One has to smile. This photo says it all! He is sitting in the seat just vacated by the lady – ‘my seat’!
Samba is very big even for a Ridgeback. He is just one year old with a mind of his own. They have had two Ridgebacks before but neither had prepared them for Samba. They were gentle and biddable.
A mind of his own
Samba is one of those dogs that when asked to sit will either do nothing at all or lie down. He exercises his clever brain by finding ways to control his environment. It is even a battle for the man to get his lead on before a walk.
The final straw that resulted in my visit was a nasty gash down the lady’s arm.
When she’s alone with him during the week, Samba bullies her. He has to be ‘herding’ her wherever she goes, pushing and perhaps mouthing. He won’t let her out of his sight. When she sits on the sofa, he will run the length of the house and launch himself on top of her; she shouts, gets angry and scared and flails arms about – hence the unintentional wound from his nails. He grabs her arm with his front legs like he’s going to hump her. Samba is a lot stronger than she is and is on top of her.
Things have got so bad that she goes out of the house to escape from him which results in even more time in his crate, which adds to his bad need for stimulation. His daily run isn’t sufficient.
Changing No to Yes
They call NO the ‘magic’ word. This must change to ‘YES’ as they look for and mark all the small bits of good behaviour that they can. Cut out commands and scolding. Every command is setting up an opportunity for him to be defiant.
People hold the trump cards but don’t use them. They give them away for free when they can be earned. Food. Attention. Play. Walks.
Samba is sure to hold out for a while. Being a Good Boy isn’t nearly as much fun as the current reaction he gets for causing mayhem!
