Out of the thousands of dogs I have seen, little Pippy is the first Lancashire Heeler I’ve been to.
His owners have fostered and puppy walked Hearing Dogs for years, and Pippy’s current temporary companion is sixteen-week old foster puppy Labrador/Retriever, Rosie – already twice the size of Pippy.
The people are very experienced in looking after foster hearing dogs that have been bred for an easy and cooperative temperament. Their own dog, Pippy, is an ongoing challenge. He was already a troubled and scared pup when they got him at just a few months old. He’s now four.
Pippy’s behaviour causes family conflict
pippy has snapped at family embers, always around something edible. His behaviour is causing increasing conflict.
To quote the lady before I arrived: he is possessive, unpredictably dog aggressive, scared of men, children and laundry amongst other things. He alarm barks – a lot.
She is embarrassed to have people to the house.
Pippy persistently and obsessively licks foster Rosie’s ears and inside her mouth. If she squeals, he doesn’t back off immediately as a well-balanced dog might.
This is a sorry state of affairs. I have seen many extreme cases but this isn’t up there with them. The situation can be much more tightly managed.
Treating Pippy the same as they do the foster puppies
They are treating Pippy in the same way as the foster puppies, when they need to place restrictions on his opportunities to do things I would find unacceptable with my own dogs.
The humans need to be drinking from the same water bowl. The high level of stress in Pippy is constantly being topped up. There is a long list of things that stress him, and they can either be avoided altogether or they can be addressed in a way that helps him.
It is slightly tricky because Hearing Dogs have a training plan for the foster puppies which is contrary to what is best for Pippy.
