1. I get to know you and your dog(s) in your own home, providing friendship, support and solutions.
2. I create a Detailed Personal Plan designed with care specifically for yourselves, comprehensively covering all areas of your dog’s life where required.
3. I give you continuing Ongoing Support for weeks or for months depending upon the severity of the problem, for as long as you need me, with no extra charges.
Through extensive experience gained over the years working with hundreds of dog owners and thousands of dogs, both as a Canine BEHAVIOUR Advisor and Dog Behaviourist (a canine Supernanny!), before that with traditional dog training methods and also having dogs of my own – five currently, I am uniquely placed to see your situation objectively. With a lifetime of experience I can help you to both change the Behaviour of your dog(s) and to devise creative Practical Solutions.
Please scroll down to follow the day-to-day stories and problems of the dogs, starting with those I am currently working with.
“There is ONLY ONE DOG LADY and we should know! We have had a ‘behaviourist’ from the vet who would not even come to our house, we had a well-known dog trainer who taught us to use punishment and domination which made things even worse. We so regret that now. Then we called Theo! She came to our house promptly and we got some kind common sense! Phil Kamper, Cambridge
CLICK HERE if you would like me to help you with your own dog problem – but please first check the map (right).
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27.01.2012
Information
Blaze is a four-year-old Collie – maybe Collie X. He lives with two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in a lovely family with two little girls and three cats. He is wonderful with both the little girls and the cats – and the other two dogs.
He has attacked other dogs several times when out on walks, but never causing damage. His owners are very careful, but a week ago he attacked a puppy. They had been walking with a friend and several other dogs and had also met two Labradors. It was near the end of the walk. Because of Blaze’s previous history, whenever they saw a new dog, the lady would catch Blaze and put a muzzle on him. On this occasion she wasn’t quick enough.
They are very responsible dog owners and the lady is devastated for the injured puppy which is why they called me in.
Blaze would never show any aggression to a human. He is biddable and loving if somewhat demanding and lacking in manners. As we chatted, they began to realise that the dogs, Blaze in particular, get away with behaviours that would never be tolerated from their children – standing on the sofa, walking over them, pawing and nudging for constant attention.
Before they even set out on a walk there is huge excitement. The dogs charge out ahead and pull the lady down the road. Due to a certain lack of respect in other aspects of life, it’s unlikely that Blaze, when off lead, will feel there is any reason why he should come back straight away when called if there is something else he needs to do – like warn off an approaching dog.
At home Blaze is restless. He paces. He is demanding. He looks permanently anxious. He is most settled when nobody is about.
If the exact circumstances preceding these attacks could be remembered, I would bet that he had a build up of excitement and stimulation. He is permanently stressed to a certain extent, and it won’t take too much more to drive him over the edge. When he sees a dog his humans panic, they catch him, put a muzzle on and so on – which must be transferring even more stress onto Blaze.
He must never again have the opportunity to attack dogs while off lead. Full stop.
Hard work needs to be done on his recall and his relationship with his owners so that he feels that they are sufficiently important to come back to immediately when they call him. With work he should be able to leave the house calmly, to walk happily and comfortably down the road on a loose lead. They will be careful not to overdue the stimulation that can come from long bouts of play. Sometimes too much exercise can worse than not enough, and it is interesting that the final bad attack happened at the end of a long walk with lots of action, when one would have expected him to be tired and satisfied.
In a calm state of mind Blaze is unlikely to suddenly ‘go’. With a better balanced relationship with his owners, he will obey pronto when the call ‘come’.
If you would like me to help you and your dog when you feel in despair (see map), just get in touch!
26.01.2012
Attacking puppy, Border Collie, Cav, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Collie, Uncategorized, attacking dog
Flossy was not happy with my looking at her to take her photo. She was yawning, licking her lips and her nose, and her ears were back.
Flossy is in ‘Last Chance Saloon’. She has bitten her male owner about six times – once so seriously he had to go to A & E, and last week she suddenly attacked the lady for the first time. She has never bitten anyone else though.
She is a very nervy dog, and in the name of love and kindness the family are feeding into this by over-stimulating her. Her stress levels are permanently high – topped up by two walks a day where she is so scared before leaving that she shakes, by excessive excited ball, tuggy and chase games – mostly initiated by herself as she will pester till she gets her own way, and by adult family members who wind her up big time.
In this heightened state, she will much of the time be ‘ready to go‘. Nearly all the biting occasions are when a hand has suddenly gone down into her space. Humans don’t see it like that – they think they put their hand down to pick something up near her, or to tuck a cover in, or to wipe something from her nose – but to Flossy it is merely a hand coming quickly into her space. It may follow her having been denied something she wants, or told to do something like get off the sofa.
The very kind gentleman behaves like Flossy’s hand-maiden. While the relationship is like this she will have no respect (we are not talking about love here). A respectful dog would never growl or bare her teeth which have been regular occurrences from the start, let alone bite. The lady has escaped being bitten till now because she is stronger. The gentleman is devastated at the thought that his beloved dog will need to be put to sleep if she bites again. Unintentionally, though, he is killing her with kindness. Despite all the hand-feeding, large tub of treats, enticing, playing, petting and obeying Flossy, she is not a happy dog. She is a stressed and scared dog in need of her humans to be her ‘rock’.
Such a big change in the humans’ behaviour is needed that I hope they can manage it. The only way a dog’s behaviour will change is if that of her humans changes. She is not a bad dog. She is misunderstood, she is highly strung. Her start in life was bought from a gypsy for cash as a puppy with nothing known about her past, and she may have inherited some instability. She needs different treatment from a normal stable dog. I shall be there to help them all the way.
If you would like me to help you and your dog out of a terrible situation (see map), just get in touch!
23.01.2012
Biting, Border Collie, Collie, Stress, Uncategorized
This is Ben, a magnificent Northern Inuit age 15 months. He lives with another Inuit and two elderly black Labradors.
Ben is a typical adolescent and he is pushing boundaries. Like a teenager, he sometimes resists being told what to do – especially by the lady. There is some conflict in the way the dogs are ‘brought up’. The male owner is a strict disciplinarian and his rules are obeyed. The lady is softer.
It was a treat to be in the house with such well-mannered dogs. They are very well trained where commands are concerned, I would say possibly somewhat over-regulated. They have to jump through what I consider are unnecessary hoops before they get their food, for instance. A dog given too many commands doesn’t have a chance to work out for himself what he should be doing. There may be too much reliance upon the owners controlling the dogs, and not the dogs controlling themselves.
A difficulty with this is that the dog learns to respect the firm disciplinarian at the expense of the weaker person, so when she the tries to control the adolescent Ben he revolts. And then what can she do?
I was called out because Ben had freaked out a training class with the lady. He was obviously severely stressed already by various things happening in the class and decided that he wasn’t going to do what she wanted. He jumped at her quite aggressively and grabbed her arms, bruising her. She was devastated and in tears. The trainer resorted to putting a choke chain on him. The reason for his going to class in the first place was to socialise him with other dogs, but being told ‘Leave It’ harshly whenever he went to sniff another dog will not have been helping him to learn natural, calm ways of encountering other dogs.
I suggested they abandon the class altogether. It is simply too stressful and counterproductive, and is damaging Ben’s relationship with the lady. He knows all the commands he could ever need. I don’t say this of all classes but they need to be chosen carefully, and any advocating choke chains (pain) I would run a mile from.
The gentleman could quite happily carry on with the dogs as he is, but not the lady, so they will both need to do things a bit differently so that the dogs don’t get mixed messages. They need the chance to learn self-control.
Ben can learn to approach other dogs without fear or aggression if given time and support to work it out for himself, rather than being shouted at – ‘No’ and ‘Leave It’, forced into situations for which he’s not ready, or distracted with treats which teaches him nothing. Rewarding him with treats for being calm when looking at another dog is a different matter.
Training is one thing; in many ways Leadership is another. To behave like a ‘dog’ leader doesn’t require commands. Dogs don’t talk, after all.
If you would like me to help you and your dogs (see map), just get in touch!
21.01.2012
Inuit, control
Two days ago I visited Ollie, a black Labrador, who is three years old. From the moment he went to live with his family as a puppy he attached himself to their older Labrador, Zac, in preference to the humans. Zac was a confident dog and Ollie was very reliant upon him. Zac was confident with other dogs out on walks and Ollie felt protected.
Sadly, a couple of months ago Zac died. Only then did it become apparent just how reliant on him Ollie had been. His confidence collapsed. He developed separation problems, crying and howling when left alone. On walks without Zac’s calming influence he now lunges and yelps when he sees another dog.
Quite naturally the family have been compensating for his distress which has encouraged other unwanted behaviours like barking for attention and over-attachment.
Now they have a new puppy, Maisie, who is a Labradoodle – cross between a miniature Poodle and a Labrador (guess which the mother had to be!).
Maisie is a calm and stable puppy which is fortunate. Having now got used to her, Ollie feels he owns her. He won’t let her out of his sight without stressing – just like he does his lady owner. When Maisie has been taken out Ollie seems to almost panic, and when she is brought back he barks at her – scolding her like one might a child who had wandered off in a supermarket. Since Zac died he has taken on on guard duty, with a lot of barking at passing people and noises. The family fear that he will soon start to influence Maisie’s behaviour also.
Poor Ollie, with a completely different temperament to Zac, simply can’t cope with taking over his role. This is a job for his humans. They are going to tighten up with the rules and boundaries which will make him feel more secure. They will cut down his opportunities to be on lookout duty. They will gain control over food. They will relieve him of so much decision-making. They will make walks more enjoyable for Ollie and for themselves by approaching walking and meeting dogs in a different way.
Ollie is a beautiful dog with a sensitive nature who needs to be given confidence. This is not done by spoiling him. He is now getting calm, consistent and confident leadership from his family members and they are seeing a change already.
If you would like me to help you and your dogs also (see map), just get in touch!
14.01.2012
Black labrador, Labradoodle, Labrador, Uncategorized, puppy, walk
Riley (on the left) and Maddie are two absolutely beautiful little Maltese Terriers. They are both about seven years old.
They are adored by their lady owner – her ‘babies’.
Riley started marking all over the house a short while ago.
I believe that it’s no coincidence that Riley’s marking started and one or two other behaviours deteriorated since the lady was at home for the month. There can be a lot of pressure put upon the dogs in a way, with humans on their case with touching and attention and mixed messages. Maddie is a more laid back individual and not so affected.
Many people who adore their dogs do things in the name of love that I would myself see as quite unkind, and some of the things I advocate may seem unkind to them.
To scold or shout at a dog, even put his nose in it, for toileting or marking in the house seems to me not kind at all. To constantly touch and cuddle a dog also seems to me to be unkind, but owners usually see it otherwise. Leaving a dog to decide when and what he eats, even sharing their own food, I believe is not fair to a dog. People usually see it otherwise and the lady says she would feel dreadful if she didn’t leave food around all the time for them to graze on, and herself eat without letting the dogs have some.
People who dote on their dogs also feel it is OK to shout at their dogs when they bark at sounds outside, where I think it’s a lot kinder to help them out. They feel their dog should be at the door jumping and barking at people when they come in. I feel this is not kind. The dog should be somewhere else and saved from the stress.
People usually feel it’s kind to comfort and fuss a dog when it’s fearful of something like fireworks. I believe it reinforces the fear and actually makes things worse – so isn’t kind at all.
Adorable little lap dogs are, inside, dogs after all. A little bit of being treated like dogs can lift huge burdens from them. I am sure when Riley no longer feels that the decision making is his responsibility, when he has a few boundaries and rules, that he will stop marking.
If you would like me to help you and your dogs also (see map), just get in touch!
12.01.2012
Maltese Terrier, Toiletting indoors, Uncategorized, marking
They pulled the throw off the back of their leather sofa to reveal a gaping hole full of white stuffing, like snow, and the wooden frame!
This was Charlie’s handiwork over the past four weeks since he arrived from the Blue Cross. He was originally brought over from Ireland at three months old with his mother and has been in kennels for the past nine months – nine important months in the life of a one-year-old adolescent dog.
When Charlie is left alone he may chew the door frame and leave puddles of drool on the floor due to his stress, or he may chew the sofa. Because it doesn’t happen every time I suspect there may be two separate issues here – separation distress and boredom. After all, he has probably never been alone before as he was kennelled with his mother. In a kennel he will not have been taught some basic rules of living in a house – like don’t eat the furniture, nor reshape it into a comfortable nest full of comfy white stuffing!
On one occasion they videod him and he mooched about and lay down – chilled and settled. Possibly an external noise starts him off, or possibly he simply gets bored. In the kennels they were shut down at 4pm and left alone until the morning. I expect anything in the kennel availabe to chew would be fair game to a young dog. He needs to be caught in the act – set up intentionally perhaps. He needs to be taught that furniture isn’t for chewing and shown what can be chewed instead, using patience and encouragement.
Separation issues need working on also. He has only been with them for a month and has settled in amazingly well considering his nine months living in rescue kennels. He is obedient, friendly and not over-excitable. He doesn’t jump up and he’s not demanding for attention. He pulls on walks but has probably never been shown otherwise and is another case of correction and force having the opposite effect to what is wanted. Someone said that if you pull a dog back, his brain says forward.
Charlie is brilliant with other dogs. He has no ounce of aggression in his body. A wonderful dog.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
09.01.2012
Labrador, Separation Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Uncategorized, chewing, left alone
Bobby is a five-year-old chocolate working Cocker Spaniel. He is an unusual mixture of easy and difficult, well trained and wilful!
His male owner had him for four years before meeting his partner, and they don’t always agree on how Bobby should be treated. She says it’s like taking on a stepchild with the various emotions involved. If the couple are talking to each other or not paying Bobby attention, he will bark and bark until he gets his own way. He also jumps all over them, stands on them, walks all over them – even standing on the back of the sofa above them at times.
Bobby is very well trained so far as commands are concerned so long as there is a food reward – he will do anything food. The downside is that he will eat anything he can get including underwear! He is a real pest while they eat their meals – staring, jumping and barking.
He repeatedly asks to go out into the garden because the clever boy has worked out this is a way to get food! He scratches at the door, they let him out, then he scratches to come back in but runs off until they bribe him in with food. He may even negotiate for better food!
On walks he pulls like a train down the road, but off lead he is a dream, never going more than about ten metres and always willing to come back (for food of course). He is like a dog magnet. He loves them and they love him.
Some rules around food will be put in place, patience will be needed until he learns that his particular methods of getting attention don’t work, and going back to basics with lead work whilst using a completely different approach should make walking with Bobby a pleasure.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
02.01.2012
Barking, Barking for attention, Cocker Spaniel, Uncategorized
Both George and Ruby have come to their new home in the past year. George is confident for the most part but Ruby, who had been found wandering on a dual carriageway, is easily scared.
If it were not for the fact that at times of high arousal George will go for Ruby – nothing too serious as yet – their owners could carry on as they are.
Ruby is easily intimidated if approached directly or when she knows something is required of her – most especially when they want her to go either out into the garden to toilet or for a walk. She needs to be treated sensitively and carefully, without too much in the way of demands made upon her. There are other ways to go about getting her outside happily with a bit of forward planning.
George is King of the Castle! A bit too much homage is going on! He is twelve years old, in very good shape for his age, and it’s hard for them not to dance to his tune!
Some basic rules and boundares along with removing all the decision-making from their shoulders is going to make all the difference to these two little dogs. The episodes of George going for Ruby only happen when the two dogs are stressed or aroused – and only when the owners are about. This is a clue as to where the pressure is coming from, in spite of – or because of – the great love they have for their dogs. Too much is being asked of them, and they need to be allowed a bit more time just to be….dogs.
They are incredibly lucky to have ended up in such a wonderful and caring home and have certainly landed on their four feet!
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
19.12.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Jack Russell, Uncategorized
Yesterday I visited nine-week-old Tibetan Terrier Molly’s new home just a couple of hours after she arrived. The couple want to do all they can to start off the right way with their gorgeous little ball of black fluff.
We were able to work out the best place in the house for her to spend most of her time – somewhere she can easily get to the door leading to the garden and somewhere that her inevitable toileting mishaps won’t spoil the carpet.
We worked out where she would sleep at night-time. They are using a crate. Molly has never been all alone before and we want her to feel secure. It is a lot better to give a puppy company to start with and gradually wean her into independence, rather than to force her into hours of solitude, howling for company. This can easily then lead to panic whenever she is left alone.
From the start she needs to be shown that use of teeth and mouthing isn’t welcome, but in a fair and kind way that a puppy understands and without scolding. She needs to be gently discouraged from jumping up. She is already grabbing trousers and feet, so playing chase games will only encourage this. It’s important she’s not taught through play the very things they don’t want her to do.
I gave them tips I have gathered for successful toilet training including some that people don’t think of, like if the dog is always carried outside she will find it harder to learn to walk to the right place herself; like when praise is lavished on her for ‘going’, she might think this is for the act itself rather than for going outside.
It’s important to give her quiet times in their company without too much fussing and to take no notice of her sometimes so she learns independence and self-confidence; to teach her what behaviours are NOT wanted by showing her instead what IS wanted – ‘come away – good girl – do this instead’.
We discussed the best food for Molly. Cheap food is false economy. Her little body and bones will thrive best on good nutrition, and it can affect her behaviour as well.
Finally, the next few weeks are crucial for introducing her to people, children, cars, bikes, vacuum cleaners and so on in a careful way so that she grows up to be a confident dog. Her early experiences need to be positive ones. They should not let friends and family overwhelm her with lots of excited noise, too much picking up and especially teasing. They should keep calm, allow her to sniff them and explore them, and if they have to pick her up to do so gently. Don’t allow children to get too excited or noisy.
In a couple of weeks I shall be going again.
I can help you with your puppy also (see map). Just get in touch!
16.12.2011
Tibetan Terrier, Uncategorized, puppy
Max is three years old. He is gentle and affectionate, but becoming increasingly confused and nervous. The photo on the right shows hiim yawning because the camera was pointed at him – typical signs of uneasiness are yawning and lip-licking.
His companion dog died in August and things have gone downhill for him since. His lady owner is lavishing far too much physical affection on him which she is the first to admit is mostly for her own benefit whilst giving him no boundaries at all. She jumps to his bidding, even in the middle of the night. In the past he had the other dog, who was by nature a lot more confident, to share this burden.
To add to Max’ problems, family members and friends who visit daily are giving all sorts of mixed messages.
He is shouted at for licking them whilst being encouraged to jump onto them. He is more or less force-fed from human plates whilst refusing to eat his own food – though he is partial to doughnuts. He only has to bark at the box, and he is given one. He is becoming increasingly scared out on walks, running back to the car at the slightest sudden noise. In fact he is reluctant to leave the house even to go into the garden to toilet, and he makes himself last nearly twenty four hours some days.
When I was there the slightest trigger sent him either into the corner or in front of the lady, shaking. She understandably then fussed and comforted him which will be reinforcing his fear (‘come to mummy she will protect you from the big bad wolf’!). However, she is powerless to protect him from real threats, like visitors who shout and knee him for jumping up or who threaten to force him to go out and ‘behave’ when he is scared.
I know the lady is on board with my advice. I sincerely hope she has influence over her visiting family and friends – at least to the extent of leaving Max in another room where he would be perfectly happy – and insist he is left alone.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
13.12.2011
Scared, Staff, Staffie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Uncategorized
Sabre is a rescue German Shepherd, probably around eight years old. He has a very friendly temperament. In the evenings poor Sabre can become almost obsessively attention seeking and stressed.
It took Sabre getting on for three hours to calm down completely. All evening he was whining for attention, jumping up on his owners (he is a large dog), pacing, squeaking, barking and persistently asking to go out – anything to get them to react to his demands. He has learnt that this behaviour does eventually get him what he wants because it is so hard not to give in, and now he just carries on and on, becoming more and more worked up. Even when he wins the attention he continues to want more. His stress was evident by the panting, licking of his lips and nose, and excessive drinking of water.
We worked on how to react appropriately – like another stable dog would do if pestered. It was lovely to see him eventually lie down, sigh and relax. Soon he will be able to get plenty of attention – when he is polite and calm, and not always on demand.
Sable himself is very good at giving other dogs messages that say he doesn’t want to be jumped on and pestered so I am sure he will get the message if it’s done in a way he understands. He’s not interested in other dogs and wants to be left alone, which is fair enough.
An unfortunate incident happened recently. He was out with his gentleman owner when two very boisterous smaller dogs ran up to him. The gentleman put Sable on lead and then tried to walk away. Sable would have been doing his best to ignore the dogs, turning away from them and looking away – giving all the doggy signals he could that he wanted to be left alone, but they simply followed and would not give up. He will have warned, shown his teeth and growled and still he was ignored. The owner of the other dogs never called them back. So Sabre, as a totally logical thing to do in his mind and after all his very reasonable and patient warnings had been ignored, bit one of the dogs on the tail. Sable was blamed.
If we have off-lead dogs, then it is our reponsibility to call them back if we see a dog put on lead. There must be a reason. It’s our duty to control our dogs and the poor dog on lead who is trapped is all too often blamed. If dogs don’t come back when called, then they should be kept on lead around other dogs until intensive recall work has been done. So far as Sable is concerned, his owners need to know how to react as his leader and protector – how to step in on his behalf and how to spot the signs when he has had too much. They also need to reduce his general stress level so that he will be more tolerant.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
07.12.2011
Uncategorized
When Miniature Schnauzer Bertie, now fourteen months old, was picked up at the breeder at eight weeks old, he was shaking with fear. This is not a good start. Already he should have been handled and played with by various different people, adults and children, he should have been introduced to household things like vacuum cleaners and maybe even taken for a brief ride in a car. He should have spent time in the the house and time outside so that he learns to tell the difference for toileting purposes.
There is a critical time in a puppy’s development for introducing new things, and experiences both good and bad can have a lasting effect. Ideally there should be a variety of experiences – all good ones.
A consequence is that, through fear, Bertie will nip people – especially the couple’s grandchildren. He may suddenly fly at them from across the room. He barks and growls when people come in the house. He is scared of everyday items and unknown things. He is very protective and on guard which can be a big burden brought about by insecurity. Looking at his picture it’s hard to believe, but day times are spent in quite a highly aroused state – often looking for trouble! A stable, calm dog will probably sleep about seventeen hours a day.
Bertie now needs to learn that he is not the centre of the universe along with the responsibilities that carries, and to become more confident in general. He is a well-loved little dog whose owners are already doing many of the ‘right things’. A puppy that is already scared of people at eight weeks is going to be harder work. I have already experience of this with my own German Shepherd, Milly, who was born in a puppy farm and had no real human contact until she was twelve weeks old when her first owner bought her.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
05.12.2011
Fear, German Shepherd, Miniature Schnauzer, Uncategorized, mouthing, nipping
Rex, a Border Collie found as a stray in Ireland a couple of years ago, shipped to Wood Green Animal Shelter and now four years old, is a dog you would be proud to have. He lives with a more elderly Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who is now slowing down.
The dogs belong to a lady and her two daughters who share their care. At home there are no problems with the dogs, but it’s outside that Rex is causing a few problems. He has some very good points – he is good with most other dogs – if sometimes feeling a bit trapped when on lead, and he responds quite well to a whistle.
A few months ago the poor lady dislocated her shoulder with Rex’ lunging and circling, and she is still receiving treatment. He is a big chunky dog for a Border Collie – he may be mixed with something else. The other day she was pulled over by him as he suddenly crossed in front of her to check out a couple of dogs. The lady has tried all sorts of equipment and methods, all of which rely upon ‘control’ and ‘correction’ to stop him pulling. We need to go back to basics and get him wanting not to pull, to realise how nice walks are when walking like there is no lead at all. We need to change Rex’ mind-set, and that of his humans.
Because of the damaged shoulder (caused by Rex), the lady has to have a special seat belt which costs £200. What has Rex now done? When left in the car he has eaten through two of them!
We need to look at ways to manage this situation so it simply can’t happen again, whilst stopping him feeling that he needs to do it. I think we have got to the bottom of why it happens. If he were calm with no stress and no distress, he would not want do it.
In order to get things right outside, we also need to make sure all the interaction and dog parenting/leadership at home is in place in order to set firm foundations, otherwise it’s like the proverbial ‘house built on sand‘.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
03.12.2011
Border Collie, Uncategorized
Charlie is a thirteen-month-old Westie/Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mix. The cutest looking little dog you can imagine. He shares part of his life with an older Cavalier KC called Tess who is nine and who was taken on by the couple’s mother a year ago.
