful eye of Handler, I trotted on over to Blackjack who flopped over on the ground and let me bite his ears and his tail. Ditto with Bootleg. Those guys were so friendly – I like them right away. I loped over toward Bosca where I was greeted by vicious growling, lunging and barking. I hightailed it out of there! Gee, what did I ever do to him? Then I heard Handler scold Bosca for bullying. What?

What is a bully? A bully is somebody or somedog who leaves others out on purpose. A bully wants to harm others. A bully says unkind things to others. Bullying often involves lopsided power and strength along with abuse or negative actions. Ask yourself these 3 questions to make sure your behavior isn’t bully like, 1) Do I hurt others by what I say, 2) Do I make others feel afraid and 3) Do I leave others out of games, sled pulling and other activities? If you answer yes to any of those questions, then your name could be Bosca and you should change your ways.

What should you do if somebody or somedog is hounding you or making you feel afraid? Do what I did – walk or trot away and don’t look back. Tell an adult, a bigger dog or your handler or your musher. And just like Blackjack and Bootleg were to me, be a friend to others. A really good strategy is to avoid the bully – I can tell you, when I was socializing in the dog yard, I just avoided Bosca. I never went over to visit him unless Handler or Musher took me there. It took a while but finally Bosca realized I was nothing to be afraid of – there was no reason for him to be insecure because of little Sanka. By the time we were pulling the sled just a few months later, Bosca and I were good friends.

Bullying is not okay! From this story, you know what bullying is and what to do to stop bullying. I was so thankful that Blackjack and Bootleg were friendly toward me, I made sure that I returned the kindness when little Smoke joined our kennel. I hope you’ll do the same!

Born to Run,
Sanka