Nina is too easily over-aroused. This is their list of things they said they would like to change when they contacted me:
Barking at every sound.
Crazy around visitors
Barking at new people
Struggling to settle
Chasing their cat at bedtime, same scenario every night
Seems permanently on high alert
Getting snappy, including when having harness put on
If they could calm her down, most of the problems would dissolve.
All the things in this list have one thing in common – she is over-aroused.
Some things we do in order to ‘tire the dog out’ have the opposite effect.
Nina is a young black Cocker Spaniel. She looks very much like my Working Cocker Pickle did at twenty months old. Pickle at 13 years old is still prone to getting easily aroused.
They will now use a mix of management and change some of the things they do with Nina.
Barking at people coming to the house
Nina barks at people passing the front of their house. She barks at people she hears on the path at the bottom of their garden.
The barking isn’t the problem. The arousal or possibly fear that causes the barking is the problem.
Barking is a very quick way for a dog to become worked up and over-aroused.
They won’t now leave Nina barking in the garden but call her in immediately. They will block her view of passing people at the front of the house. They will set up an outside letter-box.
So over-aroused that she may redirect onto the nearest person with a snap
When in high excitement at the door she is grabbed and pulled back by her collar, she may redirect with a snap.
They will now desensitise to knocks on the front door and teach her to go somewhere else. “Ah someone’s coming to the door that’s good, it means food!” They will teach her that bang bang sends her behind the gate. It will require multiple repetitions and using either food or a rolled ball.
Being touched
Nina isn’t keen being physically moved or towelled down, particularly when over-aroused.
She doesn’t like them putting her harness on. She doesn’t like their hands going under her when doing it up. I suggest a small change in their body language when she puts her head through (see my short video). Before fastening, drop a couple of pieces of food on the floor.
Phoebe, the cat
Dogs usually are able to calm down before bedtime and it’s peaceful until the morning. It’s a much needed break to recover from the stresses of the day.
They have Phoebe the cat.
She’s a ‘grumpy’ rescue cat who mostly lives in her own room apart from at bedtime. She has always slept on their bed since they had her and before Nina arrived.
Where does Nina sleep? On their bed!
Nina settles initially. The cat then comes into the room. This triggers a nightly wild chase session around the bedroom with lots of hissing and growling.
Eventually they settle unless Phoebe gets up in the night when they start again. This drama plays out every night.
Why not either cat or dog sleep somewhere else?
They don’t want either dog nor cat to have to sleep somewhere else. So, what can they do?
I suggest Nina now trails a lead and they keep hold of it until all is calm and settled.
So now when the cat enters the bedroom (this is after Nina has settled for the first time), everything erupts. Now they will physically prevent the chase by holding onto the lead.
From the moment the cat comes in the room they will ‘good girl’ Nina and feed her (food kept under the pillow!).
The beach
They frequently visit the beach in their motor home. As they drive up Nina is in a total frenzy to get out and onto the beach.
Off lead, she runs around wildly with excitement. They throw a ball over and over into the sea.
Nina becomes more and more hyped and obsessed with it.
How can they stop her being so over-aroused?
What Nina needs when she goes out is fulfilment. Exercise, sniffing, and exploring the environment will help her to become calmer.
So, no more ball-throwing on walks. She will doubtless have to go cold turkey for a while as she learns to enjoy all the sniffs, water and sand. She will do a lot of barking. They mustn’t give in but just carry on walking.
Hiding things for her to hunt for would be a good alternative to her spending the whole time she’s by the sea chasing a ball into the water. With some proper training they could satisfy her chase drive whilst keeping it under control.