Charlie barked madly at me when I arrived – I had asked them to take no notice of her so I could see what he would do if not checked. Usually when a dog barks like this it is because he is scared, but when Charlie finally stopped – I asked the lady to put his lead on to take him out but he then quietened straight away – it was very strange because he was showing no signs of stress or anxiety at all. No panting. Nothing. He sat down calmly. This was my first clue as to what Charlie was like!
He is used to humans paying massive homage and I was ignoring him!
Charlie is a Very Important Dog. He makes most of the decisions in his life and his owners do his bidding. This is no real problem at home and Charlie, being a confident little character, copes well. However, when he’s with the lady’s mother, sister and Tess he is a different dog. In some ways he can’t cope with the adulation. When out, he is really scared of other dogs like he feels exposed and unprotected. His problems are most apparent by his behaviour around poor Tess. Tess is terrorised by Charlie.
When Tess is given attention, mostly by the sister or when Tess is either on her or in front of her, Charlie will go for her. He goes for her ears and has inflicted injury on both poor Tess and the sister when she separates them, resulting in a visit to hospital. On walks and off lead, he body slams Tess and now she is limping. In nearly every case the attacks happen in the presence of the sister. She makes the most fuss of him but also gets the most impatient with him. He will see her as unpredictable and confusing.
There are a lot of things in Charlie’s life that need changing. He needs more proper parenting and less adoration! He is a cracking little chap and deserves to have the weight of responsibility taken from his little shoulders.
02.12.2011
Cav, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Uncategorized, West Highland Terrier, attacking dog
Milli is in a muddle! When the family took her in three years ago at just one year old she had been abused and had a bad head injury. She is stressed, restless, easily scared and in need of some rules and boundaries.
Milli lives with two other rescued Staffies, Magic who is eight and Lexi, age ten. It is a large family and a busy household with a lot going on. Whereas all the dogs have certain issues, Milli has problems in all areas, and the fact that all three dogs are in many ways in control of the household isn’t helping her. All three get overly excited before meals. All three get extremely excited before walks, so much so that Milli can’t cope and her crazy excitement and stress overflows and redirects into an attack on one of the other dogs. All three pull like mad on lead and are not good with other dogs.
Milly is on the move all d
ay, only settling down in the evening. She has to ‘own’ everything – if Lexi has a stick, Milli has to have it, if one of the other dogs has anything, Milli takes it. She may toilet indoors if left. When someone plays rough and tumble with one of the other dogs this is too much for Milli and she will go for him or her. Often she will eyeball Lexi, and if not distracted in time she will attack him. She jumps up and is demanding of attention. She is scared of all sorts of things.
It will be a great comfort to Milli to have some good ‘parenting’ where she no longer gets everything she demands when she demands it. It will transform Milli when everything possible is done to reduce her stress levels and keep her calm.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
01.12.2011
Staff, Staffie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Shandy is a fourteen month old German Shepherd, a friendly dog who in the circumstances is unbelievably stable. Not only does he lack any sort of boundaries, he is actively taught to do the very things that should be avoided. It is a tribute to his great personality that he is not aggressive or fearful – or both. In fact, I have very seldom watched while someone behaves in such an inappropriate way with their dog.
That they love Shandy goes without saying. He is adored. At the same time he is not treated with respect, and he is encouraged to show his humans no respect either. They may tell him to do something, but he takes no notice and they give up. He does exactly what he wants.
Shandy jumps up at them, he jumps all over them, he jumps up at visitors, he stands on the sofa pawing the man to share sweets with him; he literally walks all over them. He is encouraged by teasing kind of play to mouth and bite hands and feet.
While his owners are eating he will be staring, drooling and pawing so that they share their food with him.
On walks he is a problem. The only way they can handle him and stop the pulling is by using a Halti. He lunges and barks at cats and shows aggression to dogs he doesn’t know. This is hardly surprising. Outside in the big world he is trapped, attached by his lead to a man who is an unpredictable responsibility not a leader, or to the sensible young daughter who is very frustrated by the whole situation and who contacted me in the first place. She however is slight of build and unconfident when out with Shandy and he will sense this. Needless to say, off lead he only comes back when he is ready.
I can see Shandy’s behaviour taking a turn for the worse as he matures if they can’t somehow quite drastically change their ways which I fear they may not wish to do. He is a powerful dog. He does not need a silly playmate nor a servant. He needs to be taught good manners. He needs responsible ‘parenting’.
Shandy is, quite literally, being spoilt – ruined.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
23.11.2011
German Shepherd, Jumping up
Two divine little tousled looking dogs! Tilly is a three-year old terrier poodle cross, and Harry is five months old – a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle. If you look carefully at Tilly on the left – you may just find her nose!
Their lady owner is worried that some of Tilly’s not so good traits are rubbing off on Harry. These are mainly fairly manic barking when she hears noises, people or dogs from inside the house or garden, and her reactivity to other dogs on walks.
A year ago Tilly was attacked by an off-lead dog whilst she herself was on lead, suffering a nasty wound to her back. The lady was afraid she would be killed. Ever since and somewhat understandably Tilly has been much more wary of many dogs, though not all. She is infinitely patient with puppy Harry and always ready to play.
So many people I go to have had problems with their dog having been attacked which has resulted in walks where they have to be constantly on the lookout for other dogs. In an ideal world, if a dog owner sees another dog on-lead he should realise that there is probably a good reason and call his or her own dog back. Unfortunately many dogs with otherwise good recall go deaf when they see another dog. Even more unfortunately there are people who simply don’t care and have no control over their dogs – even being angry with the owner of the on-lead dog that shows fear aggression when their off-lead dog bounds up to it!
Life happens. You can’t go out anywhere nice without risking meeting dogs. Your choice is to play safe and only take road walks, or have a strategy for both dealing with approaching dogs and with rebuilding the confidence of your own dog in you. You should be seen as the leader and protector, and behave and act accordingly.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
22.11.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Cavalier Poodle x, Poodle Terrier X
My photo doesn’t do beautiful 8-month old Springer Harry justice.
What is driving the couple mad is Harry’s whining! This mostly happens when they go upstairs and out of sight.
He seems to be fine when they are out, and he goes to bed happily at bedtime. He is quiet during the night….until….early in the morning! As soon as Harry hears movement upstairs he starts to whine and he seems to have an alarm clock in his head at weekends when they would like a lie-in. His whining becomes more insistent until it becomes yelping and is very hard to ignore.
In the past they would come down to him thinking he might want to go out, but on putting him back the noise would simply continue. If they leave him out of his room he simply cries at the bottom of the stairs. He has learnt that if he carries on for long enough someone will always come down to him eventually.
They had already decided to stop going downstairs to him, but when they eventually have to come down anyway he will for sure think it’s as a result of his whining, so whining is merely reinforced. To Harry whining works. This has to be broken. The first step is to make it quite clear that when they do come down it is not to see Harry – to simply walk past the gate (which he will be jumping up at) as though he’s not there. In their own good time they will go to him – but only when he is quiet. They will wait for his feet to be on the floor before opening the gate.
During the day he lies at the bottom of the stairs whining when anyone goes up – he has chewed some of the woodwork.
The result of unconsciously obeying Harry has only increased his stress. The humans need to let Harry understand that they can move around when and where they wish, and that he will remain where they wish, sometimes in his utility room bedroom, sometimes in the kitchen and only sometimes at the bottom of the stairs watching them disappear.
General tightening up of leadership skills will enable Harry to mature into a self-controlled adult dog.
21.11.2011
Springer Spaniel, Uncategorized
This is Becky, a four-year-old Jack Russell. She is a superb little dog – very biddable – perhaps a little spoilt!
Becky is, however, easily stressed. This was evident by her excessive nose-licking. Her family hadn’t realised that this was a sign of anxiety – of Becky trying to calm herself. She can be thrown into a hyper state very easily. In the past this has unwittingly been encouraged. For instance, she will go over the top when she sees a bird or squirrel out of the window and start running from door to door, barking frantically. They let her out. Once outside she has to redirect this overwhelming stress onto something else so she attacks a toy instead. Rather than dealing with this so that Becky can calm down which would be a lot kinder, they believe that doing what Becky is demanding is kind – letting her out to deal with it herself.
As a dog she is naturally on look-out duty, but she shouldn’t then feel it’s her responsibility to deal with the problem. Imagine you have a child and you tell him – ‘keep an eye open for the lion that has escaped from the zoo’. Then, at the window, he starts yelling, “The lion! The lion! It’s in the garden”. What do you do? Let your child out to deal with it? Or do you tell him to shut up? No – I think not!
However, this is not the reason I was called – but amongst other things contributes to how she’s reacting to a new baby in the family. The have a tiny grandchild now, weighing less than Becky. Becky is fixated. In the same room as the baby Becky is very anxious as one can tell from the nose-licking and paw-lifting. She whines. She had tried to grab the baby’s foot. She’s not being aggressive, but here is something that smells fascinating and that makes noises she simply doesn’t understand which she can’t control. And Becky is accustomed to controlling the people around her!
While I was there we worked at stress relief around the baby and associating Becky being relaxed around her with nice things. We watched out for and respected Becky’s stress signals.
I happened to call later in the day and they had been making such good progress that they pushed ahead too fast, letting their guard down and putting Becky into a situation she was not ready to cope with. This was a warning that these things take time. Becky needs to be well within her comfort zone, on lead around the baby whilst out of actual reach before getting near enough to sniff her, and then only when she’s asleep and quiet – long before removing the lead. This will take days, maybe weeks, not just a couple of hours. One thing at a time!
The whole process needs to be against a background of general de-stressing and Becky learning that she doesn’t actually need to be in control of the humans in her life. What a relief that will be to her.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
18.11.2011
Barking, Jack Russell, baby and dog
This is the second home for all three little dogs. They have had the eldest, Jimmy, for several years – he is twelve. Tina on the left, age two, came to live with them about seven months ago, and Guy (below), a one-year-old Chihuahua Jack Russell X, joined them a few weeks ago.
They are lovely little dogs, all of them. They are friendly and affectionate, though Jimmy is now old and may keep himself to himself.
What is worrying Guy’s owners is that when he is comfortably asleep on the sofa, he bites when he doesn’t want to be picked up, especially when they want him to go out before bedtime. They have worked out ways of tricking him like putting a soft igloo bed on the sofa for him to sleep in, and carrying it to the door and tipping him out, but this doesn’t solve the problem of his not wanting to go. He should not need to be carried – he should walk. It seems he is quite scared of going outside in the big garden at night. We have a plan that I am sure will work, and he needs to be accompanied until his confidence grows. It is early days.
Another thing that needs working on is Tina’s recall. She does come back – but not until she is ready!
The final point that I feel needs work – but doesn’t so much concern them – is the jumping up both at them and at visitors. Because the dogs are so small they find it acceptable – nice even – for welcomes to be like this. However, they might see it in a different light if they were German Shepherds or Labradors! It would be consider pushy and impolite rather than endearing. Would our children be allowed to jump all over people when they arrive and fly all over them when they sit down? I don’t think so. I am a believer in ‘four on the floor’ unless invited otherwise.
Do we want our dogs, quite literally, to be ‘walking all over us‘? Guy is wanting respect for his personal space, hence the biting, but we should also expect him to respect ours.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
12.11.2011
Biting, Jack Russell, Jumping up, Terrier, recall
Millie and Max are seven months old, and supposedly brother and sister. They were bought from a pet shop at ten weeks of age so nobody will ever know.They certainly look very different, and Max is a lot bigger. He’s like a little fox!
They are delightful and full of puppy exuberance – Max in particular. Millie is a little more anxious.
The main problem is constant toileting indoors – everywhere. There are puppy pads in all the rooms. I feel because the pads are impregnated these little dogs are in effect being taught to go indoors. It’s Catch 22 because without the pads they would be peeing even more on the carpets – and pooing as well.
From the start they were toileting several times in the night, even when shut in a crate. The crate was abandoned because of the mess they made. By the age of ten weeks old most puppies will have been introduced to the difference between indoors and outdoors, and it’s clear these little dogs had not. The problems had already started. Once home from the pet shop, they were so tiny, Millie in particular, that rules and boundaries were not properly introduced. The dogs, sleeping on the lady’s bed, will get off wee and poo several times in the night – mostly on the pads but not always.
This is a huge problem as you may imagine. Max also now marks up the curtain as well. Millie peed four times while I was there, once under the table, and the other times on puppy pads. She does lots of small puddles. I did wonder whether this constant peeing from Millie could be due to a medical problem, but she been checked over by the vet. She is usually carried outside, but this way she will never learn that part of the process is walking to the back door.
My view is that their terrotiry should be cut down from run of the house to just kitchen and utility room, unless they are being watched – and then they should not have freedom to wander. I would advise the same thing at night. Shut them in the utility and leave them to it – but this would probably be too big a leap for the young lady. Understandably;).
Puppy training needs to go back to square one. They are praised massively for going outside, but maybe they think they are praised for going, irrespective of where. Praise needs to be gentle, not distracting, and if a little reward is dropped on the grass in front of them as they finish they may start to get the connection with toileting and grass. Visits outside will need to be very frequent, after meals, after waking, after playing, when the dogs are restless, and at least every waking thirty minutes.
They may need to try different food, because four, five or even more poos a day is excessive. The more complete the nutrition, the less waste there will be to pass through!
The final element which needs to be put in places is reduction of excitement and stress. There is persistent jumping up and maybe nipping when the lady owners come home, and at visitors. Walks are pulling affairs with anxiety around other dogs. They fly all over the chairs and people.
Stress, excitement and anxiety lead to peeing and possibly pooing. Stress and excitement also lead to drinking. Drinking leads to peeing! A few calm rules and boundaries will help enormously, I’m sure.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
09.11.2011
Toiletting indoors
Look at her! How wonderful! Rosie is a ten week old Cocker Spaniel puppy and she has been in her new home for four days.
I really like it when I am called in at the beginning. Starting off right saves so many problems later on.
I have been able to give Rosie’s family a few tips on the basics – toilet training, no teeth, chewing, retrieving things from her and having her walking around next to them without a lead. Visitors should not be allowed to overwhelm her.
Having had two puppies in two years myself means I have recent personal experience and have learnt a few little tricks of my own! Pickle my own Cocker Spaniel is now fifteen months old, and Zara is my nineteen week old Golden Labrador puppy. Because of how I have been with her since she was eight weeks old, she will follow me if I wish her to, she will come to me when I click my tongue or call, she never nips and she will ‘go pee’ when I ask her to – even if it is only to squeeze out a drop!
Now is the time to discourage Rosie from jumping up. It’s so much easier if, from the start, attention is given with her feet on the floor. If she sits on laps at the kitchen table then she will learn to jump on people while they are eating, so that’s not a good idea! There won’t be indoor toileting problems later on because she will be taken out very frequently. When Zara was Rosie’s age I kept a chart for a few days – she peed on average eighteen times a day! This proves just how often a puppy needs to be taken out in her waking hours. She needs to walk and not be carried, and she needs to know which door she is going out of, so she will learn for herself where to go.
When she runs off with things like shoes, which she surely will, they need to know how to get them from her without chasing, cornering or being confrontational – or making it into a game. Rosie is already very happy sleeping quietly in her crate (safe comfy ‘den’) all the night, and crating is a great help with toilet training.
It is tempting to carry a little puppy everywhere – but she has legs!
Rosie seems a very calm and stable puppy. I shall visit again in a few weeks when she is in the next stage of her development. Meanwhile I shall be at the end of the phone or email for support.
I can help you with your puppy also (see map). Just get in touch!
07.11.2011
Cocker Spaniel, puppy
Givvy and Angus are beautiful chunky Black Labradors, four year old brother and sister. They do what a lot of Labs (and other dogs) do – jump up and pull on lead.
Imagine how a dog would feel, already very excited before leaving the house, pulling madly down the road, being corrected painfully with perhaps a choke chain while a stressed owner shouts ‘Heel’…..and then a person with a dog appears in front of him. More discomfort as the anxious owner immediately yanks the lead and holds on tight. The dog is more or less set up to be reactive – to lunge and bark.
How often do we see dogs walking on loose leads, being allowed to stop and sniff and do what dogs like to do, walking like there is no lead at all, barking and lunging at another dog?
I rest my case!
A family member is now pregnant, so the jumping up has to stop. ‘Dog training’ methods have been used for four years of their lives – one dog has a choke chain. They are corrected, the lead is jerked and they are told ‘heel’. They pull so badly, especially when they see another dog or a person, that they can’t be walked together and even the young man is too anxious to walk them down their own lane.
Have four years of correction, ‘heel’ and tight leads worked? No. Have four years of being told ‘Off’ or being pushed down when they jump up worked? No.
It stands to reason that a different approach is needed.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!).
06.11.2011
Uncategorized
Lexie is eighteen months old. It seems that, although she was a show dog, she didn’t have a normal home life. Her new family of six picked her up about four weeks ago, and it became evident that apart from ring craft she hadn’t been for walks – with traffic, people and dogs, nor ever let off lead. She is wary of new people, men in particular, and is taking a while to get used to their four-year old son. She obviously hasn’t been house trained, and that is causing problems. It is all a big change for Lexie.
She is a very quiet dog and never barks (yet) – not when she hears things and is obviously looking scared, nor at people who come to the house. Being totally silent apart from the occasional whine is very unusual. My own Cocker Spaniel Pickle is quite vocal.
Like Cocker Spaniel Shadow who I visited just over a week ago, Lexie has quickly become very attached to the lady, not wanting to let her out of her sight. She took a little while to get used to the husband. She growled and snapped the air near the little boy when, beside the lady on the sofa, he leaned over her and patted her on the head.
I am very pleased that instead of trying to dominate the dog for growling, they reacted kindly and sensibly, by removing her. Copying or misinterpreting certain techniques seen on TV can have disastrous results. Lexie is already getting more at ease with the child, and with a little encouragement for him to give her space unless she comes to him, I am sure she will get used to him.
Although in many respects they have made quite a bit of headway since they fetched her, Lexie is however being rather spoilt by the females of the family! They probably feel this is the way to make her feel at home and loved. She jumps all over them where she doesn’t on the males who are much more matter-of-fact with her. Too much attention can be a burden on a dog, resulting in a needy dog. She is at a sensitive stage, so they need to back off a little.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
05.11.2011
Cocker Spaniel, Toiletting indoors, Uncategorized, growling
Beagles Tilly and Cassie are both exactly the same age – two – but not sisters. They play together and sleep together in harmony. Up until about a month ago they got on famously.
Then they had three very scary fights, with blood and leaving scars.
It seems that hormones were to blame for the dogs’ general change of attitude towards one another – both were due to come into season, and over-excitement and stress on each occasion caused things to boil over.
Cassie, the darker and more confident one, was previously in charge. Tilly has subtly been challenging her. It’s not by chance in the photo on the right that she has her head resting on top of Cassie. Pip, my Lurcher, will sometimes stand over one of my other dogs for a moment, like he’s saying ‘just remember you are down there, and I am up here”! Then he lies down again. He will often lie with his head on the back of one of the others, just like Tilly’s head is over Cassie.
I think where Tilly had accepted Cassie’s dominance before, she has gradually been turning the tables on her. The first fight was over a couple of bones. Bones had never caused problems before. However, against this hormonal background, family had been visiting. They did lots of excited playing with the dogs and probably overstimulated them. Already thoroughly excited and stressed, what might previously have been an agreed swapping of bones will have suddenly flared into a battle.
Cassie is usually the actual instigator, but working backwards, something Tilly is doing seems to cause it. Tilly is a more nervous and jumpy dog, and this in itself can cause problems for another dog.
The second fight came very soon after the first. They were reunited too soon – still in a state of high arousal with people around who had been hysterical and screaming over the blood of the first fight. Now that it had happened twice, it’s like a door has been opened. The final fight, coming in an atmosphere of excitement, erupted more easily.
The question I was asked before I came was whether spaying one or both would do the trick. They might like to breed from one of them. How would it be if one was spayed and not the other? How would it be if neither were spayed and one had puppies? We know already that things would be a lot more relaxed if both were spayed, because they have had a hormonal injection. It will gradually wear off over four weeks.
So, with behaviour work and spaying I’m sure the problem will resolve and they will be back to their old selves. With behaviour work and no spaying, or if only one were spayed, it’s a gamble. At best the people would need to keep on their toes.
CLICK HERE if you would like me to help you with your own dog problem – but please first check the map (right).
04.11.2011
Beagle, Uncategorized, fighting
What a beautiful boy! Sonny is a three-year-old Golden Labrador who has been in his new home for just three weeks.
When I arrived I was expecting a challenge. Sonny was quite persistent with his jumping up, and I spotted a muzzle on top of his crate by the door.
It soon became very apparent that this was just a friendly and very mellow natured Labrador who had, unwittingly, been taught to jump up. People think that saying Down, looking the dog in the eye and giving him a push will do the trick. But how many dogs are still jumping up after years of this? How would a stable dog tell a puppy that jumping on them wasn’t welcomed? Dogs don’t speak for starters! A dog would tip him off, turn away, look away, and continue to do so until he got the message. I see this happening with my own puppy and dogs. She gets the message!
Looking at Sonny, speaking to him and touching him gives him the very attention he is demanding. He may get down that time, but he has learnt it works for next time.
The muzzle is because the Rescue were worried Sonny may not be good with other dogs and they were playing very safe while they worked with him but there is little evidence of this so far. In his past life he had not been walked nor socialised with other dogs. He may bark at dogs but it seems this is a mix of not knowing quite what to do, an element of fear, and general young dog excitement. The only actual incident they have had in the three weeks was with an off lead dog who approached Sonny. He may have been sending the wrong signals and Sonny over-reacted. They have friends and neighbours with dogs that Sonny has got on well with from the start.
They will hide the muzzle! Each time they look at it they will be thinking of Sonny attacking dogs. This isn’t an expectation they would want fulfilled, and it’s not a good image to have imprinted in their minds every time they go out.
Apart from the jumping up which also happens when they meet people out on walks, we are dealing with the excessive lead pulling, and have strategies for meeting other dogs.
I feel they are very lucky indeed to have such a wonderful dog from rescue, and Sonny is very lucky indeed having such a wonderful new home.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
31.10.2011
Golden Labrador, Jumping up, Labrador
Coco looks a little like Basil Brush, with one ear up and the other down! She’s an unusual colour for a Border Collie. This is the best photo I could manage, because she was pacing all the evening.
She lives with a much calmer Border Collie, Shep. The fact the two of them are exactly the same age though from different backgrounds and both treated the same by their owner, just shows the importance of stable genetic makeup.
Apparently I saw Coco at her worst as she was already unusually hyped up before I arrived. She had had a particularly stimulating walk involving lots of ball play, and there was Trick or Treat out in the street. There may have been other happenings during the day contributing to the build up of her stress levels. Once things get to this stage there is little one can do. From the moment we mentioned the ‘W’ word in conversation, she was pacing to and from the door, whining, panting and jumping onto people. This carried on for over three hours. Restraining her in any way simply made her worse, or made her redirect onto poor Shep.
The perpetual stress results in her being reactive to dogs and scared of people, chasing traffic, barking in the car at anything moving and being especially frantic around small children who visit. Consequenlty her owner is anxious, and clever Coco will know this.
Where it’s tempting to spray with a water pistol to simply stop her barking at children, or to physically scold and hold her back from moving vehicles, this is not dealing with the problem. Techniques like this will only associate children and traffic with more unpleasant stuff.
The problem has to be dealt with at source by removing all stress possible, and looking at the sort of rules and boundaries that would make a dog feel secure. Often things that dogs seem to love like prolonged ball play, walks preceeded by frantic excitement and lots of running about in general, can prove just too much. Coco loves brain work and I feel this is healthier stimulation for her at the moment. At home, although well trained so far as commands are concerend, she has few restrictions, and may feel safer with some physical boundaries and rules.
I would prefer a stable dog with little formal training to an unstable dog that that is highly trained. ‘Training’ is the icing on the cake. We need to get the cake right first. Collies like Coco who came from a farm, being extremely intelligent working dogs who are no longer doing what they are bred for, can be a challenge. People so often think that hours of running around and stimulation can replace hours of waiting patiently beside a shepherd, running off when commanded to do their job, and then returning when instructed. Where they go and what they do is controlled by their master and the relationship between the two is clearly defined. What Coco does and where she goes is largely controlled by herself, and the relationship between her and her owner is not sufficiently defined to give Coco confidence in her.
