Goldie Fynn is one year old. He is boisterous and confident. He lives with three-year-old black Labrador, Alfie.
His exuberance has been causing problems. A few weeks ago he bowled his lady owner over and she broke her ankle, so the gentleman has a lot to do just now.
In control
Fynn feels it is his job to control both his humans and Alfie. He finds all sorts of ways to gain their attention. He has learnt that if he persists with something annoying for long enough he will always get a reaction of some sort!
When he is especially stirred up, like if someone comes to the house or they are released from their leads into an open space, Alfie will redirect his pent up stress and boisterous excitement onto poor Alfie, who gets ‘hounded’ and jumped upon.
One day Alfie may begin to stand up for himself.
Other dogs
Fynn’s attitude has now spilled out onto walks where other dogs are concerned – when he’s on lead. He’s fine when he’s free, but on lead he reacts with barking and lunging and sounding rather aggressive.
This is not helped because his anxious humans, the minute they see a dog and irrespective of whether Fynn reacts or not, anxiously reel him in. They talk to him, believing it to be soothing. All they are doing is conveying their own anxiety..’uh-oh, a dog…trouble!’.
The previously sociable Alfie now joins in.
Between times Fynn is a wonderful, if boisterous, pet. He is adolescent and will grow out of a lot of this so long as he’s given firm and consistent messages about who controls whom and who makes the decisions. This is whether at home or out on walks. He will learn that nothing happens until he is in a calm state.
This will take considerable patience and time – his humans just waiting quietly for him to be ready and calm before they walk him, let him in with visitors, feed him, and so on. Fynn will learn!
A month later: “Fynn is now a treat to walk on the lead. I am so pleased. Alfie is also much better”.
