Max
As is often the case with a rehomed older dog, it’s impossible to know how that dog will be when he has had time to settle into his new home and a totally different lifestyle.
When a dog has probably spent his recent years shut indoors, it is hardly surprising when there are issues around other dogs.
The loved pet of an older person
Dear little Max, age eleven, has been rehomed by Oldies Club.
Like many older dogs, he has been the loved pet of a person who through age or infirmity has no longer been able to look after him properly. Max now has a new lease of life living with an active couple and their other Border Terrier, thirteen year old Katie.
Katie
Because there were dogs that he was fine with, it was assumed he would be okay with all dogs. The new owners got a shock when, soon after they had brought him home, Max and a relative’s small dog, as soon as they clapped eyes on one another, broke into a fight.
Since then there have been some other incidents, resulting in walks not being enjoyable . The couple now having to curtail some of the previous activities they had enjoyed with the placid and dog-friendly Katie.
Having asked lots of questions to get a good feel for the situation against a background of the great many dogs and people I have been to, I got a clear picture of what needs to be done.
What needs to be done
Like so many dogs, the issue may be of other dogs on walks, but there are things to put in place first at home in order to optimise their strategies when out.
I likened it to a table – four ‘legs’ to hold firm and ‘other dogs out on walks’ to then be placed on top (house built on rock, not sand).
The first thing is to address the barking at dogs from his own home.
There is a truly aggressive-sounding dog the other side of the fence so there is a lot of boundary running and barking from the two of them. This fills Max with fear and hones his dog-aggression skills. He also is on watch at the front window from the back of the sofa.
Not only can the couple take responsibility for danger and lookout duty, they can also do some serious desensitisation and counter-conditioning work in their own garden.
Food
The second thing is that both dogs are overfed with food left down all the time. We want to be able to work with food, so Max has to be a bit more hungry and food needs more value. They have work to do rationing food and making it harder to come by.
Stress levels
Thirdly is to keep his general stress levels as low as possible. They have already noticed that his ‘aggression’ episodes have taken place after a run of minor things has occurred that will have gradually stacked up – loading the gun so to speak. Trigger stacking.
With these things in place, they can now work on the ‘other dogs’ issue. We have a step-by-step plan.