So, giving Coco fair, consistent physical boundaries and working on reducing excitement and lowering her stress levels will do wonders for her I am sure.
CLICK HERE if you would like me to help you with your own dog problem – but please first check the map (right).
30.10.2011
Border Collie, Stress, Uncategorized
Look at him! This is Hamish, a Very Important Dog, and he knows it.
He is no trouble at all most of the time but he has his family jumping to his bidding. He has them up and down opening the garden door, and then may decide he doesn’t want to go out anyway. He takes them his food bowl when he wants food, and obediently they fill it. Whenever he brings them a toy, they will always play. When he wants to be fussed or touched, they always oblige.
However, things are a bit different if they want to do something with him, if his own space is invaded. He has bitten several times, mostly when they take his collar to either inspect his feet or groom him. When they go into his space he may back into a corner and bite. He has been chewing his back feet, but they can’t inspect them.
He went absolutely frantic at the vets recently, biting his male owner in the car park and having to be restrained with a catch pole in the surgery. This sort of experience will guarantee future vet visits will be even worse, if that’s possible.
If his owners give him better leadership and make him work a little for some of their attention, Hamish should then start to value them when they want to attend to him. They need to learn not to corner him – we wouldn’t like that either. He needs to want to come over to them – to please them. He needs to learn that to get attention he sometimes has to work for it.
For dogs that have problems with people invading their personal space, you need to work slowly and imagine how it feels to the dog. First, I would say that putting him somewhere high to groom him, maybe a garden table, would be less challenging for him. It all has to be done in tiny increments, starting with him being happy simply being lifted on and off the table. Then he can be massaged and touched in areas where he’s less touchy – no brush or scissors in sight. All the time he needs to be watched for signs of stress, as that is the time to stop that particular session.
He needs to change vets to give him a fresh start. There is a vet nearby at the back of a pet shop. This would mean he first would smell toys and treats, he could be called through at the last moment. He could be taken there beforehand a few times to buy his dog food. He also needs to be weaned into wearing a muzzle, and this also need to be done in tiny increments, until he’s happy wearing it around the house. It’s essential that the muzzle is not associated with going to the vet.
In other respects Hamish is a chilled and confident little dog and no trouble at all (apart from being another Westie like I met a couple of weeks ago that barks at animals on telly!). A beautiful boy.
CLICK HERE if you would like me to help you with your own dog problem – but please first check the map (right).
28.10.2011
Biting, Uncategorized, West Highland Terrier, Westie, scared of vet
The couple have two young rescue dogs. Cocker Spaniel Shadow joined Terrier Duchess under two weeks ago. Duchess herself has only been with the couple for about nine months, but it is Shadow’s so-called aggression that is concerning them.
It seems to them that Shadow is protecting the lady – something he probably did in his previous home. Whenever the man approaches the lady, Shadow growls – or attacks him. There was an occasion where Shadow had gone into full attack mode. The man felt he solved that by holding Shadow down for about twenty minutes until he finally gave in.
The gentleman feels that he must, in order to show he’s boss, be confrontational with Shadow. He sets him up deliberately. He tried sitting in front of the lady so Shadow couldn’t get to her, which made Shadow pace in panic until eventually he took himself off. These techniques seem to work on the surface as a ‘quick fix’, but I can see that Shadow is very wary of the man who, following his interpretation of a certain TV programme, with the best intentions is doing what he thinks is necessary to solve the problem.
The more I watched and listened, the more complicated a situation it became to unravel. As the evening wore on I began to feel that Shadow was actually wary of the man approaching him – not so much the lady, but he is usually in front of her or by her. Shadow was near me at one point and the gentleman experimented with walking towards me – and Shadow growled. Shadow also growled when I approached him, away from the couple, but was friendly if I called him over.
I believe any physical dominance is merely like putting a cap on a volcano. It doesn’t solve the problem, and the eruption is inevitable. What is happening here is that the dog is becoming more and more wary of the gentleman. When he growls, he’s not being a bad dog trying to be dominant, he is a scared and confused dog. He doesn’t growl when approached by the lady, and I think this is to do with her manner and body language. Possibly he is not used to men. She doesn’t walk up to Shadow, loom over him and stare him in the eye. He probably feels he’s safer near to her.
I am really happy that the man is now going to use a different technique and give the little dog time to settle in and become more confident. He needs nurturing, not dominance. At the moment they have deliberately been pushing Shadow into situations to ‘force him out of it’ and ‘show who’s boss’. I believe they need to do the very opposite. Avoid putting Shadow into stressful and scary situations that make him growl. Growling is saying ‘I’m scared, keep your distance’. The sure result of continuing as they are means that Shadow will learn that growling is ineffectual and pointless, so he will then bite straight away instead. This technique teaches aggression.
The lady needs to be more proactive if she feels the dog is growling because she is being approached. It’s her job to show him that she doesn’t need protecting, not the gentleman’s job to force Shadow to back down.
To further complicate things, the other rescue dog, Duchess, has her own issues. She is already trying to ‘sort out’ Shadow when he starts to growl. I fear if they don’t turn this around and work on giving Shadow more confidence, the relationship between the two dogs could escalate into something worse.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
If by any chance he demands a refund – pro-rata that would be about £9.
26.10.2011
Biting, Cocker Spaniel, Terrier, Uncategorized, growling
Teddy is the cutest little dog – a Poodle Maltese mix, three years of age. Teddy lives with his young lady owner and her parents and they are all totally in love with him. Understandably! Here he is begging for attention and he knows it’s impossible to resist! He loves having his photo taken.
Teddy is playful and loving, but has always been a somewhat sensitive dog. However, since about six months ago he has developed more extreme fearfulness. He has become much more barky at people coming to the door or dogs walking past the house, and will bark at anyone he doesn’t know well whilst at the same time wanting to be friendly!
On walks it is worst. He can scream with fear if an energetic dog is too close. Because Teddy seems so small and fragile, the young lady’s mother in particular is very worried that Teddy might be hurt by another dog. He seems not to give off the right signals. He invites play and a chase, and then gets very scared when the dog takes him up, and then he may run away screaming. He has never been hurt by another dog, but even so the lady is now a nervous wreck on walks, worrying about whether Freddie might get hurt. She is undoubtedly passing her fear of the bigger dogs to Freddie. The lady’s father is also fearful, and picks him up, which makes things worse because the other dog then has to jump up to get to him.
The trouble with this sort of panic is that knowing it’s unreasonable doesn’t help. It eats into you.
What Teddie needs most is to be with people who are completely confident because then he will feel protected. At the moment I know that he feels exposed. The daughter is actually a lot more confident on walks, but in other ways she has given Teddy the responsibility of looking after her. She has been at home all day for the past six months. Teddy is mostly with her round the clock, sleeping in her room and following her like a limpet. He sits and watches the front door when she goes out. If another dog comes near her, he warns it off.
We need to work on calm walks for Teddy - things are hectic before they even leave the house. This should be taken gradually, a few steps at a time, with strategies so the people can feel calm and in control should they meet another dog. The mother needs to take it a few steps at a time just as much as Teddy – more so probably! She needs to work on confident body language and when she’s walking him stay near home where she can always turn back straight away if she starts to panic. Teddy can, without doubt, sense or smell her fear. The daughter needs to show some leadership/parenting and allow Teddy independence, so that he is not so needy and vulnerable – sort of wean him off her a bit.
It can be hard to ‘release’ a dog and allow it to be independent when you love him so much – especially a companion lap dog. But – he is still a dog!
24.10.2011
Maltese, Poodle, Poodle Maltese, Scared, scared of other dogs
You might almost believe that Molly has her own personal ghost. All of a sudden she can start to react in a scared, haunted sort of way, looking behind her, ears flat and tail between her legs, before sloping off, like she is being stalked by an invisible monster. Out on walks her fear is so severe that she will start to shake, and in the past she has run for home. There are no recognisable specific triggers.
One or two things have happened in her life that she found traumatic and might have seen the onset of her fearful behaviours – but only things that would have had little impression on a more confident dog.
Sometimes Molly will refuse to go for walks altogether, or she may go a little way and then refuse to go further. She may be happily running and doing what dogs do, to suddenly be overcome with a sort of panic attack. Whilst her problems manifest themselves mostly out on walks, there are clues at home. On the face of it she has the very best life any dog could hope for.
With a nervous dog like Molly, I believe being able to make all her own choices can lead to chronic insecurity. She sleeps where she likes at night, she has free run of the house during the day, she can’t decide in which room she wants to lie and moves about from one place to another, she eats when and where she likes, on walks she pulls like mad, she decides when they play with her and she decides what attention she wants.
I would call her a worried dog, burdened by responsibility.
When her owners have finally convinced Molly that they are her ‘rock’ and can be relied upon to make life’s fundamental decisions for her, I am sure she will become more confident. If she makes all her decisions at home, how can she trust them to make the important decisions when out? She probably feels exposed and unprotected. Children are secure and stable who have decisions made for them, so they can just get on with being kids. Liberal parents who either don’t believe in rules and boundaries or can’t be bothered, don’t necessarily have happy children. I believe it’s the same with dogs, and with them things are much more black and white. The really important things to a dog are food, going out and keeping safe. Molly should not need to be in charge of these things herself. They are the job of the leader/parent/owner.
With a bit of insight into how dogs see things, I’m sure Molly’s humans will soon fill in gaps. If she were a less sensitive character, what they are doing already would be absolutely fine.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
21.10.2011
Black labrador, Labrador, Scared
I have been to mansions to help with dogs and I have been to tiny flats. Yesterday I went to a houseboat on a marina. I couldn’t believe how spacious it was, like walking through a little door into another world.
I met a beautiful little Westie called Snoopy (a female Snoopy!). She is 21 months old.
The couple have never had a dog before. They carefully researched dog ownership and have done a very good job. Sometimes circumstances can work against us. Snoopy’s start in life wasn’t ideal in that she had no socialisation until about nine weeks old, and when she eventually went to puppy classes she was so scared she disrupted the class with her yelping vocalisings that they had to give up. This was not a good first encounter with other dogs, and will have been to do with how the class was handled, too much noise, and too many dogs including some whose own behaviour will have been scary to a tiny Westie puppy.
Now Snoopy is wary and reactive to many dogs, and recently went for a dog that jumped up at her gentleman owner – she may have been protecting him. She can be a bit scared of people as well. She makes her screaming vocalisations at certain things like the sound of the venetian blinds being raised or the window opening. One of the reasons I was called was her reaction to animals on TV. She barks, lunges and snarls and is so stressed and hyped up that she may even, uncharacteristically, go for them if they take her collar to remove her. This makes peaceful evenings watching telly rather difficult! Besides, it builds up Snoopy’s stress levels and it’s a vicious circle. Stressed by barking, she is more ready to bark.
Much of the time Snoopy is an obedient, relaxed and happy little dog. She is given sensible rules and boundaries. It is only on the protection front that she seems not to quite trust her owners and thinks she needs to do the job herself, so leadership needs tightening up. She needs to be shown that it’s not her job to worry about animals on TV, nor other dogs on walks. This means the couple will need to ‘think dog’. A good leader/parent would protect the pack/family and never lead them into trouble. So, on walks, a different strategy needs to be used around other dogs. The walk itself needs to be a calmer and more comfortable affair. Pulling frantically on lead must be so uncomfortable for her little neck that she will already be in a heightened state when she meets a dog.
Her frantic TV behaviour needs a patient and consistent approach, again – ‘thinking dog’. Why is she doing this? What would a kind and wise leader do in her eyes?
In every other respect Snoopy is the perfect dog for life on a boat.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
19.10.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Barking at TV, Uncategorized, West Highland Terrier, Westie
Poor Murphy is not a very happy dog at the moment. The Springer Spaniel and his male owner have recently moved in with the man’s girlfriend, who has two-year-old Akitas, brother and sister.
Murphy was his man’s companion for a couple of years and could do what he liked. It was no problem that he climbed on top of him, on the back of his sofa behind him and slept up on his pillow at night. Murphy’s tendencies to guard resources, food in particular, were not a problem.
Now they have moved in with Chikara and Kai, two beautiful young Akitas. In their past life they too slept on the bed and climbed on the sofas, burying their lady owner in their huge hairiness.
It’s no wonder that there is tension between the three dogs now. The female Akita, Chakira, has always been the bossy one, and now it is a contest between her and Murphy. She has Kai to back her up.
There is trouble around all the predictable things. All three dogs now start the night on the bed with the couple, and there are nightly fights. If the lady tries to move Murphy or go and get him he growls at her, and immediately her two dogs come to her defence - Chakira with her teeth.
Poor Murphy isn’t used to sharing his owner and sits possessively in front of him. All three dogs are unsettled and restless. As well as fights over the lady, there are fights around food, there are fights around the bed and there are fights around the sofa – when one or both people are about. Sleeping on the bed all three together is no problem when people are not about. Sleeping on the sofa all three together is not a problem either, when they are alone.
Poor Murphy is becoming increasingly defensive and unhappy, growling when he is approached and wanting lots of attention from the man. The lady is a little wary of him and he will know this. She has on the whole had admirable control over her two large Akitas; without which the situation would be far worse.
The main kick off points have to be removed. No more going in the bedroom or on the bed, and feeding done in such a way that conflict is impossible. The dogs need to sit on the floor. Murphy high on the chair arm looking down on the others is not a good thing, particularly when he resists being removed, growls, and then a fight will start. Murphy needs some special quality time and controlled activity instead, instigated by both the humans and not by himself.
As the man said, in the past it had been ‘my’ dog and ‘your’ dogs. Now they need to work on them being ‘their’ dogs. They are going to work on relationship building – man and Akitas, lady and Springer – mix and match! The humans need to gain the upper hand in a calm, quiet and controlled way – through the sort of leadership that the dogs already understand.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
17.10.2011
Akita, Springer Spaniel, fighting
I went to see five Cocker Spaniels – all females of the show breed and none of them spayed. Everything was ticking along along nicely in the household until Autumn who joined the group about twenty-one months ago reached her first birthday. She then went for one of the other dogs.
Since then she has become increasingly unpredictable and aggressive to Lexus, the eldest, in particular. Things have reached the point where Lexus lives upstairs, and for much of the time Autumn is separate from the other three also. Their lady owner is on tenterhooks all the time.
Then very unfortunately to my mind, they enlisted the help of a dog trainer who encouraged spraying water at her, shaking a bottle of stones at her, shouting at her, intimidation and domination. Already more sensitive than the other dogs, Autumn is now really nervous. So worried is her owner, that every time Autumn goes near another dog, sniffs her or even stares, she shouts LEAVE or sprays her with water. I can’t see how this will do anything except teach Autumn to associate the other dogs with scary stuff and make her much worse.
She has not actually done damage except to a human hand separating two dogs – yet. Lexus is mild and scared of Autumn, but Autumn’s other victim, Miami, a much more confident and independent dog than Lexus, will stand up for herself.
So far as they can tell, there has never been any conflict when humans weren’t about – mostly the lady, which gives a clue as to where the stress comes from. She is stressed, Autumn is stressed. The lady admits that she spoilt Autumn more than the others as a puppy and now, on the advice of this trainer, she is more or less ignoring her all the time. This must be very confusing. Ignoring demands for attention is one thing, but that doesn’t mean the dog should have no interaction or love – only that it should be under your terms and not hers. Giving the dogs attention whenever they jump up or bark for it is one thing, and calling them over when you decide is quite another.
There needs to be some healthy relationship building between the lady and Autumn founded on calm trust, positive reinforcement, not punishment. The lady is extremely worried and loves all her dogs dearly. She has done everything she possibly can that she knows of, she has hired a trainer and she has read books. I find it amazing that there is still such a lot of nonsense going around when, if things are looked at from the dog’s point of view, with patience the solution can be gentle, encouraging and logical.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
16.10.2011
Cocker Spaniel, attacking dog, show cocker spaniel
Charlie is an adorable fluffy 7-month old Norfolk Terrier. He lives with an elderly thirteen-year-old golden Labrador who patiently tolerates his playfulness.
His family have two problems with Charlie which prompted them to call me out: peeing indoors and refusing to come when called. He is now hitting adolescence and is showing his independence, and both these problems are getting worse.
The peeing indoors is nothing to do with needing to go to the toilet I’m sure. You can tell he is making a point by where he does it and when he does it. He pees when he is shut in the kitchen area and the rest of the family are somewhere else in the house. He doesn’t like to be left behind – understandably. He never does it when they are all out. What he can’t realise is that the only reason he doesn’t join the family in the sitting room is because they are so worried he will toilet in there!
I was nearly ready to go and we had worked on showing Charlie that jumping up wasn’t the way to get attention, doing on-lead ‘follow my lead’ around the garden and generally resisting jumping to his tune, and, right before our eyes, he peed on the floor. Just a little – not emptying his bladder. The lady’s reaction was to exclaim and leap forward. I quickly stopped her because that is exactly what he wanted – a reaction! Bingo!
They have a large garden with fencing that contains the Labrador, but little Charlie can find gaps! He has started to go off and do his own thing when let out, refusing to come back until he is ready. He may chase cows and horses, and he hunts for rabbits. For a dog to have reliable recall two things are necessary – he must be taught that coming when called is worthwhile and that if he doesn’t, there is a consequence (and I don’t mean punishment). Secondly, his owners need to work on being relevant in general or else Charlie will understandably feel their wishes are less important than what he would rather be doing.
If Charlie already gets all the attention he wants upon demand for free, what does he gain by coming when they want him to?
He is a cracking little dog and will grow up to be a trustworthy adult I’m sure – with a little bit of work.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
14.10.2011
Norfolk Terrier, Toiletting indoors, recall, won't come when called
Black Lab Daisy, four, and older Jack Russell Betty have a wonderful life. They run beside the family’s horses each day, and accompany them to the stables. They are loved dearly. So long as they are not over-excited, they are polite and sociable.
To start with, sitting peacefully in the sitting room with the lady, gentleman and their teenage daughter I was wondering why I was called out. Then the eighteen-year-old son came home with massive excitement, sat down and roughed the dogs up – stirring Betty in particular into a frenzy. He then departed as quickly as he had come in, leaving Betty to unwind somehow, which she did by taking it out on Daisy.
Just imagine tickling and throwing a young child around until it was hysterical and still not stopping? It would end in tears for sure. It may be done in the name of love, but is it kind? No!
This was something I noticed, but not what I was called for. There are two issues that trouble them. One is quite persistent barking at the window – initated by Jack Russell Betty, through the garden fence at the dog next door and at the front door. Barking causes yet more barking. Stressed dogs bark and barking makes dogs stressed!
The second issue is that they are unable to take Daisy out with them away from home, because she is impossible on lead. They had her from about eighteen months old and she had probably never been on a lead prior to that. She pulls so much it’s painful to hold her. They recently tried a trip to the pub garden where Daisy became stressed at people or dogs coming towards them where they sat. It is no wonder, given the state she must have been in by the time she got there.
Because these dogs have plenty of exercise, this is easier for her people than most as they can take their time, working at it bit by bit. The golden rule of ‘never again does your dog go anywhere on a tight lead‘ (I show them how) won’t mean that it’s a trade-off between exercise and walking nicely.
At least twice a day they go though the door to go over to the stables where they keep the horses – and Daisy is away! She leaps into other people’s gardens, scavenges for bread put out for the birds, charges all over the place – ending up at the stables ahead of them. When loose lead walking is established in the garden and out the front, it can slowly be introduced, a few yards at a time, into the journey to the stables!
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
10.10.2011
Barking, Jack Russell, Labrador, Pulling on lead
When getting a new dog, people sometimes have very high expectations based on their memories of their previous elderly dog. They may remember a placid dog that doesn’t pull on lead and that will come back when called.
Leo is about eleven months old, and a German Shepherd crossed with something else. He was found as a stray and has spent a couple of months in rescue kennels. A week or so ago he was adopted by his new family. He has a lot of adjusting to do. He is easily aroused and has a great deal of pent-up stress. If people come and go he will start to spin and tail chase, and often does this seemingly for no reason at all.
He is very reactive to hearing dogs barking in the neighbourhood and may go quite frantic.
The main problem the owners are having is that he pulls so much on lead he nearly chokes himself and, when let of, he shoots off like a ball from a canon, charging into the distance. His totally ignores them when they try to call him back, turning up in his own good time.
Having freelanced as a stray, I don’t suppose he sees any reason why he should not be doing his own thing. It’s a big ask for him to have reliable recall straight away. I feel that because of the stress built up in him, and the stressful manner of walks – being yanked back with painful neck and a frustrated and cross owner, when he’s let off lead he is FREE to run off the stress. Built up stress has to overflow somehow, whether it is by charging about, spinning or chewing obsessively.
All the time I was there, for three hours, he was constantly busy. It started with demanding ball play. I suggested they swapped the ball for his bone, and he chewed it obsessively for the rest of the evening, not even stopping when we put a harness on him to demonstrate the kind with a D-ring on the chest.
Like so many, the people were expecting a dog to simply fall into their lives. A dog to take for long walks off lead and who lies peacefully with them in the evenings. They didn’t really bargain for the hard work Leo is going to take. By removing as much stress as possible and not allowing people to hype him up in play especially, by following my instructions for walking a dog on a loose lead and actively working at recall, they will resolve these problems in time. Leo will not feel the need to charge off when he is calmer. He is an adolescent at present, so he should settle down a bit anyway as he gets older.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
08.10.2011
Barking, GSD, Pulling on lead, Tail chasing, rescue dog, runnig off
Chloe is a gorgeous 6-month-old Red Setter.
Chloe is a paradox. Unlike most young dogs that I go to that are unruly, fly all over people, persistently jump up, nip and mouth, try to pinch people’s food while they are eating and toilet in the house, she is calm before walks and the model dog outside.
Usually dogs that are uncontrollable in the house are also over-excited before walks, pull on lead, don’t come back when called and may react to other dogs. Not so Chloe.
Going back to the puppy I visited a couple of days ago, Chloe has lacked three essentials from the start that this eight week old puppy is already receiving. These are ‘feet on the floor’, ‘no using mouth or teeth’, and ‘toilet training’.
All nice things happen with feet on floor, all contact is instantly withdrawn when mouth or teeth are used, and work and time is put into toilet training. Chloe, at six months, shows what happens if those three things are ignored or, worse still, actively encouraged, especially when there is inconsistency.
Does Chloe jump up! Chloe’s lady owner likes her jumping up on her with front feet on her shoulders. She actively has encouraged it since Chloe was tiny. However, not everybody else likes it, so she is told ‘down’ and pushed away by other people. I find usually when I visit a dog that jumps up, if I keep turning away or standing to tip it off, it gets the message within a couple of minutes. Chloe was much more persistent. She has been taught it gets her attention – good and bad. The young daughter is intimidated because on her hind legs Chloe is taller than she is.
Another actively encouraged bad habit during play and fussing is mouthing, but Chloe nips the daughter, she jumps on top of her and mouths and grabs her hands, she catches ankles and legs when people walk downstairs. She is encouraged to walk all over the sofa and the people on it.
These behaviours weren’t actully why I was called out though. It was her toileting indoors. She did it while I was there – quite deliberately – because nobody was taking any notice of her. She went to a high place (it’s an interesting room with different levels), she looked down at us and she peed. She will also poo indoors. The lady may wait outside with her for half an hour only for her to toilet in front of them as soon as she comes in, even looking her in the eye as she does so. She toilets on their bed and in her own bed, on the landing, down the passage. With no boundaries or rules in the house – why shouldn’t this include toileting also? She has little ‘dog-parenting/leadership’ so she is making her own decisions. ‘I own the place, I own the people, I own the beds, I put my scent everywhere, I do what I like’.
Rules and boundaries across the board and no more mixed messages will, I’m sure, in time cure the toileting problem. Chloe will learn some impulse control. Meanwhile, they need to start with proper ‘training’. Take her out at regular times, drop a piece of her dry food on the ground in front of her immediately she has performed outside to show her that outside is the place. When she goes indoors she must get no result or attention whatsoever. She should even be out of the way when they clear it up.
This will all take time. There are big bad habits to undo. Habits formed very young, good or bad, become more entrenched. What a blessing it is that she is no trouble on walks and interacts well with other dogs – so far!
Chloe has a lovely temperament – friendly and confident, but she is quite literally being spoilt. Mixed messages and confusion won’t produce a happy, well-balanced adult dog.
05.10.2011
Jumping up, Red Setter, Toiletting indoors, toilet training
My picture doesn’t do justice to these two lovely dogs. Roxy, in front is nearly six months old and Lola is four.
As a puppy, Lola was taken to puppy classes so is the better ‘trained’ of the two, but she is nervous. Roxy is a lot more confident and is already trying to dominate Lola. She can be pushy, jump up and be generally annoying as a puppy entering adolescence can be! They may tell her to stop jumping up, to sit, to go away when they are eating, or to come back when she is off lead, but she won’t ‘listen’.
The real problems are out on walks. Both dogs pull – Roxy especially. Her recall is very unreliable as is that of many a pup and possibly they are expecting too much here. Whilst some dogs come back willingly from the word go, with many dogs recall has to be worked on for a long time before the dog can be reliably trusted to come back if there is something else she would rather be doing, like chasing cats or going after other dogs.
What is bringing matters to a head is Roxy’s behaviour when she sees other dogs. She will run up to them barking, backed up by Lola who has begun to snap and growl at them – something she never used to do before Roxy came. It seems to be getting worse. I am wondering whether Roxy thinks she is protecting Lola, while Lola thinks she is protecting Roxy! Either way, the person with them is not relevant as decision-maker and protector.
Whilst Roxy and Lola get on very well, it seems that having Roxy hasn’t been altogether easy for Lola. Already sensitive, she now has become protective of her. For her to try to keep Roxy in check is an impossible task. I am worried that as Roxy grows older, more determined and dominant, and that if the owners don’t give stronger leadership, there could be trouble between the two dogs.
Walking needs to be brought back to basics. The dogs need to be walking calmly on loose leads without the need for checking – which often simply isn’t achieved by traditional training methods – Lola is proof of that. When they encounter other dogs, they need to keep calm and rely on the person walking them to make the decisions. When off lead, the owners may feel that the dogs should come back when they are called, but in these situations they simply are not sufficiently relevant. We lack relevance when we are at our dogs’ beck and call and touch them every time they come near us. If our time and attention is readily on tap and never has to be earned, it lacks value.
The humans need to earn that relevance throughout all aspects of their life with their dogs – and then the dogs, Roxy in particular, will start to ‘listen’.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
02.10.2011
Labrador
A while ago I visited a family that had adopted a terrier from Wood Green. It soon became apparent that the little dog had traits that nobody had been told about. She had lived with and elderly gentleman and now she was with an active family. Despite their very hard work, the little dog simply was just not suited to family life. The children did all they could to cooperate, but simply could not enjoy her because of the aggression she would suddenly display.
Over the years I have been to several families who have adopted terriers that have probably entered rescue because their previous owners couldn’t cope. The rescue centres themselves have not been told the full true facts. It is massively disappointing to have to return the dog or in one case he was put to sleep because of a severe bite to one of the children. These little dogs, already disturbed, need special handling in a calm environment – preferably with a useful job to do and controlled stimulation. They are not suited to noisy family life, cuddling and playing with children.
Anyway, yesterday was a day of rejoicing. The broken-hearted the family had had to return the terrier to Wood Green who very understandingly suggested they regarded her stay with them as ‘fostering’. In fact, due to their hard work with my help, the little dog is now a lot more adoptable and they will be able to target the right sort of home for her.
So, yesterday I visited their new eight-week-old Labrador puppy, Autumn. They decided, out of concern for their children who had tried so hard with the terrier and who were so disappointed, that they would start from scratch with the sort of dog more bred to be a family pet. Autumn, like my own fourteen week old Labrador puppy, came from an ideal setup – a family home. Her new family are determined to start her off right so that no unwanted traits creep in later on.
The three most important areas when starting off with a new puppy, to my mind, are ‘feet on the floor’, ‘no using mouth or teeth’, and ‘toilet training’.
If all attention is only given to her while her feet are on the ground, from the word go, then she simply will never be a dog that jumps up – a favourite Labrador trait! All that is necessary is to gently put her feet back on the ground before giving her attention (saying ‘Down’ is completely wrong as it is likely to hype a puppy up and have the opposite effect – by giving her attention!).
The other trait to nip in the bud is use of teeth. This is done by simply removing your hand immediately. If children wave hands about it will be seen as a game. If there is a small nip, then a squeal at the same time as withdrawing all attention will let the puppy know that teeth hurt. This is what her siblings will already have told her, so she will understand.
The third most important thing, of course, is toilet training. It’s important not to get too worked up about this. It will come right in the end. The more opportunities she has to go out, the faster she will learn.
01.10.2011
Terrier, Uncategorized
Here the two lovely three-year-old Labradors are sitting so obediently while I take their photo! They are brother and sister, though you would never think so to look at them. It would be hard to find any problem with either dog had it not been for a couple of unfortunate incidents.
Archie, the Chocolate Labrador, is the more laid back of the two. Both are model dogs – most of the time. They have a wonderful life with a caring family and four lovely children. Belle’s personality is more ‘edgy’ and excitable than Archie’s. On two occasions she has attacked a puppy. When she meets another dog she will bark in a protective way whilst standing in front of her owners. Though the dogs are seldom walked on lead as they live in the countryside, Belle is also very nervous of many things if walked on lead on the street, lunging and barking.
The first troubling incident happened about a year ago. They met a lady with several dogs off lead on a walk. Because it looked as though Belle in particular was getting overwhelmed by a very pushy five-month-old puppy, my lady client, her friend and their dogs tried to turn the other way – but the other dogs followed them, ignoring their owner’s whistle. The puppy was jumping all over Belle still, and I believe that Belle was provoked and pestered beyond her endurance, and having repeatedly warned and been ignored she turned on the puppy. This resulted in quite an ugly exchange with the other owner and a vet bill, which really unnerved my poor client. Had the other dogs had the sort of reliable recall you need if you are responsibly going to let your dogs off lead and had Belle been less touchy, none of this would have happened.
The second incident was a week ago. Belle went for another puppy on their own land. Apparently she simply saw the puppy from a distance and came running over and attacked it, seemingly for no reason at all. Fortunately there was minimal damage and Belle was grabbed.
The outcome is that the poor lady can no longer trust her lovely dog. She has stopped walking them off her land, although her husband still does so but on lead. She has now attacked puppies twice and who knows what might happen next time.
Most walks consist of going straight out of a gate and into woods, off lead. The dogs tend to do their own thing, checking up on where the owners are from time to time. They freelance. The dogs’ default position when they are out should be near to their owners (leaders). At present it is the opposite. Whenever a dog appears, they should immediately come back when called, and then it’s the owners decision whether or not they go and play.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and one can see how both these incidents could have been prevented, the first by grabbing the lady’s puppy immediately and the second by not assuming she will appreciate dogs she doesn’t know in her territory. I suspect they were both one-off unfortunate incidents, but certainly over all leadership where Belle is concerned is essential so that she doesn’t carry the burden of protection duty.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
30.09.2011
Attacking puppy, Labrador
Louie and Kasper are five-month-old Yorkshire Terrier puppies – the cutest you can imagine. Their owners’ previous Yorkie had been quite a handful which they readily admit was due to overspoiling, and they are determined to get it right this time with their two little puppy brothers. They have made a very good start in quite difficult circumstances.
The lady owner is bed-ridden and although immobile she has her wits about her where the dogs are concerned! The gentleman has a lot to do without worrying about puppies as well, and I could tell from the the puppies’ behaviour that he has really been trying hard.
The current situation is that the puppies tend to fly all over the lady in her bed and she’s not strong enough to stop them. The puppies have the door to the garden open all the time and don’t seem to know the difference between toileting indoors and outdoors. They have not actually been taught. I have just been strongly reminded with my own three-month-old Labrador puppy Zara that it is hard work! But put in enough effort for a couple of weeks and the job is usually done.
Because she was toileting all over the place, I made a chart, entering every time Zara ‘went’ and where. It soon became apparent it was far more frequently than I had thought – about fifteen times a day for pees alone. The more free space a puppy has, the slower it seems to learn, so during this time while I was working at my computer I had a puppy pen around us so she couldn’t creep off quietly to toilet. Any time Zara had a mishap, it was my fault – not hers. As soon as she awoke she needed to be taken out. As soon as she broke off from playing or chewing and started to prowl around or sniff, I took her out. In the space of ten days she has stopped toileting indoors altogether. The breakthrough came the day she connected my command which is ‘Go Pee’ with actually peeing, leading to a reward.
When I am out Zara is always contained in her crate, and she has never toileted in there. She is also contained at night time. If caught young enough, dogs prefer to toilet away from their beds.
There are other minor issues that could develop as the Yorkie puppies get older, like potential trouble between them over food. Kasper is more nervous but more possessive and dominant – that’s him peering out from under the lady’s bed. Louie is more confident but is the barker. Already the owners have the situation well under control when the carers and nurse come, and they need to do the same when family and friends visit. It’s about leadership/dog ‘parenting’.
That will do for now. The gentleman has more than enough on his plate at the moment.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
27.09.2011
Toiletting indoors, Yorkie, Yorkshire Terrier, toilet training
Honey and Millie are both six years old. They were brought home on the same day, but they are not sisters. Millie came from a good breeder and nice home environment, whereas Honey missed out on some vital early input from siblings and mother, and had to be hand reared. What happens during the first twelve weeks or so of a dog’s life makes a huge difference and I don’t believe can ever entirely be reversed. A dog without proper early interaction with siblings and mother will be harder work.
The two dogs used to get on brilliantly. They had puppies at the same time – even putting all their puppies together in one whelping box and sharing the maternal duties.
Unfortunately things have gone downhill. Honey, predictably, is a much more stressed dog. A short while ago, due to complications in a pregnancy, Millie had to be spayed, and the imbalance of hormones between them may be adding to the growing tension growing between the two dogs.
Honey will suddenly just go for Millie. Sometimes she gives ‘that look’ first, sometimes it seems to happen out of the blue. There are a couple of common denominators – the lady is always present and it seems to involve comings and goings, either of people or one dog returning into the presence of the other. On most occasions the house has been busy and Honey will have had a build up of stress.
To my mind the biggest contributor of all to Honey’s stress levels in particular is the enormous amount of freedom the two dogs have. They have quite a large area on the estate where they freely roam – controlled only by an electric barrier. They are left out all day with an open kennel for shelter. They are there at the gate whenever anyone arrives and it is a busy place. Honey barks, growls and hackles – scared and warning. It’s quite surprising that all her stress is taken out on poor Millie and that she’s not actually gone for a person by now. There is a public dog walking path through the estate that they can see but not reach, which also causes barking and stress.
These two dogs are in charge of the territory, no question about it. Without realising it, the people are often allowing the dogs to be in charge of them also. If it were just the much more stable Millie it may not really matter as she can handle it. Honey can’t.
I am hoping that they can find a way of enclosing the dogs during the day when they themselves are not about and that they feel happy with, and of keeping them well away from the gate area when people come and go so they are let ‘off duty’. My own dogs are peacefully contained in quite a small area in the house when I am out and I wouldn’t have it any other way for their own sakes – and for the most part when they are anywhere further afield than my garden, I accompany them. I am the leader, after all.
Ruling the roost really isn’t easy on a dog. With some indoor leadership work as well as limiting physical boundaries, Honey’s stress levels should then reduce and I am sure she will not feel the need to take it out on poor Millie. Possibly spaying her in a couple of months’ time when the time is right could help, but I don’t believe this alone is the answer as the dogs already had had a few differences earlier. It needs to be done in conjunction with the behaviour work.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
24.09.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Barking, Boxer
Doris is an eight-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Because of her sweet nature, the fact she has been given few rules and boundaries hasn’t really caused them problems until reecently.
Doris can be a nervous and scared dog around certain everyday things, and I have found this is often the case where dogs make most of their own decisions, where they can come in and out of the garden whenever they want through a dog flap, jump up and all over visitors who hype them up whilst the owners are telling them to stop (how confusing this must be), and where the humans fall in line with whatever the dog demands. It’s like it is all too much responsibility and she needs to be gently taken in hand for her own sense of security.
Things have become worrying because her lady owner is due to have a baby in one week’s time. Doris has increasingly been showning fear of little nephews and neices who visit and last week nipped a toddler. Doris was on lead and the humans were very anxious which obviously transferred to Doris. Instead of encouraging her with positive associations when she went near the child, they will have been telling her off. She is frantically excited when people come to the house, so she would already have been in a highly stressed state of mind. When young children visit she has no hiding place where they can’t follow her.
Doris needs – you’ve guessed it – leadership. From a practical point of view she needs a ‘safe haven‘ where children are simply forbidden to go. It’s the children that need watching. She has a hidey hole under the stairs which could perhaps be gated, or there could be a gate in the doorless kitchen doorway. It’s a small house with no other downstairs rooms.
It should not be too difficult to turn things around for Doris. Preparation for the baby needs to being immediately. They have made a start with Doris no longer sleeping on their bed. She needs positive associations with the smell of the baby, with the Moses basket and the buggy. There will be plenty of visitors when the baby is born, so Doris will need help to calm down quickly which means the visitors will need to be shown what to do. When children come to the house, Doris needs to be left strictly alone, somewhere safe. Seeing that this happens is the responsibility of good leaders.
With more leadership in all aspects of her life Doris should gain more confidence in her owners to understand her and to look out for her.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
22.09.2011
Staff, Staffie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Uncategorized, nip child, nipping
Rufus is a gentle and loving little Cavalier King Charles Speniel, ten months old.
He also seems a happy little dog who has always got on well with other dogs.
A couple of days ago, seemingly out of the blue, he viciously went for an over-exuberant puppy that was all over him while Rufus’ lady owner stopped to talk to the puppy’s owner on their way to drop the kids off to school. There must have been stuff going on in the run up to this. Rufus will already have had a build up of stress and the puppy will have ignored his warnings and overstepped the mark somehow, making Rufus very angry. As the two ladies were talking, nobody was watching.
Rufus has a very good life, but there are just a few things that need changing so that he doesn’t get into this heightened state again. The little daughter is quite rough with him, and though he puts up with it even to the point of squealing, it has to stop. They are going to make him his own ‘safe-haven’ where children are banned and where he is put before thngs get out of hand.
He possibly gets a little too much fussing and what I would call ‘homage’ – and although he is a King Charles it’s not too good for him!
The other area that needs working on is everything around walks. One can imagine what sort of state Rufus may have been in when he had to put up with this puppy’s behaviour. To start with, he is extremely excited before even setting off. Once out, the two little girls are ahead, one on a scooter, and Rufus is yapping and barking as he pulls frantically trying to catch up with them. He has a thin collar on his little neck, so it must be very uncomfortable which must add to his stress. When he does see another dog he barks and pulls until he manages to drag his owner to it. Up until the other day, when he gets to the dog it’s been just sniffing and playing
Imagine how different this little dog will feel when he sets off calmly, with no neck discomfort, and on a lead long enough to give him enough freedom that it’s like walking with no lead at all. With an owner who, from now on, shows him that if he barks to get to another dog they will in fact go the other way. He will then learn to approach quietly – all that noise is very likely to hype the other dog up. It will mean working on Rufus either without the little girls, or getting them to help by staying level or behind. Imagine how over-stimulated and stressed he must be, struggling to catch up with them.
The other very important thing if a dog suddenly acts so much out of character as this, is to get the vet to check nothing is going on physically. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have some well-known painful hereditory problems.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
20.09.2011
Cav, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Uncategorized
I feel compelled to add a special post having watched Friday’s One Show on BBC1.
I am the Chair of the Association of INTODOGS. We represent only behaviourists and trainers who use modern, enlightened methods to solve dog behaviour problems. Our forum is alive with disgust at the BBC. What we saw the young man demonstrating was both cruel and dangerous (I shan’t name him here). Nowadays one would not beat a disturbed, aggressive child into submission. The child would end up in a far worse place in his head and who knows where it will end. His immediate observable behaviour may well improve through sheer fear, but this repression could well break out at a later date with dire consequences. What about the child’s mental welfare? Is this the sort of relationship we want with our pet dogs – or with our working dogs for that matter?
What this man has done is to bully, intimidate and terrorise a little dog into doing what he wants – he does it because he can, because he is bigger and stronger. It makes good TV because it looks like a quick miracle. In the opening they say he ‘fixes’ dog problems. Quick fixes are like a sticking plaster on a festering wound. The wound continues to fester – but out of sight – until, maybe too late, it erupts and ends up with the dog paying the ultimate price – euthanasia.
If the job is done kindly and fairly, with some even basic understanding about dogs and where they are ‘coming from’, it will take a good deal longer than just three hours to cure, but after weeks or months, given consistent and fair treatment, you would have a changed, happy and reliable dog – not one that is showing the signals of intense distress and anxiety that this little dog was showing whilst he was being forced to comply. Did anybody, for starters, look at why the dog was exhibiting this behaviour?
This is going back to the era of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. The BBC has such a golden opportunity to find someone from the great majority of modern behaviourists and trainers who can show people by example and positive methods how to have well-adjusted dogs that are not likely to attack them. Instead they have chosen a handsome bully to broadcast a recipe for disaster. Owners will be attacked. Dogs will be put to sleep. There was not even a ‘don’t try this at home’ disclaimer.
16.09.2011
The One Show Dog Behaviourist, The One Show Dog Trainer, Uncategorized
People say their dogs are ‘members of the family‘ which is why they treat them as they do. But do they really treat their family members the way they treat their dogs?
When you come home, do you welcome your teenagers with ecstasy, kissing them and fussing them while they jump all over you so that the whole thing becomes almost unbearable with excitement? When you eat your meals, do you have your children jumping on you, letting them help themselves from your plate? Do you expect your children to keep a look out for danger approaching, and then when they alert you, tell them to shut up? Do you let your children jump about and scream at you until you take them out for a walk? Would you have your children dragging you down the road, kicking and screaming at people you pass? Do you share your bed with your teenagers and do they have a tantrum if told to go? If you want to watch TV in peace, are your kids jumping all over you and demanding attention, and while they sit beside you are you touching and cuddling them all the time? With humans this would probably be considered abuse! Would your teenagers follow you all over the place and make a fuss if you disappear out of sight? I could go on and on!
I guess there may be families where the kids are like this, but certainly not the lovely family I went to today! I exaggerate to make my point, but they admit that over the couple of years or so since they have rescued their two dogs, after a sensible start, they have slowly relaxed the rules and boundaries, hardly realising they were doing so. It’s easy to do. This can be unsettling and confusing for dogs. Dogs without boundaries and given the responsibility of decision-making can develop problems that are inexplicable to the owners who believe they are simply being loving. Two common results are nervousness and aggression – both of which are fear-based.
Barney is always on the alert and he may bite. He has drawn blood several times. Things certainly can’t carry on as they are. Maisie the Border Collie is nervous. Lack of leadership and too much fussing on demand can be scary for a dog like Maisie, especially if mixed with being scolded. She is hyper-sensitive. There is lots of appeasingly lying on her back to have her tummy tickled ‘love me love me I’ve done nothing wrong have I’.
Both dogs need a dose of old-fashioned calm, quiet and kind leadership and being treated in the way that people really treat their well-behaved and happy kids. The dogs need to be treated with respect, not touched too much and to learn respect. Then Barney won’t need to bite and Maisie will be more confident.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
15.09.2011
Biting, Border Collie
Ellie’s previous owner died, so now she has come to live in a lovely home with two other Cocker Spaniels, one male and one female. She is three years old.
Life before Ellie was a bit easier. She is a more nervous dog, and on occasion she has suddenly gone for the other female, who retaliates. No serious damage has been done so far as they have been separated in time, but it is very distressing for the owners – especially the lady, as it seems these fights only happen around her.
The fact the lady is always there could simply be because Ellie is inseperable from her. She follows her absolutely everywhere and looks anxious should she even go to stand up. However, fighting has not happened when the lady has left the dogs with other people at home.
All dogs are very well loved and much cuddled – by the lady in particular. Now there is a third less stable dog added to the little pack, the spoiling and lack of leadership is causing problems. Giving too much demonstrative human-style love and cuddles to a nervous or needy dog, particularly while the dog is growling, is sure to reinforce any problems she already has. Reinforcement drives behaviour.
Ellie does quite a lot of growling, especially when one of the other dogs walks towards the lady (to whom Ellie will be as near as possible and who will probably be touching and tickling her). I believe all growling is a warning of sorts unless in boisterous play (and I wouldn’t encourage that either), and should be taken seriously. She may growl if the daughter touches her. If constantly ignored, a dog then may take things to the next level. There are a lot of people coming and going in this busy household, and I noticed a visitor leaning over Ellie, trying to touch and fuss her whilst she was backing off, growling. She needs protection.
Ellie needs space. She needs calm and she needs time to get used to her new home without any pressure. Each small fight has occurred around stress or excitement, and around the lady. One incident occured shortly after I arrived. The atmosphere was more charged because I, a stranger, had just arrived. The dogs were about to be fed and the lady accidentally dropped Ellie’s food out of the bowl onto the floor. The lady will have been a bit agitated which dogs pick up on immediately and it was a perfect scenario for Ellie to attack the other female when she had finished her own food and approached Ellie. Fortunately I carry a large bag and I have fast reactions! I was instantly able to swing it between the two and the spat stopped as quickly as it began.
It is very hard for some affectionate and demonstrative people to stop constantly touching their dog, but this sacrifice is vital in order for Ellie to settle down and become less needy and more confident. A little dog full of growls, ‘possessing’ her lady owner and protective of her own personal space unless she herself has initiated contact, is an ‘incident’ waiting to happen.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
11.09.2011
Cocker Spaniel, Uncategorized, growling
What a lovely time I had today! Sally is a five-month-old Bichon Frise/Westie mix, and as her lady owner says, her coat looks like a fluffy dandelion seed head. She is a well-adjusted, independent little dog, with puppy exuberance and sometimes, naturally, pushing her luck!
Sally tends to get over-excited when people come to the house, jumping all over them and perhaps making a puddle, but this isn’t her fault. Because she is so cute everyone makes so much fuss of her in such an exciting way, she is thorougly wound up. It’s hardly fair, because then her lady owner tells her to get down and gives commands and gets cross in an effort to make her behave, which stirs up even more.
In order for a dog to calm down and not jump all over people, the humans need to approach her differently. The more noisy and excitable people are, the more noisy and excitable the dog will be. People need to give her a break and take no notice of her for a little while to give her time to calm down. Then when they do say hello, not to make it so exciting that it hypes her up again.
Without a single word from me, and with no more than my looking away, turning away, gently tipping her off and giving gentle hand gestures for a while, Sally very soon got the message that she wasn’t to jump all over me, and you could see she was a happy relaxed little dog for it. I could then give her some gentle quality attention.
Sally still sometimes messes and wees in the house. Some puppies simply take longer to get the message than others, and it’s possible that although she knows toileting outside is good, she doesn’t understand that this doesn’t apply to inside as well. She is never scolded, fortunately. I have often found that the more important the messing indoors is to the owner (often due to worry about damage to the flooring), the slower the puppy will be in become completely house trained.
With fewer commands and a casual and calm approach, Sally will be able to work out for herself what she should do and it will take the pressure off her. I am sure the toileting will soon become more reliable with a few new strategies in place.
09.09.2011
Bichon Frise, Toiletting indoors, Uncategorized, West Highland Terrier, Westie
Benny is a four-year-old Corgi. He lives in what one might imagine to be a dog paradise. He is free to go wherever he likes in a very large country house. He has a caring family and the company of two other dogs.
Watching the continual lip-licking, the yawning and the panting, it’s obvious that Benny is a stressed dog rather than one revelling in a wonderful life. He is on guard duty alert much of the time, and ready to rush to protect his owners at the drop of a hat, particularly his female humans. If a man suddenly walks in the front door Benny may appear from nowhere and go for his legs, even if he has met him before. He hates the postman. If someone walks towards his owner, or makes arm movements that Benny could interpret as a threat, again he will spring into action. It’s always legs he goes for, probably due to his own lack if height, and fortunately he’s not yet done serious injury.
I believe Benny will become a much more relaxed dog if he is given some boundaries – physical in particular. At present there are no limits to where he can go. If the lady of the house disappears behind a door, he barks and cries. If someone comes to the front door, he is in effect the first line of defense – there, on guard. It’s best if the owners avoid having Benny in front of them for now when someone approaches. After all, a dog protecting a pack member will always get in between her and the threat.
How can a smallish dog possibly look after so many people and protect such a large environment? Benny is doing his level best. No wonder he is stressed.
It is the leader/head of the family’s job to be the protector and the decision maker. If from the start he is accustomed to boundaries and sometimes being shut behind doors, a dog is far happier in a ‘den’ in a corner than rattling around loose in a large house, especially if he can rest secure in the knowledge that protection duty is not his responsibility. Bennie doesn’t actually spend much time outside in the large grounds because he dare not let his lady owner out of his sight. He follows her everywhere and cries if a door is shut on him. With patient work, he should eventually be able to let her come and go as she likes – and trust her to look after herself.
Putting in place a few rules and boundaries, slowly getting him used to being more independent in so far as demonstrating through leadership that the humans are there to look after him and not vice versa, should make him a much more chilled dog.
08.09.2011
Biting, Stress
Henry is a confused fifteen-month-old Shar Pei.
He has been loved and indulged by everyone in the family, but recently has become increasingly snappy and unpredictable. The problem seems to have come to a head when his family moved house a short while ago, grandad moved in and older daughters moved out. His new house gives him a lot more uncontrolled outside space and freedom.
Always a vocal dog, it is hard to tell the difference between his natural snoring type noises due to his physique and growling. I think he has been given the benefit of the doubt for too long and what has been put down as friendly vocalising is actually growling. He will go over to someone for a fuss, and after a minute’s petting, suddenly bite. He seems to indiscriminately bite family and strangers alike if a hand goes over his head.
They think there has been no warning, but with the usual doggy facial features, mouth and eyes lost in folds of skin, it’s hard to see what he’s thinking. This puts Henry at a big disadvantage. I believe he is now biting because he has learnt that warning is useless – his warnings are always ignored. Imagine how frustrating this must be for him. I’m sure to start with he will have tried facial warnings, but these won’t have been visible. Then he will have growled ‘out of the blue’ so far as his humans are concerned, and they have taken it to be friendly vocalising. All his warnings saying ‘leave me alone’ or ‘get out of my space’ ignored, it seems reasonable from his point of view for him now to go directly to the next level with no preamble – biting. This then makes the person angry, which scares and confuses Henry – because in his mind what he did was entirely reasonable.
Another possibility is, because of his hidden eyes, he can’t see a hand approaching from above, so this intensifies a dislike of being touched on the top of his head or body.
From when he was a puppy members of his family alternated between fussing him, ‘training’ him with repeated commands, and playing the sort of games that have encouraged him to do the very things they now don’t like – growling through tug games, physical play encouraging use of mouth, teeth and growls and playing chasing feet games.
Although he has been to puppy classes and understands commands, giving a dog commands doesn’t make a leader. In fact, a dog like this will choose to ignore them much of the time unless they are repeated over and over, and then it can end in either the owner giving up and not carrying through, or in defiance and confrontation. A lead dog certainly doesn’t give verbal commands! Confrontation and punishment in response to growling or snapping will only make things escalate.
The question is, what DO you do?
How should they be reacting to growling and biting, and how will they avoid it happening altogether by winning Henry’s respect through changes in their own behaviour? This is what we are now working on. Unless in pain, a dog won’t growl or snap at someone he respects and, just as important, treats him with respect too, which means being respectful of the dog’s own comfort zone. This isn’t about love, it’s about leadership – dog ‘parenting’.
NB. Always with any sudden changes in behaviour the dog should first be checked over by a vet to make sure he’s not ill or in pain.
05.09.2011
Biting, Shar Pei, Sharpei, Uncategorized, growling
Poor Leo, a four-year-old English Bull Terrier, is in a bad way. They were so worried that he might bite me that he was muzzled throughout our meeting – with it just taken off for this photo.
Here was yet another dog who as a puppy that was the strongest, greediest and bossiest in his litter. Leo belongs to a young gentleman who lives with his father and has serious problems with pent-up stress, leading to aggression – around food in particular.
He gets manic bouts of frenzy, flying around and going for the two men. The young man then physically pins him down to prevent someone getting hurt. This is all getting increasingly out of hand. Castration made no difference at all.
Leo’s aggression around food is puzzling. He is reasonably calm while his food is prepared, and OK when it goes down. It’s afterwards that the problem starts. It’s like he is hyped up with high octane aggression fuel. He starts to spin around like he’s winding himself up before attacking. They have to catch him and muzzle him quickly. He is fed quite smelly cheap tinned food. Food can influence behaviour in a big way. While they prepare their own food they have to keep feeding Leo bits to stop the spinning and biting.
Putting him out of the way is also a problem. The house isn’t big so it means the garden, and then Leo simply barks and barks. They will need to enlist the understanding of their neighbours for a while.
They really love Leo and want to do the best for him, but simply don’t know how. The confrontational dominance methods seen on TV are making him worse. These techniques create a battle which they are unlikely to win and who wants that sort of relationship with their dog anyway? Leo is alone for about ten hours a day, and not given daily walks. Interaction is either rough and tumble exciting play, or getting cross with him for persistently barking until they do what he wants. He is allowed to lie on top of the young man, effectively pinning him down, but then may bite if removed from the sofa.
This is a dog with huge stress issues and simply no rules and boundaries in terms that he understands. De-stressing Leo is where it all starts. I suggested a technique for feeding him, after which I feel he should be left alone for a while to give him time to calm right down. The energy rush of his food is all in one meal – understandable because they don’t want this ordeal in the morning before work as well as in the evening – but it should be spread.
I so hope that they can manage to give Leo the calm kind of leadership he so needs. It will be hard work requiring a lot of patience.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!.
29.08.2011
Barking, Biting, English Bull Terrier, Uncategorized, muzzled
I went to another toilet training issue today. It is interesting just how important are the first eight to twelve weeks in a puppy’s development - including toilet training.
Archie is a 5-month old Chocolate Labrador who lives with Lizzie, a 6-month old dark Yellow Labrador. Archie lived with all his siblings until he was ten weeks old and the puppies were left to themselves for much of the time. Now Archie toilets indoors.
I have very recent personal experience of this sort of thing. My Cocker Spaniel, Pickle, until around twelve weeks old lived in gun-dog kennels. The puppies’ toileting was done on the concrete floor of the indoor run where also their dry food was thrown. Consequently, having never been in a house with garden or yard, the pattern for toileting outside hadn’t been set. Toilet training Pickle was hard work. On the other hand, at just nine weeks old my new Yellow Labrador puppy, Zara, is nearly houstrained already. She came from a clean family home environment where each puppy was given individual time and attention.
Archie sometimes comes straight in from outside only to toilet on the kitchen floor. This can be infuriating. His owners thought when they found mess in the house that scolding him would make him learn. But it never does. Archie also may eat his poo (not nice, I know – but very common). In this particular case I suspect it’s fearing that for some unfathomable reason his owners are angry when they find mess indoors, so he is trying to get rid of the evidence. He even sometimes hides it in his bed. Archie is only five months old and a big puppy. I suggest he now should neither be scolded nor even praised any more. It’s another case of a natural function being made into too much of an issue. How can we be sure he is not confused – praised one time and punished the next – and that he may not have connected it’s to do with where the job is done!
Whatever Archie’s reasons for doing toileting indoors, it’s not naughtiness. There are various possible reasons, but none will simply be because the dog is naughty.
To ignore all toileting, especially indoors, is going to be hard for the owners, but they can see that their present approach hasn’t worked so they need to do something different. The only appropriate time to react is if they actually catch him in the act, and then it’s not to scold – it’s to take his collar and rush him outside immediately.
Putting in place calm leadership for young dogs is the basic requirement – and plenty of trips outside.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
26.08.2011
Chocolate Labrador, Toiletting indoors, Yellow Labrador, toilet training
Here is Leonberger Leo, making sure even larger Irish Wolfhound Pluto knows his place – beneath him!
Leo is another example of people who chose the bravest and pushiest puppy in the litter now finding him hard work. At two years of age he has grown into his early promise – a very kingly dog, making use of all the doggy dominance tricks. As with a King, it’s unwise for someone to approach or touch him uninvited, particularly if they lean over him. He has bitten non-family members a couple of times, and together with the much more docile Pluto, he is kept well out of the way when people come to their house. When in doubt, he is muzzled.
First Pluto joined us and when he had calmed down, Leo was brought in on lead, muzzled just in case. I myself wasn’t worried as I knew with the signals I give out, not taking any notice of him and avoiding eye contact in particular, that I would not be bitten, but it helped the family not to be tense which is key. The lady dropped the lead. Very soon both dogs were lying down and the family relaxed.
I am sure that Leo would make an excellent leader of a pack of wild dogs, but in the human environment it is an impossible task for him. He simply cannot do the job. Just imagine yourself being employed to do life-or-death job where you had no freedom nor the required tools to fulfill the role. The kingly role Leo has been born into, subsequently reinforced by humans, involves protecting his pack, being in charge of all resources including food, areas like doorways, people and Pluto, leading the ‘hunt’ when out and decision-making. Poor Leo is thwarted on all counts. Imagine his frustration. It is actually surprising his behaviour isn’t a lot worse.
They have tried choke chain and the ‘police dog training’ type of approach and it’s simply not worked. It is neither appropriate nor possible for a dog looked after mainly by a slightly built lady and her two teenage daughters. Having just the man of the family treating Leo in this fashion can make the dog respect the others even less. Moreover, it is not the human equivalent to the way a stable dog leader would behave towards other dogs.
This is going to be hard work. In essence, Leo has to be kindly and patiently deposed, his crown removed, so that over time he is relieved of the burden of responsibility. He will then become more tolerant of being touched, wanting less to do such things as kill passing cars and chase off joggers. He will stop his pacing, cease his bouts of destruction, humping and weeing on poor Pluto and so on, and RELAX!
21.08.2011
Irish Wolfhound, Leonberger
Toffee is a beautiful Viszla- quite petite for the breed. She is a nervous dog – and has been since she was a puppy. She is an obsessive shadow chaser and (very unusually) already doing this at eight weeks old when they brought her home. He mother apparently also chased shadows as did one of her brothers, and I wonder whether it’s a case of ‘puppy see – puppy do‘.
Toffee is anxious and reactive to many things: she stresses when people disappear from sight, she is scared of the sound of her food bowl on the floor, she doesn’t like people invading her space unless on her own terms, she warns off even family members getting too near her mistress and she barks frantically at even her owners carrying something she doesn’t recognise. She is likely to ‘upredictably’ go for certain dogs when on walks, particularly if they are either too near her lady owner or if there is food involved. It looks as though she’s unpredictable, sometimes going for other dogs or nipping people who go into her space, and sometimes not, but a lot of this behaviour will depend upon how much stress has already built up inside her.
In addition to her temperament being on the nervous side, Toffee has been given the additional burden of decision making. It’s only when people see the whole picture through the eyes of an objective outsider that many owners realise just how much homage they have bestowed on their dog in the name of love – and just how much their dog calls the tune, which can put enormous pressure on her.
We will never change Toffee’s basic nature, nor would we want to, but a good dose of sound leadership will do wonders for her stress levels, resulting in calmer walks, a more confident Toffee and less ‘unpredictability’.
17.08.2011
Uncategorized, Unpredictable, Viszla, chasing shadows, nipping
Lyssa is a very little Terrier with very big ears! She is just eleven months old, not much more than a puppy really.
She previously lived with an old man in a flat, and rarely went out. She slept with him on his bed and toileted on a puppy pad in the corridor – and it’s clear she was punished if she did it anywhere else.
In the past ten days Lyssa’s life has completely changed. She was in Wood Green for a couple of days and quickly adopted by a couple with two children. From what must have been a quiet life, the sole companion of an elderly man, she now lives in an active, noisy household. I think she is adapting amazingly well, with a few teething problems.
One is the toileting indoors. She likes to toilet when nobody is watching, as though she is expecting punishment. Her new people may stay outside with her for an hour, but while they are watching she won’t go – and as soon as she comes in she will go somewhere in the house, out of sight. On the occasion they do see her ‘go’ outside, they understandably lavish her with praise and fuss. This must be very confusing for her – after all, it is a natural function. I see the way forward here as to simply accept there will be some accidents in the house whilst keeping her in an area with washable floors, making sure she has plenty of access to outside, taking her out but leaving her to get on it with it, and just be thankful she’s not a Great Dane!
Because she is likely to be scared of retribution, she is probably therefore holding her wee and poo, so as soon as she is at all stressed like when they go out, go to bed or somebody comes, she just goes on the floor. She can’t help it.
Lyssa is also having problems being alone at night for the first time in her life.
Providing her with kind and consistent leadership, not overdoing the petting, keeping comings and goings casual and for the children to try to back off a little, will I’m sure do the trick.
The other problem which they need to deal with is her behaviour on lead, and we will need to start from scratch just as if she were a puppy.
14.08.2011
Separation Anxiety, Terrier, Toiletting indoors, Uncategorized
Yesterday I visited another pair of large dogs that are wonderful in the house but who are giving the lady owner problems out on walks.
Kaiser and Boodie are most unusal and stunning to look at. They are young cream-coloured German Shepherds, both in their third year. Their experienced German Shepherd owners have given their dogs a perfect mixture of love, discipline and socialisation. Unfortunately, the man is now no longer fit enough to walk the dogs, so it is his wife’s job.
It is such a shame when a dog that used to absolutely fine with other dogs is attacked by one. Sometimes ‘life happens’. An off-lead Staffie went for Kaiser back in January and since then he has become very wary and reactive to any dog he feels might be aggressive, especially if they bark or make a noise. The lady was naturally very shaken after this attack and came home in tears. So, in addition to coping with being attacked, Kaiser also had his owner’s weakness to deal with. It is so often the case that when the dog most needs our calm strong moral support, we go to pieces.
The same thing happened to my own Shepherd Milly a while ago. A Staffie leapt over a wall and went for her. Because due to my experience I wasn’t fazed I reacted calmly and knew what to do. I stood talking to the gentleman owner for a few minutes. On our way back past that wall Milly was unconcerned. Fortunately, thanks to her long coat she was more or less unharmed.
Sadly, it is often Staffies who are the culprits, and this is nothing to do with the fact they are Staffordshire Bull Terriers. It is to do with the type of owners who choose them. This I know is a gross generalisation so I humbly apologise to the kind of SBT owners who would be reading this, but too often they are owned by people who don’t use leads and whose way of disciplining their dogs is very harsh, and too often they are not bred carefully for temperament. I have met many wonderful Staffies.
Anyway, my client is a lady who last weekend was pulled over and dragged along the ground by her two dogs when Kaiser lunged towards a dog he didn’t like the look of, backed up by Boodie. The lady has a cut face and injuries to her arm and legs. She needs help. Previous walking has depended upon the man or the son being strong and the use of choke chains. The lady needs these dogs to walk beside her through choice and for Kaiser not to be on the defensive, so she needs different equipment and to learn a completely different walking technique.
Home life with these two dogs is harmonious in every other respect, but now that they have this problem the lady will need to gain stronger leadership so that Kaiser doesn’t feel he is in charge, needing to protect her and himself from other dogs, looking to her instead.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
07.08.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, German Shepherd, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, attacked by another dog, cream german shepherd
I’m just back from seeing two wonderful black Labradors, both male, Raj and Sumo. They are no problem at home, friendly, polite and biddable, and if it were not for behaviour around lead walking and getting into the car, they would be the perfect dogs!
Raj now has three legs. A couple of years ago he had several operations which ended in amputation. It seems the trouble really started after what must have been a traumatic time of his life.
Raj gets frantically excited around getting into the car, so much so that he may even redirect his overflowing stress by lunging at Sumo. Going in the car usually either means going to stay with the couple’s son, or an off-lead run. At first sight of a suitcase Raj starts working himself up, frantic to get to the car. He jumps, whines and screams. Once in, he needs to grab something and has to be held to allow Sumo in safely. Getting back into the car to go home is exactly the same chaos.
The two dogs are well-disciplined and well-trained – wonderful at home. There have chickens roaming freely in the garden that the dogs ignore, and they get on well with the cat. They are good with children. But, when it’s time to go out, they change.
Walks start off in an excited fashion, with pulling on lead and with lunging towards dogs and people, not necessarily aggressively but because they seldom encounter them. These are big dogs, and the lady owner is quite petite.
Having made sure that all aspects of leadership are in place at home – which is nearly the case already – we now have specific strategies to transform walks into something where the dogs walk loosely (after some work), and most importantly, an incremental plan to transform Raj’s behaviour around entering the car. With calm walks and easy behaviour around the car, these dogs will indeed be perfect!
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
06.08.2011
Black labrador, Labrador, car
I have just visited two more dogs living together that on occasion fight. Harry and Star, both terrier mixes, have always had a volatile relationship. They are both in their third year, and were adopted as puppies. Star must have some border terrier in her, and Harry is mostly Tibetan Terrier (sorry about the photo – the leads and harnesses were so we could relax should anything kick off, which it didn’t).
Harry seems quite laid back, but Star is an anxious and hyper little dog, and their owner has just moved house three weeks ago. The general stress of the situation has rubbed off on the dogs and their fights have increased. Every fighting incident has been where Star’s stress has erupted and she redirects it onto Harry. She is wound up by excitement. Harry has now begun to retaliate.
These dogs simply don’t have sufficient calm, authoritative leadership. They are loved dearly, but ‘love’ isn’t the issue. Various ‘training’ techniques have been tried, including punishment, and some I believe have actually made things worse. The dogs get mixed messages. The notion that ‘give her enough e
xercise and it will calm Star down’ clearly has not worked and is totally wrong in my view. A dog living naturally isn’t stressed and certainly would not waste energy running around for no reason at all. Too much stimulation merely adds stress to our simmering pressure cooker.
The owner is now going to learn how to be to be Top Dog! If she changes the dogs will surely change. Much of the time the two dogs are perfectly happy together and play nicely.
The name of the game is stress-reduction. All sorts of things can be translated into stress – chase games, excitement before walks, meeting other dogs, attacking the hoover or post, excited greetings, visitors and the owner’s own mood. Keeping calm, avoiding all the little things that add stress into Star’s ‘pressure cooker’ and giving both dogs some calm and quiet rules and boundaries will I know make life very different for both Star and Harry – and their humans, and my job is to show them exactly how to achieve this.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
05.08.2011
Terrier, fighting
Just under four weeks ago I visited William and Fergus – Whippet brothers that fought (their story is a few posts down). Walks were a nightmare as the excitable William would redirect his stress onto Fergus, especially if they came across a cat – to such an extent that they were muzzled on walks. Both dogs would pull. They might fight at the gate and they might fight in the car if they saw a cat. As in most cases, there were other issues that contributed to the problems the lady was having with her lovely dogs.
Their story deserves another write-up, because it is a perfect example of how progress is closely linked to how carefully, calmly and diligently the owners stick to their plan and apply themselves.
I have just received a lovely email, together with this picture of the two dogs:
“I’m really pleased to be emailing you to tell you how well behaved the boys have been this week (in fact I’m bursting to tell you!). I want others to know that this really does work – and I am enjoying it and enjoying my dogs even more than I did before. It is such a pleasure to walk well behaved dogs!
William has at long last put some weight on, and I put this down to the better food that you recommended and the fact that he is not anxiously running about anymore.
Last Sunday we went for a walk along the canal, which was very busy. I walked both dogs together, they were excellent. When we started off William was over excited and trying to rush ahead, I did the work and after about 10 mins and only covering about 10 metres he finally calmed down and we were on our way with two very well behaved dogs. The best bit was when we approached a couple sitting on the bank next to their barge, they had five (yes five) Italian Greyhounds basking on the grass beside them along with two CATS!!! I was astounded at how well behaved my boys were, we stopped to speak to the owners for a few minutes (the cats moved on to the bow of the boat) and either the boys didn’t see them (although not sure how they could have missed them) or they really are settling and feeling more relaxed (I know I am).
Further on we let them off individually and as seems to be the norm now they came back when called and were generally little stars. A bit further on we had to walk through a field with sheep in it. Once again the dogs were brilliant and I was whooping with joy, they walked through the field and showed no interest at all (the sheep were very helpful and didn’t run away) about two fields on we met sheep again, these sheep did run off and William got a little excited (but I think that was more about the sheep poo that he was trying to hoover up) so I did a little bit of ‘lets go’ and once again he calmed down and we continued. When we arrived back in the village we met a cat – they definitely saw it and their ears went up, I turned round immediately and walked back down the road, once they seemed settled I turned back again and walked calmly back to the car – amazing, this would never have happened before and I would have been a nervous wreck.
Its amazing that in almost 4 weeks we have had no aggression between the dogs, I am feeling so much more confident.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
03.08.2011
cats, fighting, whippet
My photo doesn’t do justice to Caesar at all. He is a 16-month old GSD with a wonderful temperament. He is a good example of a dog that is well-trained, he knows and obeys many commands and hand signals, but when it comes to something important like not jumping onto people, not pulling on lead and barking at horses (the rider could be thrown) he chooses to do his own thing! A typical teenager in fact.
The walk experience is not as relaxed and pleasant as it should be. Imagine a dog’s discomfort when pulling against a choke chain collar (‘choke’ being the operative word), being held on a tight lead and constantly corrected, when with a bit of work he could be walking beside his owner like there was no lead at all through his own choice. Advice from ex-police type trainers usually advocates the use of choke chains and dominance because those dogs are being trained for something that isn’t being simply a family pet and companion. I was in time to stop the owners buying a pinch (prong) collar – that was their next step in trying to stop their big dog pulling. These gadgets are about humans forcing their will upon the dog, not about the dog happily complying because he wants to. Do we really want to do this sort of thing to a wonderful, gentle natured dog – or to any dog in fact?
Walks don’t start outside the door. They start at home with general leadership skills so that the dog is calm and predisposed to cooperate. In a way it’s a lot more effort as gadgets can seem like a quick fix, but people I go to call me out because they love their dogs, and putting in some time and work is not an issue. They just need to be shown what to do. An owner may feel it’s OK being jumped on and obeying the dog’s demands in the house, but it’s not really good for the dog’s ‘upbringing’ if he’s to mature into a respectful, trustworthy adult that can be taken anywhere. Along with his being given the notion that he is the decision-maker come responsibilities of leadership – including leading the way when out on a walk.
By some simple modifications in the behaviour of the humans, the behaviour of the dog can change radically over a period of time.
The bottom line is, if we want the behaviour of our dog to change, then we need to change our own behaviour. ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always gotten’ (anon).
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
28.07.2011
GSD, German Shepherd, Pulling on lead, barking at horses
Monty, a Tibetan Terrier, is 9 months old and a typical teenager! If you want an easy life, you don’t choose the bravest, biggest and most bossy puppy in the litter. This was Monty. He stood out from the rest as a character. Now adolescent, they are facing defiance and lack of respect big time – especially the lady.
We didn’t start off too well! As soon as Monty’s owners opened the front door to let me in, Monty legged it! The houses are surrounded by wooodland and as they tried all the tricks to catch him, Monty stayed just out of reach, teasing them. What a game! Fortunately with treats and patience and because he was curious about this new person in his house, I got him back in the end. The moral is that he simply must never be near the open front door – certainly not until a lot of work has been done with him, because it’s a certainty that given the chance he will be out again and they may not be so lucky next time. Despite the immediate rural surroundings, roads are not far away.
Monty is in charge. He makes most of the decisions. He decides where he sleeps, he eats in his own good time, he dictates when he gets attention and in his mind he decides where he goes on a walk – always well ahead on a retractable lead. He even goes on strike if he decides he doesn’t want to walk any more. He has taken to jumping on the lady whether she is sitting down, standing or on a walk, leaping at her arms which are badly bruised by his teeth and biting her back if she turns away. They love him dearly and the lady understandably finds this bullying very upsetting. If she says ‘No’ to him it’s is like a red rag to a bull! The man has a bit more control but only because Monty is a bit scared of him. Monty is like a naughty spoilt child.
It can take an outsider in an objective way to wake people up to just what is happening. They can now see that a dog that rules the roost just like a spoilt child, is not necessarily a happy dog. Throughout the meeting we worked on his pushy behaviour, and then it was time for the gentleman to take him for his evening toilet walk. Instead of playing chase games before allowing his harness to be put on, we achieved a calm and cooperative exit from the house. If the man needed proof that the behaviour of the humans around Monty was affecting his behaviour, the transformed walk did it.
They are going to work on being non-confrontational. I suggested they avoid the word ‘No’ as far as they possibly can. ‘No’ doesn’t tell the dog what he should be doing, only what we don’t want him to do. There are more effective and positive ways of gaining Monty’s cooperation. They will set rules and boundaries and maintain them consistentaly and fairly, in a way that Monty understands. Real love is about being bothered to be consistent and just as with children, teaching them self-discipline kindly and the sort of behaviour that means they fit happily into society.
Brushing up on dog-parenting skills is, again, the key.
A week has gone by and they are off to a very good start: “I would say there has been a massive change with Monty, since your visit the house seems so much calmer and so does he. He is sleeping far more, it is almost like he knows he can chill out now because someone else is the leader and he does not have to worry about it anymore. He also seems to enjoy the gentle “loose lead” walks, he does not seem to mind they we are not going further a field at the moment. The stress and angst from all three of us has disappeared, the difference it is making already is brilliant, I cannot begin to tell you how lovely it is to have a peaceful home back, with no shouting or running around like a lunatic after Monty. The word “no” is banned. When I think back now to all the shouting we were doing, no wonder he was stressed! I know it sounds silly, but he actually looks more like a puppy again in his face”.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
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25.07.2011
Tibetan Terrier, runnig off
Jack is a delightful Border Terrier. Having checked me out and sniffed me thoroughly he brought me a toy, and then was so chilled that he spent much of the time I was there asleep!
The couple have had Jack for about three months now – he used to belong to a friend. Previous to that they used to look after him regularly, and cried when they had to give him back, so they were thrilled when the friends said they could have him.
Jack’s life has changed greatly from being part of a busy family without too much attention, to living with a couple and being the centre of their lives. It’s possible this is backfiring a little as the humans are now perhaps dancing a little too much to his tune! A dog, however well behaved he is at home, who has his owners doing his bidding, will be assuming some of the leader’s duties of decision-making and protection. This becomes a problem when leadership is most needed – away from home, out in the big dangerous exciting wide world. I have seen well-behaved calm house dogs changing when out on walks into dog-reactive pullers on lead countless times.
So, in order for walks to be enjoyable, leadership has to be in place at home. By leadership I don’t mean harsh commands and a rigid disciplinary routine but something a lot more gentle. A subtle shift in who obeys whom, who makes the decisions, who is responsible for safety, who is in charge of the food and who initiates most of the play.
A dog that is very excited before leaving the house, that charges ahead through the door and who pulls down the road to the extent that his tight collar is making him gag, is not a dog confidently walking with a leader. He is tense. His neck must be uncomfortable. When they see another dog the discomfort and tension increase as the owner thinks ‘heck- a dog!’ and passes the message down a tightened lead.
In Jack’s case his recall is excellent, and he is only reactive or aggressive to certain dogs on certain occasions. His ‘unpredictabilty’ will be to do with stress build-up. He is very obsessed with a particular ball that they take and which they use to ‘tire him out’. Like with a key on clockwork, overdoing the chasing games stimulates his prey-drive and can wind up a dog until he is so highly sprung he’s ready to go for almost anything.
I know from extensive experience that dogs who are not over-stimulated, who do natural doggy things like sniffing, marking, short bursts of hunting and running at their own pace exactly as they would if left to their own devices, are in a far better state of mind when it comes to encountering other dogs.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
21.07.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Border Terrier, Pulling on lead
I went to see Brian in April, and today I met his new companion. Little Boo, another terrier mix, has the same mother as Brian, but they look very different.
Boo is about 8 weeks old and has only been there for two days. Already the two dogs a good buddies, playing and sleeping together.
Br
ian has just gone out through the flap – Boo will soon learn!
The fun and games are about to begin!
16.07.2011
Terrier, Uncategorized, puppy
I have been in touch with two different people recently who have taken on a young dog in their old age.
Border Collie Zac is one such dog. The situation is incredibly sad. His elderly owner, Barry, was sold him as a puppy three years ago when his wife died. Then, unable to look after himself, Barry has had to move in with his son and daughter-in-law.
Zac now lives in Barry’s bedroom which happens to be the conservatory. You can imagine how hot that is at this time of year. He can’t go into other parts of the house nor freely out into the garden on account of his son’s two cocker spaniels – because the dogs fight.
So here we have a three-year-old Border Colle who lives in one hot room with an old man and three cats, and who is taken out on lead once a day for ten minutes if he is lucky, resulting in indoor toiletting at times, and he has become fat. He has become territorial which isn’t surprising – although I didn’t experience this myself.
Barry loves Zac and says that he is ‘family’. Zac is a link to happier times when he had his own life and he doesn’t want to give him up. However, his son and daughter-in-law can’t cope. I really hope that, having talked to Barry, he will be able to see Zac’s life from a dog’s point of view, and that he will be prepared to make the ultimate loving sacrifice for him by allowing him to go to a more suitable home. He is a gorgeous boy – amazingly good given the circumstances – which is tribute to Barry’s ‘parenting’ in the early days before having to move out of his own home.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
16.07.2011
Border Collie
It can be heartbreaking for someone who, rather than getting a puppy, rescues a dog in need of a home, only to find out that there are hidden agendas that start to come to the surface after a week or two. By this time it’s often too late because they have fallen in love with the dog, and anyway the dog probably may well not be rehomable if biting is involved (knowing this, biting was probably the reason the previous owners didn’t come clean to the rescue centre).
So it is with Simon, an enchanting terrier mix who is cat obsessed and hates other dogs with a vengeance. He has bitten his new lady owner when fired up over another dog on a walk. What the lady, a first time dog owner, naively thought she was getting in Simon was a dog she could take camping with the family, who would sit quietly with them in a pub garden and walk off lead. Instead, she has a dog that is pulling, lunging and wanting to attack any dog, and who can’t be taken out with them for fear of going ballistic if he spots another dog. She is even unable to go on holiday this year because she can’t leave Simon in kennels. He was so distressed around other dogs during his short stay in rescue kennels that they had him in the office, so kennelling isn’t an option. Leaving him with a dog sitter is clearly out of the question.
The lady has already been with another trainer but in some respects Simon is getting worse, and the methods don’t rest easy with her. It seems that nobody has really looked at things from the dog’s point of view, behaving as the dog would expect a leader to behave rather than by using domination techniques. A good mum or dad can instill discipline, set boundaries and earn respect whilst still being kind, without being ‘dominant’ or over-controlling. So it is with a good dog leader.
There are so many good points about this dear little dog, far outweighing the bad. The lady is committed. With time and patience I am sure they will bring him around.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
10.07.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Terrier, cat obsessed
A couple of months ago I visted Belle, Rottweiller Labrador cross, and the situation was particularly difficult for her because she had been sidelined due to the lady’s personal circumstances
Now the lady’s life is back to normal, and because she is having difficulty walking Belle without her pulling and lunging at men, bikes and so on, I called again to demonstrate the loose lead walking technique.
As the lady opened the door, Belle was jumping all over me – so I could immediately see that my instructions had not been followed in this particular respect anyway! I suspected there would be other gaps. The lady was unable to ‘start’ the behaviour work for two or three weeks after I first called, so she had lost momentum and also forgotten quite a bit of the stuff despite the personal plan I sent to her.
So, I went out of her house again, waited a minute and knocked on the door once more. We started the way I needed to continue – I wanted the upper hand!
We waited about ten minutes before stepping out the front after having put on Belle’s harness and lead, so she was completely calm. Then I walked up and down and backwards and forwards in the street. Belle was a dream. We passed a man whom she ignored. She had confidence in me. That is the secret. Then the lady took over.
This is a perfect example of how the dog’s confidence and respect needs to be earned in order for the dog to walk nicely and have faith in the handler. Too many owners spoil their dogs to extreme, pander to their wishes, worship them, and then expect to take charge once the front door is open.
Soon this lady will be walking down the road with her beautiful big dog, and people like me will drive past thinking ‘it’s so nice to see a dog walking like that‘.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
08.07.2011
Rottie, Rottweiler, loose lead
Whippets are just so delicate and graceful. To look at them it’s hard to imagine they could ever cause any trouble!
These two beautiful siblings are now four years old, and have lived with their family for eighteen months. They have very different personalities, and for most of the time they are model pets. Whippet William on the left is much more excitable than Whippet Fergus, who is more controlling. This can cause trouble between the dogs, and though they are the best of mates, sleeping and playing together, there are certain flash points which suddenly cause them to turn on each other. William’s excitement starts it, firing Fergus up, and in no time there is blood. It’s over as fast as it started. This is usually happening around walks, at the gate and encountering challenges like cats – and around food. William’s over-excited behaviour at the door before the start of a walk may cause Fergus to ‘sort’ William. William, redirecting his stress, even bit the lady owner, so now both dogs are muzzled when out.
All walks start with William running and prancing about, making it hard to catch him to put on his lead, whilst Fergus waits. Walks start off on the wrong note with tight uncomfortable leads and a tense owner on ‘cat watch’. They are going to need patience so that William learns to calm down. You can’t force a dog to become calm, you have to work at it in all areas of his life, understanding that stress builds up over time. Calmness has to happen from the inside. The humans will be working to provide calm leadership in a way understood by the dogs – in all areas of their lives.
08.07.2011
Uncategorized, attacking brother, whippet
Great Dane Blue and Boxer Sebastian lived happily together with their owners. Both dogs have their own traits – Blue is a bit needy probably due to health issues when he was a puppy, and Sebastian is very exuberant.
Then, about a year ago, they added Harry, a St.Bernard, to the mix. Things seemed to go very well until about four weeks ago when the St.Bernard and the Boxer had their first big fight. Since then, as soon as they have come into each other’s presence there has been a big fight and damage, especially to Sebastian. The situation seemed to come out of the blue, but in hindsight the unchecked play between the two dogs was becoming extreme and should have been a warning sign. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I personally I nip in the bud boisterous play between my own dogs the minute it looks like getting out of hand with any body-slamming or ‘hunting down’. The problem now with Harry and Sebastian is that their entry level is hackles, snarling and FIGHT.
The ingredients seem to a mix of Blue, who keeps out of the way, but generally hypes up the atmosphere with excessive barking and anxiety especially if the lady of the house is out of sight, and Sebastian who tends to be over-excitable. One-year-old Great Dane Harry is a calmer dog, but is now an adolescent challenging Sebastian, and there is a lot of testosterone flying about.
In order to keep the two dogs separate means constantly moving dogs about the house like chess pieces, two in the garden while the third comes downstairs, one in the utility room while two are fed elsewhere, two upstairs while the third is let out into the garden – and so on. Very difficult. The people are incredibly patient and doing everything they can possibly find to remedy the situation between their beloved dogs, but are naturally extremely worried and wonder whether it will ever end.
Not having witnessed the fighting, I have to guess what triggers it. I suspect a cocktail of doggy personalities, over-excitement, stress and teenage testosterone. Most have kicked off in doorways.
We are working on the humans gaining leadership on all fronts, and on creating as calm an atmosphere as possible. Meanwhile, so that the humans will be able to relax when the rehabilitation process begins, both dogs will be introduced to muzzles in such a way that over the next two or three weeks they will learn to welcome them and happily be able to spend some time muzzled. Sebastian will probably get his off and eat it! However, Harry is the main aggressor and does the most damage.
Now, with a calmer environment, leadership in place and muzzles accepted, they need to work at re-introducing the dogs bit by bit, initially just walking one past the other a few times on lead at home, interrupting any eye-balling, along with parallel walking techniques out in the open. I sincerely hope that this works and that the two dogs, like some humans, do not now hate each other to the extent they simply can’t live together. Splitting up a St.Bernard fighting a large Boxer is no joke.
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08.07.2011
Boxer, Great Dane, Saint Bernard, St. Bernard, Uncategorized, fighting
I originally met Deefer sixteen months ago when she was just eleven weeks old and living with three other dogs.
Now a large adult dog who could pull her owner over quite easily, the lady has been trying to get her to walk nicely on lead. She has been practising in the small garden but Deefer pulls madly once out through the gate, and the lady was close to dispair when she got back in touch with me.
I thought I would see for myself. To start with, we shut the other dogs well out of the way, in the garden, and then we had a cup of coffee while Deefer calmed right down. We put on her harness and finished our coffee. Once out in the front garden Deefer walked up and down with me beautifully on a long loose lead.
At the gate I waited without a word until Deefer hung back, opening and shutting it a little in front of her nose to prompt her. Quiet and calm is the order of the day. Then we stepped through. I had the training lead hooked to the front of a special harness which I find works a treat even with the heaviest dog. We walked happily back and forth outside the house whilst I resembled someone who had drunk a little too much wine! A couple of people even walked by, but Deefer didn’t react. Then the lady took over and Deefer continued to walk nicely. Then we went back in. A result.
The secret is a totally calm start – however long it takes. Once we get going, constantly changing direction, letting the lead out as we do so and slowing down – to give the dog plenty of time to catch up and plenty of encouragement, so that she works out for herself exactly what it is we want her to do.
Finally, it’s important to call it a day while things are still going well so as to end on a high note. That will mean very short sessions to start with.
If the lady starts with two five-minutes sessions a day out the front, over the weeks building up to ten minutes, then fifteen as she goes further afield, she will eventually be proud to be seen out and about with her beautiful big dog.
06.07.2011
Bull Mastiff, Pulling on lead, walk
Alfie is a Tibetan Terrier, age two and a half – and he has just had a summer hair cut. I love his big fluffy feet. Alfie has no really big problems, just some smaller ones that are beginning to escalate.
Walks are no longer enjoyable for the lady. Alfie has charged at a couple of other dogs, sounding very agggressive and incurring the wrath of the owners, though has done no damage – yet. Consequently he is walked on lead only and she is so worried that for a while she even muzzled him. The student son of the family finds him no trouble at all. He is a lot more dominant and forceful and this is the way he controls Alfie. Alfie will sense that he is a lot more confident. This approach is no good for the lady so she needs to work on her leadership skills in general so that Alfie walks beside her through choice and doesn’t feel it is his job to ‘deal with’ other dogs.
Alfie has one or two other little tricks that need resolving. He ‘colonises’ space under the table and may bite feet. He occupies doorways so people are forced to step over him, sometimes snapping as they do so. If someone gets up off the sofa he will move into their space, perhaps grumbling if they try to move him. He is also very pushy when humans are eating. In fact, he is ruling the roost! Being in charge is also scary for him, as he feels it is his job to chase away danger like small aircraft flying overhead, vehicles and trains rushing past, large animals like horses and cattle, and some other dogs.
Overall he needs some some kindly implemented rules and boundaries so that he learns respect.
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04.07.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, Biting, Tibetan Terrier, other dogs on walks, walk
What a wonderful looking pair.
There are a few minor issues to fix, but the main aims of my visit are to control Weimaraner Lulu’s territorial barking and hunting – for her to have reliable recall.
At present the dogs run freely off lead a lot of the time, so the price the owners would need to pay in terms of training and restricting Lulu’s freedom is probably not worth the gain in their eyes, and they may need to settle for the compromise of ‘much better recall‘, or on lead only if unsafe! When she sights a deer or a hare, without intensive long line work over a long period of time, they don’t stand a hope of getting her back. She has practised freelancing and hunting for a long time and has an extremely strong Weimaraner prey drive.
They live in a lovely house overlooking fields – ideal for Lulu’s sharp eyesight and keen hearing to spot animals or people in the distance resulting in a lot of barking. She has leapt the fence in the past. Some management solutions will help to a degree – including enclosing part of the garden.
Both dogs have been to obedience classes but obedience training doesn’t necessarily mean an obedient dog, or that the dog won’t choose to disobey a command!
The owners believed that Lulu ran the roost, but I saw it a little differently. In his quiet way Hugo shares the job. He mainly lets Lulu take responsibility for territorial stuff, but he has other tricks. He is protective of his personal space whilst not particularly respecting that of others. He plays games over food – controlling Lulu. He uses his ball to get people to repeatedly jump to his bidding and throw it whilst not letting them touch him. Because Lulu is more hyper, this disturbs him; he may try to control her by humping her, or he may get very worried if her stress levels get out of hand or cause the owners to get cross with her. Their toddler is a bit vulnerable when Lulu jumps over him or pushes past him to frantically chase or bark at something.
So once again it is a leadership issue. From early morning Lulu whines to get them up – and in order to stop her they go to her for fear of waking the baby – proving to her that whining works. She makes it very hard to get her collar and lead on before walks. As I said, a mix of more minor issues, but they all contribute to the overall situation where Lulu in particular ignores what she is being asked to do, her noisy territorial behaviour is causing them problems, she is stressed, and calmer Hugo is a worrier.
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01.07.2011
Barking, Uncategorized, Viszla, Wemerana, Wirehaired Viszla, hunting, recall, territorial barking
Tommy is so cute. He is an 18-month old Papillon who has lived with his new owners for a couple of months now. He seems to have had rather a strange start in life and was very thin and very stressed when they picked him up. He has put on a kilogram and has calmed down considerably though there is still way to go.
They are concerned because Tommy has started to snap, bark and growl at certain people. He also did this to me (my fault) and it gave me a clue as to the reason. If someone walks in his direction he can feel threatened and he is warning them away. He is wary of men in particular and this may be because, being taller, they loom over him more. I guess the only way to get an idea how huge humans must look to something so tiny would be to lie on the floor looking up at people approaching, leaning over and walking about.
Tommy is a clever little dog and doing all he can to get the humans around him dancing to his tune, without their really realising it! He knows exactly how to get attention by winding them up – and it works. He jumps up and over people. He jumps on dining chairs and onto the table given a chance. He quite enjoys being scolded for eating plants on the window sill or being chased to retrieve something. What fun!
He can be intimidated by certain people coming to the house, particularly if he is approached, including the gentleman owner when he comes home. If he is told not to do something in a confrontational way, he may be defiant whilst at the same time being scared. He is very easily excited. He may grab ankles of people walking or running in the garden, and he grabs the lead when going for a walk; he gets frantically excited when he sees another dog.
Jack has a great number of good points, but a few small issues are escalating – especially the warning snaps. It is so easy with a small and seriously cute dog to forget he is actually a dog. Just because he is small doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have certain boundaries and treat people with respect. How vulnerable he must feel on walks, trapped on the end of a lead, and forced into situations he would probably run away from if he were by himself.
Tommy’s issues can be resolved over time by seeing things from his point of view and giving him calm, decisive, consistent leadership. Doing everything possibly to reduce his stress levels will alone make a huge difference. This may seem a bit boring, but he doesn’t need stimulation – he can get excited all by himself!
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30.06.2011
Barking, Papillon, growling, snap
Holly is a German Shepherd with an impressive pedigree of champions – and with very big ears! A beautiful girl. She has been well trained by careful and caring owners.
I was called in to see them because of Holly’s reactivity to other dogs when she is on lead - seemingly changing character, snarling, lunging and acting scary and I saw her react in a similar way when the paper boy put the newspaper through the door. She is also very protective of her home territory which is a breed thing anyway but she is a bit extreme. She patrols the boundary of the property which is surrounded by a footpath, barking frantically if the person has a dog.
The lady feels she no longer is strong enough to walk her so the man is the dog walker. He was already making progress before I came, and being more confident than the lady he lets Holly off lead and has discovered that, off lead, Holly is a different dog. She may be a little wary of a dog and drop down, she may run wanting to play, she investigates and she will come away when called.
Like most people who phone me, they start off by listing their dog’s good qualities, feeling disloyal when they start to list problems. It is very common for me to hear ‘she is no trouble at all at home – it’s only out on walks’. As with Holly, I usually discover that there are relevant issues at home. Her good points indeed far outweigh any negatives. However, she persistently jumps at people whether they are sitting or standing, especially visitors, and she gets in quite a panic at people going past with dogs, the postman and even squirrels.
Holly is a good example of where training alone doesn’t provided the answer. For example, she understands No and Off but she will jump up again if she feels like it. Holly’s recall is usually good and she has been trained to’come’, but she will ignore it if she is boundary barking. She could possibly be stopped with a training gadget like an air collar – but this wouldn’t get to the root of the problem. It would be a quick fix and probably make things worse – like a plaster keeping a festering wound out of sight. It is the same when they encounter other dogs. No amount of ‘training’ would stop her feeling as she does. This is a psychological behavioural issue requiring calm, patient and consistent leadership – not commands.
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29.06.2011
Aggressive to other dogs, German Shepherd, Uncategorized, other dogs on walks
Lugh and Idris are gorgeous very well-loved 14-month-old Jack Russel/Parson mix Terriers with a few unwanted behaviours creeping in.
The owners are ‘bringing them up’ in a fair and caring way and th dogs are mostly well-behaved, although they may be doted on a little too much by the lady in particular. She gets very worried, especially out on walks, because both have slipped their harnesses on occasion.
It is always strange to see two siblings living identical lives with such different personalities. However, different personalities cope with being ‘worshipped’ in different ways. Lugh is more confident and calmer. Idris is more highly strung.
I took no notice of the dogs when I arrived and this spooked Idris – used as he is to everyone paying homage. He barked at me. Lugh was much more chilled. Idris has started to play ‘owenership’ games over food resulting in a couple of fights between the two dogs. On walks Idris pulls and pulls though not Lugh. He is very hyped up when he sees other dogs, hackles up and barking. The dogs are never off lead and seldom go anywhere open because it requires a car journey – and neither dog travels well. Lugh is sick almost immediately and Idris panics. Both have slipped their harnesses in the street and the lady who is the main dog walker now feels so worried about this that along with the pulling walks are not enjoyable at all.
They will go back to the beginning with the walking so that Idris no longer pulls, with a strategy for when they encounter other dogs, along with equipment which gives the lady confidence that the dogs can’t possibly be Houdinis. They also have a plan to gradually work on the dogs’ anxiety in the car. Backing all this up, leadership skills at home need working on, especially around food.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
28.06.2011
Jack Russell, Parsons, Terrier, Uncategorized
Lurcher Bovril is a sweet, gentle natured dog with two problems. He has separation distress big time, and he is scared of other dogs.
He is now six years old and came to live with his lady owner about three years ago. Before that he was kept in single a room with lots of other dogs and in a terrible condition, full of parasites. He was, however, never alone. It is puzzling why he should be so scared of other dogs now. Maybe he was bullied.
The family has dwindled from four to one in the past few months as people have left home, and the lady has not been at work for a long while. She and Bovril are inseparable. He sleeps in her bedroom and keeps his eye on her all day. He will cry when she is out of sight even though he knows she is in the house, and he will howl constantly while she is out. Even when the daughters are there to look after him, he paces and cries until the lady gets back. If she goes away he simply doesn’t eat and he is already a very thin dog. The lady has no freedom.
When on walks another dog comes towards them, especially an off-lead dog, Bovril wants to run and hide, but because he has to be on lead all he can do is to wrap himself around the lady’s legs in panic.
Bovril is badly in need of a ‘leader’. A ‘rock’. They have so wanted to compensate for his start in life that it has made him insecure and needy. He makes all his own decisions and there are no boundaries, which I believe with a sensitive dog can lead to insecurity. He chooses where he sleeps, he chooses when he eats, he chooses when people play with him or touch him. Being the ‘decision-maker’ comes with responsibilities that he’s not temperamentally up to. When the lady is out of sight he panics like you would if your three-year-old went missing. Out on walks, trapped on a lead with someone who is not his protector but more his responsibility, he feels very vulnerable when other dogs come their way.
The lady is moving house in a couple of weeks. She is going to start changing things right away, starting with very short indoor partings from Bovril. This will need to be done in tiny increments and it can take a long time. She will eventually need to go back to work. On walks he will no longer be held tight when other dogs are about. He will have a longer lead and when they see another dog the lady will be his ‘rock’ and act appropriately.
26.06.2011
Lurcher, Separation Anxiety, Uncategorized, scared of other dogs
It is a very hot day and you can see German Shepherd Tasha is keeping as cool as possible on the stone floor. She was happy to see me when I arrived as she is with all people. When her new owners inherited her about four months ago she would jump up, but no longer.
Tasha is similar to other two dogs I’ve most recently visited in that she is fine at home, good with people, but not so good with other dogs out on walks. When this is the case I can usually bet that before even encountering other dogs things aren’t going as well as they should. The dog will not be walking on a loose lead, sniffing and doing doggy-walk things. She will be pulling and she will be on the alert. A tight short lead gives no freedom and a retractable/extendable lead that is never loose will only compound the problem.
The owners had their previous two German Shepherds from puppies but Tasha is five years old. They were taken by surprise when she suddenly lunged and snarled at another dog. It seems likely that in the past Tasha was seldom walked on lead. She lived happily with another Shepherd. A dog on lead she is trapped and can’t freeze or flee, and there is a good chance that if she were free she would be quite OK with other dogs. Naturally they can’t test that yet. From that first lunge the lady owner in particular is scared and won’t walk Tasha alone any more. The gentleman holds the lead short and tight as soon as they spot another dog, irrespective of whether Tasha might be OK. They are in effect telling her that all dogs mean trouble, and Tasha will be reacting accordingly. It is a vicious circle.
Tasha now wears a Halti head collar which she tries to remove. Walks are increasingly stressful for both Tasha and her owners.
Once again we humans need to see things from the dog’s point of view and react appropriately. Firstly, in all areas of life, in behaving like leaders the will give Tasha the opportunity to make the right decisions because she wants to please, rather than having them imposed upon her. For instance, instead of charging out of the door first at the start of the walk, she will work it out for herself that the door simply won’t open for her until she hangs back so they can go out together. The same rule applies to pulling down the road. She will work it out for herself over the next few days that she will only progress anywhere when the lead is loose (which is easier than it sounds so long as handlers stop all ‘correcting’and ‘training’ ).
Without walking out calmly and nicely and without then walking happily on a loose lead, Tasha is going to be in a stressy state of mind when she is confronted with possible trouble – other dogs. Finally they will work towards being able to trust Tasha to come back when called, so that she can be off lead. I am pretty sure other dogs will then seem far less of a threat to her.
24.06.2011
GSD, German Shepherd, Uncategorized, other dogs on walks
Berkley is a brindled lurcher. He had been in rescue kennels for seven months before his new owners found him three weeks ago. Seven months! I cannot understand why nobody wanted him. He is beautiful, confident, friendly; he is calm – and he has been well trained by someone.
Berkely confidently knows what he wants. His new owners are being a little too obliging and I could see that he is beginning to call all the shots. I was called out because they want to get things right, and because they are worried about his reaction to other dogs when they get too near and are too boisterous, pushy or impolite. Berkely is quite happy to ignore them altogether and he makes this quite clear. Because, if they push it, he snaps at them and growls, his new owners are concerned he may bite one. They hold his lead tight. He is never yet off lead, and the dogs in question are all off lead dogs, so Berkley is at a disadvantage. He can’t escape and he can’t after all say ‘Go away, I don’t want you sniffing my bum!’ The owners need to be in control and save Berkley from awkward situations rather than push him into them. If he were free I am sure he could deal with dogs himself without a fight. This isn’t aggression. Understandablly they don’t yet dare let him off lead yet, so there is work to be done!
We had a very good evening looking at things from Berkley’s perspective so they could see if he continues to make all the decisions – when to be touched, when to be walked, when to play and when to stop playing, where to walk when they are out and so on, they could actually spoil a very sound dog.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
22.06.2011
Lurcher
It’s a pity I moved when I took my photo of this regal dog – she was posing beautifully!
Ruby’s owners have been living the sort of nightmare that would be a dog owners’ worst dream. She has never been good with other dogs, but one day a couple of months ago she killed an elderly Sheltie. One can only imagine what this must have been like for his owner. The repercussions have been huge, involving the police, the council and a local petition to have Ruby put down. The owners are conscientious dog owners and they are devastated. They now walk Ruby on lead only apart from one special place where they have never seen other dogs, and she is then muzzled. She is even muzzled from the house to the car – just in case.
At home, apart from a short bout of wary guard barking when someone arrives, Ruby is the model dog indoors. She is extremely well behaved and peaceful, if aloof. In her quiet way she politely rules the roost, which dog owners often can’t see for themselves when they are living in the middle of it. Once out of the door however, Ruby becomes a different dog. She believes she should decide where to go and she pulls ahead. She believes she is the one on protection duty. She is ready to see off any other dog and I fear in the case of the little Sheltie because he froze, Ruby dealt with him as she saw fit. It could have been exacerbated by the human panic from both owners rushing at her and shouting, as Ruby stood over him. She believes anything that moves is prey for her to hunt.
Ruby is now seven years old and came to live with them at the age of three; the damage will probably have been done already. Whilst they are doing everything they can to play safe for the sake of any other dogs they may meet and also for Ruby herself, they have now called me out to do something about the root of the problem – controlling Ruby’s prey drive, protectiveness and freelancing. She makes the decisions – so once again it is a leadership (dog ‘parenting’) issue.
Ruby’s owners are prepared to do whatever it takes, and realise that there is no quick fix. Leadership starts at home. If ‘her ladyship’ is selective about coming over to them in the house whilst always getting any attention she wants on her own terms, why would she take much notice of them when called if she has another dog in view or a rabbit to chase?
What we are looking to achieve in the end is for Ruby to be trustworthy so far as taking no notice of other dogs, and to focus on them instead which will require bomb-proof recall. ‘Socialising’ is unrealistic.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
20.06.2011
Doberman, Dog killed dog, Sheltie
It is a difficult situation for Kaloo, a Newfoundland. Until recently he lived with another Newfie and their male owner. Recently they moved in with a lady who has two Springer Spaniels and two children, so two ‘packs’ are merging.
For Kaloo there are two areas of stress. One is the competition for ‘top dog’ status with Springer Pip, the other is being in a much more, to him, stressful environment with excitement, noise, boy shooting toy gun, trampoline and so on.
Kaloo is two and a half years old; until he went to live with the gentleman about 9 months ago he had been in rescue kennels for a long while, with a previous history when still a pup of guarding.
Now things are beginning to get dangerous. He is targeting the lady and has bitten her twice. He growls quite ferociously at her and at the two children. This mostly takes place when they want to walk past him – and he usually occupies the main access route to the doors. He has now begun to fly at people when they move suddenly, without the warning growl. He has occasional spats with the male Springer who has started to scent mark in the house and there has been blood. Kaloo is not a happy dog.
The lady is understandably very wary of Kaloo now which is making things worse, and quite rightly worried for her children as is the man.
It is always difficult to feel you are doing right by your own dogs when new dogs join your household. Things they were able to do before may now no longer be possible. The lady feels afraid to walk around her own house.
Poor Kaloo is confused and stressed. By understanding him better and by both working on human leadership as well as safety measures to manage the situation, I sincerely hope that this can be resolved. The man must take much better charge of Kaloo, work on getting him to come straight away when called so that he can avert trouble (at present he comes if he feels like it). Kaloo needs some form of physical restriction or containment when the man isn’t about. When he does growl the humans need to respond appropriately, taking charge whilst not retaliating with anger which would very quickly escalate things.
Growling isn’t for fun – it’s a warning. ‘Go away’. ‘Don’t move suddenly’, ‘Don’t come near me’. ‘Don’t walk through this door’. ‘Don’t come near this person’. It’s Catch 22. If the warning is obeyed then it reinforces growling. If it’s not obeyed the dog may then take it to the next step and if it is never obeyed the dog may well drop out warning altogether and go straight to biting, which I think is now happening with Kaloo and the lady. It’s moving in a dangerous direction.
The whole family needs to change the way they behave with the dogs – especially Kaloo, and to some extent the boy Springer. Meanwhile, ‘play safe’ is the golden rule.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
19.06.2011
Biting, Newfoundlan, Springer Spaniel, Uncategorized, growling
Yesterday it was a Miniature Schnauzer and today a Giant Schnauzer!
Benson is very Big and very regal. He is magnificent – a really lovely boy, and a teenager! He runs the show. After being let outside in the morning he runs upstairs and leaps all over people in bed, may even hump them and may growl if removed. He jumps up and barks while his meals are being prepared (ignoring repeated commands to sit and wait). He jumps up and barks while they try to put his lead on to go out and then pulls like a train down the road until he reaches the park. When let off lead, he may jump up and grab his owners. There is nowhere indoors he is not allowed to go. Benson and the other dog can’t have toys or chews because Benson commandeers them and becomes possessive. He is becoming increasingly protective and wary both when meeting people outside and at home. His owners are getting worried because signs of aggression are increasing.
He has some major plus points. He is aloof and ignores other dogs, so no trouble there. He can be very affectionate. He likes to keep an eye on his human pack, so apart from one time when he was spooked by a bicycle and took it upon himself to run home, he stays near them when out. When called, he comes – but only to within a few feet. Then they have to go over to him! He is still an adolescent and is pushing his luck. The power takeover can creep up on people as they give way bit by bit until they suddenly realise they are being controlled by their dog!
For Benson there is a downside to being King in that without leadership he feels exposed and unprotected so easily scared of things like bikes, pushchairs, umbrellas and so on. He also is scared when certain people, men mainly, look at him or lean over, approach directly or enter his personal space. A dog with convincing human leadership is much more relaxed and less touchy about his own personal space, less likely to worry about collecting and possessing trophies, jumping up, humping and dominating.
I read somewhere that a leader has a much greater need to lead than a follower has to follow. It can be a long job gently and fairly convincing a dog like this relinquish his responsibilites – to be more relaxed. Trying to do it through domination and force would make things a hundred times worse.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
17.06.2011
Giant Schnauzer, Jumping up, Miniature Schnauzer, Pulling on lead, Uncategorized, humping
I have been to quite a few Miniature Schnauzers of late. This won’t be because they are more troublesome than other breeds but because they are very popular at the moment.
Pepper is very small example of the breed and one year old. She is worshipped by a mainly female household. She is carried about, picked up, cuddled, kissed, greeted with high voiced excitement and obeyed. They all dote on her. Considering all this, Pepper is surprisingly well-adjusted! She must basically have an easy going by nature, given the chance.
Her main problem is excessive barking at people walking past, and at people coming to her house. Protecting the family group should be the job of the head of the family – or the leader. By being constantly ‘told’ that she is the most important member, this protection role falls upon Pepper. A dog already aroused with excited squeeky greetings and so on, will be much more ready to go into a frenzy of barking on hearing a noise outside.
Calm needs to be encouraged. The family needs to show Pepper that they are there to look after her – not the other way around. Leaving her to ‘get on with it’ when she barks as they often do simply isn’t leadership – neither is scolding her.
Pepper ‘belongs’ to the eight year old daughter (though she won’t know this!) and the child has quietly and calmly taught her a very neat routine of actions. It was wonderful to see Pepper wait one end of the large garden while the little girl walked away, and then run joyfully to her when she was called. It was a perfect example or how good a relationship between a child and a dog can be. Pepper is getting the best leadership from an eight year old! The rest of the family need to tone down the homage and put a few boundaries in place. Pepper has legs! Pepper can then learn to trust them to take on protection duty.
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16.06.2011
Uncategorized
I went to see Dandy, a Puggle (Pug Beagle cross) back in January, and because things were not going well I visited again yesterday. Due to his excess excitement they still felt unable to walk him out beyond their large garden. I knew as soon as I walked in and he was jumping excitedly up at me and on the lady, that they had not been following my instructions.
Dandy is easily stirred up when there are several people about, most especially the children and their friends, and commands and frustration hype him up further. He is very receptive to atmosphere.
The gentleman had a labrador as a child and his memory was of a large placid dog that calmly fitted in with everything the family wanted to do. Dandy is himself and can never be changed into something he’s not, and trying to supress his enthusiastic personality is in my mind making him ten times worse.
Little Dandy has absolutely no vices in my eyes! He is gentle, never aggressive, and biddable. He is a wonderful little character and if he were my dog I would find him great fun. He is very receptive if treated kindly. I hope they now try to help him out a little more and ease off. Allow him to have scatty times within reason and be hiimself. I found that by giving him positive encouragement we were out walking on the pavement in no time. He kept grabbing the lead, and I taught him kindly ‘drop’ it using tiny rewards.
This was fairly typical of a repeat visit to someone who is not doing well – in that the careful plan I had devised for them simply wasn’t being followed. They had their own ideas. I may be big-headed in saying that I probably know best! Having been to nearly nine hundred clients which means thousands of dogs, I have seen countless successes with owners taking their time, using patience and positive reinforcement. Little Dandy is only playing the cards he’s been dealt by the humans around him. Even after my efforts I’m still not sure the gentleman appreciates that we owe it to our dog to consider his doggy needs; he believes it is all about the dog fitting in with all their requirements. I remember as a teenager saying to my father after a row, ‘Well, you didn’t have to have me!’ If Dandy could speak, he may be saying the same thing.
The bottom line here is that they don’t actually seem to be enjoying their little dog. The couple don’t ‘drink from the same water bowl’ where he is concerned and it is causing conflict between them. This is adding more tension to the atmosphere which is effecting Dandy’s behaviour. I suggested they sat down over a bottle of wine and listed all his good points. To work at finding pleasure in him and treating his antics with a sense of humour. As in my previous post, to give him the sort of parenting they give to their children.
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10.06.2011
Puggle, Uncategorized
Kyra is a two year old Akita who a year ago was picked up as a very skinny stray.
Her conscientious owners started with a problem not created by themselves, and Kyra has come a long way. She is extremely restless and in all the time I was there she only lay down and relaxed properly for a couple of minutes . Because of her behaviour on lead and with other dogs, Kyra is now seldom walked. Because she chews her bed and wrecks her toys, she has no bed and little to occupy herself. She lives with a caring young couple and their three beautiful very small children that are a testament to their parenting skills.
Although she pulls badly on lead and is unpredicatable with other dogs, Kyra is very good with people, if over-excited and jumping up. She is fine with the children too. She seems most excited around the male owner and also a little scared of him. She goads him until he gets cross; she is obedient for him if he is sufficiently forceful. He indulges in hands on, exciting play believing that this is the kind of stimulation she needs to compensate for lack of walks, but to a dog like Kyra I liken this sort of thing to going on the Big Dipper – exciting and terrifying at the same time. When he walks towards her, if he gives her eye contact her she may wee. If she wees she may be scolded. The lady is less forceful and so Kyra takes less notice of what she asks her to do. Kyra is very confused – and so are they, because they have been doing their very best as they see it.
Their ‘dog parenting’ would work a lot better if they used the same sort of approach as they do with their children! This is a good example of humans giving what they believe to be leadership and it being lost on the confused dog.
They need to do everything they possibly can to reduce Kyra’s stress levels, and in order for this to happen she needs to have more happening in her life. She certainly does need stimulation, but not the kind that gets her hyped up. She needs short controlled sessions of things that encourage her to use her brain and only when she is calm. Because she is no longer walked at all, this actually will help my plan, because I want them to take it back to basics and start again, just as they would a puppy. Where someone who walks their dog for two hours a day might be horrified if I suggesed a few days of just several five-minute jaunts and no ‘proper walk’, to Kyra even one five minute session would be a bonus.
The bottom line here is that the methods they are using to give Kyra leadership so she can relax, respect and trust them, to get her to walk nicely and to calm down in general, are not working – so we need to do something completely different!
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09.06.2011
Akita, Japanese Akita, Pulling on lead, Uncategorized
Look at this for a face! Hector is an eight month old Miniature Schnauzer who looks like a teddy bear. He is a remarkably calm pup most of the time. He is intelligent and biddable. He has been given sensible boundaries from the start, but is now quietly testing them as teenagers do! It is amusing to see how much he can get his unsuspecting humans to do for him, on his own terms, and how he chooses just what he does for them on their terms. He knows exactly how far to push it!
This is typical puppy stuff which makes owners wonder whether it will ever end, and even causes some to give up.
The problem with Hector is his fearfulness. He is a very confident little dog when at home with his family, but when someone new comes into his house he barks at them and backs away. Out on walks when on lead he is likely to bark at people and dogs. The worst is that he barks at children. When young children come to the house from time to time he is very scared, and if they are toddling or walking about he barks incessantly at them and this sounds aggressive and scary. He is very reactive to children playing outside or riding past on bikes.
It is natural for a dog to be wary of small children. They move suddenly and upredictably, they can be noisy, and they often approach in what the dog perceives a threatening manner, directly and staring, and most likely with arms outstretched. The owners then get anxious or cross when the dog is barking or growling, which compounds the problem. If there isn’t opportunity to acclimatise the dog to young children every day or so over a period of time, then he needs to be protected and to have a ‘safe haven‘ where the children can’t go. In Hector’s case I suggested putting a gate on the kitchen doorway to keep the dog in and the children out. Maybe the child can throw little bits of the dogs dry food through the bars – but only if Hector is sufficienlty relaxed and not barking – so that he associates children with something nice.
Whether the dog is frightened of children, people, other dogs, traffic or anything else, it needs to be worked on gradually in a controlled way. Complete avoidance to start with and then introducing the trigger slowly and gradually whilst dealing with it the right way – never forcing the dog out of his comfort zone and being ready to retreat. Complete avoidance gives no opportunity to rehabilitate, but pushing ahead too fast can even result in shut down or aggression.
Hector is only eight months old, and with the right guidance and responses from his owners, over time he should gain his confidence.
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08.06.2011
Miniature Schnauzer, snauzer
Poppy is four and a half months old – and delightful!
She is a feisty puppy – with the usual mad tearing around sessions puppies have, especially in the evening. She has taken to barking persistently for attention, and like many people their response, telling the dog to be quiet and inevitably getting cross, gives her the attention she wants, and she becomes even more hyped up.
This results in Poppy using her teeth. Unfortunately she left her litter mates too young and never learnt proper bite inhibition. If, from the start, the moment they felt teeth they had given a short high squeal just as another puppy would have done, and turned away and blanked her every single time, she would no longer be nipping. Unfortunately loud ‘uh-uh’ and ‘no’ and scolding merely fires her up.
Not only her barking both for attention but also barking at things she hears and sees outside the window is getting worse. If one dog in a pack or group of dogs barks, usually the rest rush over as backup and start to bark also. When the owner shouts at the dog it has the sa
me effect. The poor puppy is already on protection duty, so the owner’s response is key. Would you shout ‘be quiet’ to a child at the window screaming that a man in a balaclave with a machine gun was walking up the path? No. Would you ignore him and let him deal with it himself? No.
For much of the day Poppy is relaxed and as good as gold. By seeing things from her point of view and reacting accordingly, these behaviour as will be nipped in the bud before they develop further.
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06.06.2011
West Highland Terrier, Westie, nipping
Ruby is a very thin dog. She is refusing to eat. Her brother Bandit, on the right, who lives with the owner’s friend is how Ruby should be looking.
This is a very worrying case because Ruby is anorexic.
Why, we still don’t know. It is also very puzzling. I thought before I arrived that it would be behaviour issues, common around fussy eaters, but now I am not so sure although certain events leading up to her refusing to eat could be relevant. Last year there was a family death, followed in October by the death of their other Lurcher – her father. The owners were experiencing great grief and Ruby was experiencing loss. Possibly they were over-compensating and redirecting their feelings onto Ruby and we know that dogs pick up on the emotions and stress of their humans.
However, by nature Ruby is a calm and confident dog. It is difficult to imagine she would be so badly effected so long after the eve
nt – several months. Usually when I go to see a dog, I can see quite quickly what the problem is and what to do about it. Not in this case. Everything points to a physical problem maybe made worse by the atmosphere of stress in her life and absence of the other dog. Either something medical, minor and passing, may have triggered off full blown anorexia, or unhappily maybe it is something chronic.
They have had extensive tests at the vet and Ruby has been on a drip to re-hydrate her a couple of weeks ago. They have discovered nothing. The last course of action will be to go to a vet hospital for observation and tests which would not help her if it is psychological. I have a fearful feeling that the gradual decline in appetite may be something sinister developing inside her as yet undiscovered.
I so hope not, and that Ruby will slowly pick up in an atmosphere of calm without fussing nor humans over-compensating for the loss of the other dog. Too much effort put into trying to get her to eat could well be having the opposite result. Her concerned owners are very emotional at the moment, understandably, and this can’t be helping.
But, driving home and gathering distance away from the situation, I felt uneasy. I noticed before I lost my Chocolate Labrador through heart disease a few months ago, that my other dogs sensed it and would lie down near her but make no demands on her at all. Even my young cocker spaniel lay still near her which was not like him at all. When an animals feel unwell they may even take themselves off somewhere alone. We can learn from other dogs. Be near. Just be there for her.
Four hours later: I have just had a phone call. Ruby has now, as we discussed, been to a different vet and has been diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, a disease of the adrenal glands. Serious but not usually fatal although requiring lifetime medication. She is staying in for at least a night on a drip and to get her going again. Great relief all round.
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03.06.2011
Addisons Disease in dogs, Lurcher, Uncategorized, anorexic dog
Staffies have a very bad press – mostly to do with (dare I say it) stupid humans. I try not to generalise too much about any breed because there are so may exceptions, but I would say that Staffies by and large are friendly and gentle – with humans. Other dogs may be another matter. The problem of dogs bred for the wrong reasons from unreliable stock, parents who are chosen for their aggression towards other dogs for instance, has resulted in the rescue centres being inundated with Staffordshire Bull Terriers. I love them. Just look at the photo of these two. They are so wanting to please!
Candy is laid back and would be very happy were it not for severe allergy problems. Alfie is friendly, gentle, biddable, a bit pushy with his persistent jumping up and also quite easily scared.
However, unlike Candy, he has the Staffie trait of being ‘aggressive’ to other dogs. In Alfie’s case I am sure this is fear. As a three-month old puppy he came already with scars, and he is fearful of quite a lot of things.
The owners would like to be able to walk Alfie as nicely as they do Candy – on a loose lead and ignoring other dogs, especially as in some months’ time they are expecting a new baby and want to be able to walk both dogs together beside the buggy. Alfie’s jumping up needs to stop along with jumping on the furniture. Loose lead walking needs to be established and his reactivity to other dogs sorted; ignoring them altogether may be the best we will achieve.
This all needs to be well in place before the baby arrives. Both dogs are good with young children so I don’t foresee any problems, particularly if they make sure people associate being around the baby with pleasant things, no scolding or anxiety whilst of course playing safe (see my previous post about Benjie the Westie and their cat). Naturally, dogs and young children and babies should never be left alone together.
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02.06.2011
Staff, Staffie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Westie Daisy, at ten months old, is not much more than a puppy.
She is friendly without being demanding, surprisingly relaxed for a little terrier, and very good on walks – not pulling on lead and coming back when she is called.
EXCEPT when she is on ‘Cat Alert’!
Her family has a cat and somehow when they brought Daisy home at about twelve weeks old they got off on the wrong foot. They were understandalby concerned that if she chased the cat, the cat might leave home, so there was a lot of anxiety focussed onto Daisy around the cat. The cat never had an opportunity to ‘bop’ her while she was tiny.
Now Daisy is obsessed. At the start of walks, she is ready to pull out of the front door because the cat could be lurking somewhere – and she will even run out down the street and into other gardens after it.
At the back door she is ready to tear out into the garden, barking at first hint of the cat, then she barks and agitates at a corner where it goes through the fence which is causing trouble with a neighbour.
Indoors the cat is upstairs and Daisy is downstairs until Daisy goes into her crate at night. All the time she has to know where the cat is, and during the day her favourite spot is on the bottom stair by the gate, on cat watch.
It would be nice for them to live in harmony together, and Daisy is obviously very stressed by the cat. When she does get near to it, she shakes. Because I didn’t actually see this as the cat was nowhere to be seen, I can’t decide whether this is fear or arousal or a mix of both, but either way the strategies to use are the same.
We have a plan! Daisy must get no more opportunities to practise the emotion of fixating and chasing the cat out the front – by being kept well away from the door unless controlled on lead. At the start of walks they may need to go in and out of the house many times, turning around and removing her from the situation each time she starts panting, barking or pulling. They need to take control of the situation for her. Up till now the cat has been associated with negative things – anxiety, scolding, ‘no‘ and the neck discomfort of being pulled back on lead. Now, I have shown them how, in tiny stages, to get Daisy to associate the cat with pleasant things, starting with rewarding her for giving her attention to them when asked and away from the cat, together with rewarding calm behaviour whilst looking at the cat. While the stairs are gated, this can be done in a controlled fashion with the cat on the stairs, and Daisy downstairs.
Soon they should be able to have them in the sitting room together, Daisy controlled on lead. The minute she shows any stress, she will be removed from the situation. No force will be used – just patience. they will get there all in good time.
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01.06.2011
Cat, Uncategorized, West Highland Terrier, Westie
Oh joy! I met Benjie a five-month-old Border Collie puppy yesterday evening.
It’s just too easy to forget what puppies are like, when you have been living with a mature dog for years. Whilst wanting to train him properly so that he grows into a reliable and obedient adult dog, it’s easy to expect far too much of a puppy and actually ending up with the opposite result.
At five months old one would expect a puppy to tear about, to get easily excited and especially to chew things. Just think how he would be if still with one of his brothers or sisters! Dealing with jumping all over chairs and people in a confrontational way, with lots of ‘No’ and Down’, pushing and getting cross, achieves the opposite. The puppy is hyped up and the behaviour accelerates to nipping and barking back – or worse, he gets scared. He is confused because he has no clue why people are angry. After all, a well-balanced older dog that doesn’t want to be jumped on won’t shout! What would he do? He would tip the exuberant youngster off and with his body language make it quite clear he didn’t want it. He would probably turn away or walk away.
As puppies become adolescent a confrontational approach usually makes the young dog defiant. He is now a teenager after all. He will answer back with either barking or teeth.
The rule is to keep calm, to repeatedly and consistently call the puppy away from what you don’t want him to do – he may even need to trail a short light lead for a while so you can help him to make the right decision (he may chew it!). Then let him know what it is you do want him to do. Give him an alternative whether it is coming to you for a short fuss or a treat, or giving him a toy or bone to chew. If he is very persistent, a few seconds behind a closed door may help the message to get through.
They have a four-year old son who plays too rough and excited with him and this is hyping Benjie up and teaching him the wrong things. They have tried this and that but not been consistent, and called me because they were not happy with having to be cross with him, nor the ‘forcing’ techniques they had been introduced to at a puppy class they attended just the once. While I was there I could myself demonstrate how to show Benjie not to jump all over me in a way that he understands. He is delightfully biddable whilst full of natural puppy fun.
Sometimes owners just need to be pointed in the right direction and know what puppy behaviour to expect. Benjie is a wonderful puppy and will grow up to be a cracking dog.
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30.05.2011
Border Collie, Jumping up, Uncategorized, puppy
Sky is a beautiful Border Collie. She is friendly and well-behaved but with one problem that is making her life less happy than it should be and worries her owners.
Sky is scared of metallic noises and wheels – especially young boys on those popular little scooters going past her garden and when out on walks. There are several living in their road. Listening for them passing her garden is becoming obsessive. She barks and charges about and gets very upset, and then take it out on the wheels of their wheelie bin! They manage to stop her barking by threatening to spray her with water, but to me that is like putting a sticking plaster on a dirty wound. It still festers underneath, getting worse, unless the cause of the problem is healed. Punishing barking is never a good idea. The dog is, in her mind, protecting herself and the family. Would we punish a child who screamed from the window ‘Help there is a man with a machine gun coming up the path’?
The final straw was when Sky managed to squeeze past them at the front door to chase a passing boy on a scooter. He dropped it and ran, and Sky ran after him. It demonstrates what a good dog she is that when she was told Come Back she did so.
Sky is also very scared of the metal ironing board, a metal ladder and noises associated with small wheels. This all seemed to start a while ago when she had a major hip operation, and I wonder whether the metallic sound of the cages being shut at the vets may have over-sensitised her so she now associates these sounds with a scary time in her life. We will never know.
The important thing is to find a way forward. This will be done by reducing all stress as far as possible along with not feeding her other little obsessive habits, like demanding ball play over and over, biting a table when the draw is opened and ‘catching’ feet. On walks, instead of allowing her to decide what to do when they encounter young children or scooters, they will make the decision for her – and lead her away to where she feels safe.
Then, with that and other groundwork in place, they will begin to desensitise her to metallic sounds and small wheels.
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29.05.2011
Barking, Border Collie, Obsessive compulsive behaviour, Uncategorized, pssessive
When I visited these two dogs today I expected the problem to be the Clumber Spaniel Casper, one year of age, jumping up, mouthing and generally too excitable. What I actually ‘read’ from the dogs when I got there was a different story altogether. OK, Casper did jump up, but with zero reinforcement that should be easy to stop given time. He was very excited and jumpy initially, but within quite a short time of getting nothing out of it at all from me, he was the model of a calm well-behaved dog (with just the occasional lapse to make sure!).
No, the real poblems were their ‘play‘ together escalating too quickly into something that could turn nasty, and Casper’s recall not being reliable enough when they met other people (whom he wanted to jump all over!). The reason soon became apparent. He was being subtly intimidated by Roxy, the bulldog.
They had thought that it was Casper who goaded Roxy into play, but it started off several times while I was there – mostly when the dogs became a little stirred up by either somebody getting up and moving about, or something outside to bark at, or even when Roxy wanted attention and couldn’t get it. They hadn’t recognised it, but it’s Roxy who is the initiator. She stared at Casper who tried to ignore her. She then pushed her bulldoggy
nose onto him. Then she would stand back and wait for her tactics to take effect and Casper to fire up. I never actually saw it get further than this to the stage where Casper was pushed to retaliate because it didn’t feel quite ‘right’, so I stepped in just as another dog would, in silence splitting them up before it got any further.
It was impossible to ask Casper to come, sit or lie down because he has to defer to Roxy who may be either in the way or eyeballing him. If they are given bones, it has to be three, because Roxy has to take Casper’s and can only cope with two! On a walk, Casper is less likely to come back if Roxy is in the way or if she is somewhere else. When they hear a noise, Roxy again is the initiator. One single bark is enough to start Casper off while he looks around anxiously to see what on earth he is meant to be barking at! I suspect some of Caspers excitability is due to stress caused by being torn between Roxy’s controlling behaviour and his wanting to cooperate with the owners. To me he appeared a little anxious - trying to obey Roxy whilst pleasing them.
With Roxy being relieved of her duties in the kindest way, with Casper learning that nobody, ever, reinforces his jumping up, and by working on his recall so that when they do meet people on walks he looks to them, not Roxy, and comes back rather than rushing up leaping all over them, life for everyone will be easier.
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24.05.2011
Bulldog, Clumber Spaniel, Jumping up, Uncategorized
It was quite exhausting being with poor Archie, a three year old Red Setter. It took an hour for him to settle down – briefly – before he was on the go again, catching imaginary flies and lick lick licking the sofa. Toileting indoors is also part of the picture, and energy rushes where he tears all over the place, over the sofas and dangerously near to knocking over their toddler.
It was like being in the presence of someone struggling with a nervous breakdown. One can understand that living with this can be frustrating for people who don’t know what to do about it. They love their beautiful, gentle dog – very small for a male of the breed – but their way of coping is the very opposite to what I would myself do.
I work on the theory that whatever people are doing, it isn’t working, else the dog wouldn’t be doing it any more. So, try the opposite or at least something very different. They had resorted to an electric shock collar, mostly used on ‘beep’, and compressed air spray, to shock the dog into stopping, and when he charges past the little girl they may resort to shouting and pinning him down. He is punished after the event if he has chewed a door frame when left outside alone, or if they find poo in the house.
I don’t want you to get the idea that these people want to be cruel, but they don’t know different and they are at their wit’s end. Methods advocated for correction in a certain popular TV programme and taken out of context are largely to blame.
I explained how you can look at stress levels rising in a dog like water rising in a bucket. Each time something happens – the postman comes, the dog gets left alone, he gets chastised and so on – a little more water drips into the stress bucket. A dog’s stress levels can take days to go back down again, so it’s not hard to see that the bucket will eventually overflow. In poor Archie’s case, it’s at the brim constantly, and each time the owners respond as they do it merely tops it up.
So, de-stressing big time is the order of the day. He does no repetitive stuff when out of the way in his crate. They will gently and quietly put him in there for calming ‘time out’ when he gets out of control with himself. They will have alternatives to hand for him to chew, to distract him from sofa licking but so he can still release the calming pheromones licking and chewing give him. They will ditch gadgets and punishment. They will look at positive ways to reward him and encourage him instead of negative methods.
They have a much better understanding of Archie now. By nature he is highly strung, but I am sure before long they will see a different dog.
23.05.2011
Fly catching, Obsessive compulsive behaviour, Red Setter, Sofa licking, Stress
Yesterday I visited the largest Wolfhound I have ever seen, and a nearly as large Great Dane X. Monty, the Great Dane, was rescued from a life of neglect and possibly abuse just a year ago, and you can 
see from the photos what state he was in – and how good he looks now, a year later. (To get a sense of scale, the two big dogs are sitting in the phto with their other dog Tess who is the size of a Springer Spaniel). Not only does Monty now look good, but his owners have worked so well with him that he is a chilled, well-mannered, cooperative giant in all aspects bar one – his very occasional unpredictability towards other dogs and a couple of times with Freddie, their Wolfie. When the dog the size of Monty wants to attack, it is serious!
These people have had many large dogs, but mostly from puppies. They have always felt proud walking out with their well-behaved, well-socialised giants. Starting with an attack on Freddie over a toy resource, the incidents have now escalated to two or three dogs out on walks. Monty had been mixing beautifully with a great many dogs, and the three that have been on the receiving end were all dog-reactive themselves. His very power makes this dangerous, and the lady owner who does most of the walking is shaken and nervous which obviously transfers to Monty, so the situation is slowly gathering momentum. 
Monty now is walked on lead only, and because word has got about, previously friendly dog walkers are avoiding them and this is very upsetting.
It is quite hard to find what these very switched-on people could be doing differently, but what is certain is that if they carry on as they are, so will Monty. He obeys coming back when called when he is ready so he freelances. He is a big hunter in every sense of the word. He won’t have other dogs dominating him – which seems to be the trigger for his aggressive spats – which end as quickly as they begin. The lady in particular will need to work at her leadership skills and calm confidence, whilst carefully managing Monty so that the situations simply can’t arise.
I hope by walking him calmly by dogs he shows no reaction to (on a loose lead), letting him mingle with his doggy friends, and most importantly walking away from dogs as and when they choose, over and over, the owners can condition Monty to look to them for guidance and to walk away from trouble when called, so that eventually he can once more be trusted off lead.
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21.05.2011
Dog attack, Uncategorized, Wolfhound, Wolfie
Today I visited Molly, an eight year old Springer Spaniel. It is strange that I have recently been to two or three dogs that seem to be going through an unusually withdrawn and ‘worried’ phase.
There has been upheavel in Molly’s life, similar to Maisy I saw a week or so ago. There has been bereavement in the family which has meant Molly has been completely out of routine. She has been left with friends for days at a time, the comfortable daily pattern of accompanying her lady owner on her gardening work has been disrupted, she must be picking up on the grief around her and, to top it off, at the start of it all in January she was spayed.
The problem with owners being unhappy is that they like to take comfort from their dogs. Because this comfort may be a bit extreme from the dog’s point of view by way of cuddling and so on, their negative emotions can transfer.
Molly never did like sudden loud noises, but now she goes and hides if the TV goes loud; she doesn’t like raised or high voices nor the bustle of lots of people. If the gentleman shouts at his football team she beats a retreat behind the sofa. She is doing a lot of hiding. She has lost her former joy in walks and after a few yards simply lies down and refuses to budge. Since January she has developed various behaviours that she didn’t do before, and existing ones have become more extreme.
This again is a sort of leadership issue. She now needs strong owners to behave like her ‘rock‘ and not to fuss her. We all know that if we are feeling depressed or nervous, lots of fussing isn’t what we need. We want support and people to be there for us, but we also like to be left alone. In nearly every aspect of Molly’s life she is making the choices, whether it’s where she sleeps, when she eats. when she comes in, where and whether they walk and so on, and this would be a big pressure upon a child let alone a dog in a human’s environment.
Molly’s humans are going to consider life from Molly’s perspective as a dog and make a few personal sacrifices, take some of the decision-making from her shoulders and just be there for her, giving her the sort of support she needs to get her old mojo back.
20.05.2011
Springer Spaniel, loud noises
Milo is a Jack Russell aged just seven months. It is hard to believe he is little more than a puppy. He lives with another Jack Russell called Snoopy.
Both dogs show classic signs of stress. Milo is now biting people entering their house, he has bitten family members and he drew blood from a boy who came to play. The dog warden has become involved, and the distressed family were on the point of taking Milo to Wood Green.
The family moved house a week ago and this was the final straw for poor Milo. The whole family is under a lot of pressure. There are four children and, quite naturally for kids, they can be noisy and excitable with the usual squabbling and so on.
Milo sleeps inside the parents’ bed and snarls if a child comes near; the dogs make it impossible for anyone to get out of the front door they are so frantic and sometimes they redirect their stress onto one another. They are picked up, fussed, teased and played rough with. The owners have given up on walks due to the level of excitement before leaving and the noise Milo makes when out.
When I rang the door bell there was bedlam behind it – dogs barking, children shouting in their efforts to put the dogs behind the gate in the kitchen so they could open the door. We had Milo on a long lead to start with, but when he calmed down it was dropped. He ignored me and I ignored him. You can see from my photo that he may have been lying down, but he wasn’t relaxed.
Then an interesting thing happened. Someone came past the side window and Milo went into full guard and attack mode, charging at the window and then to the front window where I was sitting - and bit me! I’m always prepared and wear tough clothes so he only bit on my sleeve. I believe he was so fired up that I was the nearest thing when the stress ‘overflowed’.
Many people underestimate the devastating effect stress can have on a dog, and are often unaware of the sorts of things that constitute stress. It’s not only stuff associated with fear. Exciting play that the dog seems to love can cause stress as can walks, and they also pick up on the stress of the owners.
I see it like a bucket of water. Each time something excites, stimulates or frightens the dog, some water drips into the bucket. In dogs stress can take a long time to dissipate – days - so that water stays there! Bit by bit the bucket fills until it is near overflowing and just one more drop will cause it to flow over. The slightest thing can then cause the dog to fly off the handle. This is why some dogs seem ‘unpredictable‘. How they handle something they may meet one day when the bucket isn’t full to overflowing will be different to how they react to the same thing another day when it’s brim full.
Stress reduction in every way possible is the only option for Milo, difficult with such a busy and noisy household. However, they have no choice. If it can’t be achieved, he may actually be better off in a calmer home. He is only seven months old and as he gets older he can only get worse if something isn’t done quickly; he will be the one to pay the price. Both little dogs are very well loved and it’s extremely distressing for owners to have a biting dog.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
18.05.2011
Jack Russell, Stress, Uncategorized, Unpredictable
Last evening I had the pleasure of visiting a beautiful Golden Cocker Spaniel pup called Monty (sorry I moved when I took the photo). He is nearly six months old. His owners have been trying to do all the right things with training him, but as a little personality he is more of a challenge than some more easy going dogs!
He was the bossiest and according to the breeder most dominant of the puppies in his litter. She was going to keep him but opted for an easier life!
Monty is ‘turning nasty’ when he is told to do something, or not to do something, and doesn’t wish to obey. There is a bamboo plant in the garden that is like a magnet to him and he loves to tear bits off and chew them up. The people are confrontational in their approach, may try to pull him away, tell him ‘leave’ or shout at him or even go to pick him up. He has taken to growling, snarling and biting them. The same happens if they try to get him off the sofa.
He will show aggression if he has anything in his mouth that they don’t want him to have, or even if he thinks they might want it. It can be impossible to get it off him without a battle. He has now also started to guard his bed.
In every other respect he is a brilliant dog and the way to change this behaviour is for the owners to change theirs.
At present there are too many commands and words. There are five adults in the household and someone is on his case most of the time, either fussing and cuddling him or teling him what not to do. The word NO is overused. NO is even used before he does something, when he may do it and isn’t even doing it yet. This must be very confusing.
They are going to tone down the ‘controlling’ of Monty and keep commands to the minimum – try to cut out the word NO as far as they can and find other ways, positive ways, to get Monty to cooperate and to work things out for himself. I find a lot of people try to exert unecessary control over their young dogs. You can achieve calm better by simply waiting in silence as you can be repeating Sit and Wait over and over.
When Monty has something in his mouth, they are going to ask themselves ‘does it matter?’. If the item isn’t particularly important and if it will do him no harm, they should leave it. Walk away. He is probably taking it because he enjoys the challenge and the reinforcement he receives. If it is important that he relinquishes the item, they need to go about it another way. In essence, Monty needs to see his owners as Givers and not Takers. This needs to be reinforced on every possible occasion, even through how they choose to play with him.
In the case of things like the bamboo, there is only one way to retain peace in the household and that is to remove the opportunity. Block access to it for a while until he loses interest. Removing the opportunity for behaviours can save a lot of conflict and stress.
If you don’t tell your dog to do something he can’t refuse and defy you can he! You can usually find a way of outwitting him so does what you want whilst thinking it was his own idea! Keep your sense of humour and it can be fun.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
16.05.2011
Cocker Spaniel, Golden Cocker Spaniel, Possessive aggressive, Uncategorized
Hercules, on the left, lives with Shadow. I am told they are Staffordshire Bull Terriers, but believe they must be a mix. They are both eleven years old.
Hercules isn’t as strong and brave as his name suggests. He is very nervous, and starts to shake at the slightest thing.
The main problem is the terrible distress he suffers when his owners go out and leave him, and being with Shadow doesn’t help him.
Hercules has always suffered from separation distress. This was compounded by six months in kennels in quarantine when the people came back to this country. A short while ago his lady owner went back to work after maternity leave and for a year the dogs had got used to not being left alone for very long.
Hercules did an amazing amount of damage to the house and furnishings when left in the past; they tried a crate and he broke out, damaging himself and losing teeth, and he also managed to escape from the house which involved the police. So they have converted a shed in the garden into a comfortable and safe kennel. Unfortunatly Hercules goes into an utter panic when shut in there in the morning, and cries and howls all day without a break.
The neighbours have been very patient, but the council has now become involved.
This is a very difficult situation. The dogs are eleven years old and set in their ways. If I had come six months ago while the lady was still at home, we would have had the time needed to very gradually work on Hercules being left for very short periods, very frequently, and gradually build it up.
Now we have a tragic situation where Hercules is so stressed his life is almost unbearable at times. His owners also are extremely worried about him. The neighbours understandably have had enough.
We are looking at every behaviour aspect we can along with strategies to show the dogs that as ‘leaders’ the owners should be able to come and go as they wish and can be trusted to return. Within their time constraints they will be working on frequent small separations, starting by shutting doors behind them in the house. In addition to behaviour work, we have also been looking at management. Funnily enough, he is fine if left in the car, so maybe a ‘den‘ in the shed would help, an old table with the sides covered perhaps. There are a lot of small ideas which, added together, I sincerely hope will help Hercules.
As a normal rule curing separation issues can take a long time, and in this case there simply isn’t time – either from the harm it must be doing to Hercules, the stress to the owners at a difficult time when the lady has to adjust to going back to work as well as organising the baby, and the impact on the neighbours.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
14.05.2011
Separation Anxiety, Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Fred is a seven-year-old Jack Russel Corgi mix. For his first three years, on one hand he was so pampered he even had breakfast in bed, on the other hand he was left shut up alone for hours on end. When my clients took him four years ago he was very overweight and hyper. I would argue that extreme indulgance along with isolation for hours on end is on a par with physical abuse.
Very naturally my clients wanted to compensate for his being alone so much the lady took him everywhere with her, despite his panicking in the car. He is seldom alone. He follows her everywhere and sleeps in their bedroom at night.
This is a summary of a typical day for Fred:
At midnight he usually decides he would like to go outside – having just been out two hours beforehand. In the morning there is manic jumping up and barking while the lady tries to do his breakfast. Then there is the drive to take the children to school, starting with wild excitement at the door where he may have a little go at their other dog, a Jack Russell. He doesn’t want to get in the car, and once in he is shaking and barking – really frightened and stressed. This continues for the entire half hour journey. The children are dropped off and then he pulls frantically to the fields. They are off lead now for an hour or more. Next they spend an hour at the lady’s mother’s house. More excitement, big welcomes and stress. Then he’s forced back in the car with more shaking and barking. Back home, guess what, he doesn’t relax, exhausted! He is so hyped up he has to unwind and charge about.
Feeding is a battle due to over excitement, he parades, buries and guards chews and bones and jumps all over visitors. He is scared of everything from the vacuum cleaner to pushbikes and fireworks. Needless to say, he’s a barker.
They would like Fred to ‘listen’ and ‘do as he is told’. In his current state commands go right over his head – and how necessary are they anyway? The priority is to help de-stress him so he calms down.
There is a lot of work to be done starting with rescuing him from the morning school run ordeal and instead leaving him at home with the other dog for company. His food will be changed in case that may be contributing to his hyper behaviour. He has bad teeth and they need sorting – toothache would make him edgy for sure. Meal times need to be calm however long it takes waiting. And the whole walking thing needs to go back to scratch – working on calm before anything else can be done.
It’s going to be hard work, but I am sure the family is up to it. Fred’s stress makes the lady stressed also. Soon Fred should start to enjoy life a bit more and relax. If he is calmer he will be more inclined to ‘listen’.
1st June: It isless than three weeks later, and just sometimes, especially where the owner is 100% on board, things fall into place very quickly. Here is the lady’s email. She had taken Fred back to the vet for a check up on dental work that may have been causing him pain: “Today Fred was totally different – no pulling (he had his harness on), no over excited lunges towards other dogs (he just wagged his tail and had a quick ‘hello’ sniff) and no bad reactions to bikes (we passed two cyclists!). It was unbelievable – he was a real pleasure to walk with which I can honestly say has never been the case in the past! We even sat on a bench in the high street (we were a bit early for our appt), watched a tractor roll past (not a murmur of protest) and lots of busy people rushing up to the station. Normally he would be yelping and pulling to get away, wouldn’t sit down and would generally be very stressed. Things are really going well and I haven’t let anyone slip back into bad habits! Fred is how he should be – calm and gentle, and I can’t thank you enough for all your help. We have achieved so much in such a short space of time. Life is so much calmer and more positive.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
12.05.2011
Corgi, Jack Russell, Jumping up, Stress
Maisy is a Labrador.
She is very well loved and here she is on the left, her happy old self, in her bed with the cat.
Now something strange is happening. For the past month Maisy has had periods of complete shut down. She looks miserable and sometimes shakes. This seems to come over her for no reason at all. You see a different dog on the right. Her ears are flat and she is still, and not really engaging in what is happening around her. It’s almost like she is somewhere else in her head. I just touched her gently with one finger and she startled.
We have been doing detective work starting with a thorough check by the vet. Maisy has had a lot of upheavel over the past few months with crashings and bangings as restoration work has been done on the house which she seemed okay with at the time. The final straw may have been, after an especially noisy period, a door slammed loudly beside her.
Maisy seems more or less fine when she is out of their own home and garden, so it’s not continuous. Is it prompted by the house, the ladies’ presence, or both?
They are keeping a diary of all the circumstances when they notice her going downhill – who is about, where they are, what they are doing and so on. She is fine and relaxed when they get home having been out for a few hours, but starts again after a short while. They hope to set up a camera to see what happens if they both walk out for half an hour when she starts to shut down or shake.
The situation is compounded because everyone around her is so concerned. She is constantly focussed on and loved, which may make her feel uncomfortable. When I sat down on the sofa she came up between me and one of the girls and lay close up to me and relaxed. I believe she felt reassured by my calm confidence and that I was matter of fact and not anxious about her. I made no fuss of her and only gave her the occasional touch, but she would be able to feel that I loved her and that I loved her presence beside me.
Maisy doesn’t need to be fussed to feel loved. This is probably the key to her rehabilitation. It may take a while or the cloud may suddenly lift. We will see.
I can help you and your dog also (see map). Just get in touch!
11.05.2011
Labrador, shut down
Being indoors with Bertie, Cocker Spaniel/Poodle cross (Cockerpoo), it is hard to image him running off on a walk to worry sheep, or turning up chased by a farmer and with blood all over him. If the farmer had had a gun, Berite would now be dead.
He looks like pure Cocker, though there must be Poodle in there somewhere. He has a sweet temperament a
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