aggression

As Alfie’s stress levels rise, his aggression towards the other dogs escalates.

Dear little Shih Tzu Archie currently lives with five more Shih Tzus, two of which are fosters like himself. The other three are the family’s own dogs.[

Kicked and thrown against a wall

Stress levels rise and aggression increasesArchie came from a home of domestic violence, was kicked and thrown against a wall.

It’s no wonder that when his stress levels rise, his insecurity increases.

With love and hard work the family have already transformed him over the last few months. Unsurprisingly, though, he still has some worrying behaviour, some of which is getting worse. (more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago

Redirecting Onto His Brother

Redirecting onto Lincoln is how Lucas deals with arousal.

Lucas and Lincoln. Calm.

When someone new comes to the door, the two Dalmatians are shut away behind a gate and will be barking loudly as the person enters the house.

Lincoln is barking with excitement. Lucas’ excitement quickly spills over into redirecting onto poor Lincoln, attacking him.

I witnessed this for myself.

Fortunately Lincoln is very easygoing and has not retaliated – yet.

They settled quickly and were both fine when let out to greet me.

Things weren’t so good a few days ago when someone they didn’t know came to the house. While the dogs were still barking she put her hand over the gate. A mistake.

Bite!

(more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago

Can they keep him? They are walking on eggshells

Can they keep him?

Can they keep him?They had decided to take Merlin back to the rescue, but then decided to try for a bit longer. The gentleman called me.

They have had Rottie mix Merlin for about ten days. Before fetching him from the rescue the gentleman had visited him eight times. He wanted to get it right.

They had told him Merlin had shown aggression in the past and that they wouldn’t let him near other dogs. They said he was hand-sensitive around his head.

He had been in the kennels for six months, with just a week out with people who then sent him back.

Despite this, the family felt they would like to take him on and to work with him. Can they keep him? (more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago

Anxious Dog. Permanently Hypervigilant. Pants. Paces.

The smallest thing sets anxious Cas off.  If he settles for a moment, just the intake of breath from someone is enough to cause him to leap to his feet again. Then he rushes about, mouth wide open, panting. 

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier may settle again – briefly. Then a sound from outside starts him off again. When suddenly alarmed, his response may be to charge at somebody, mouth open, and jump on them – usually the young man.

No aggression until the other day.

(more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago

Dog Bites. Why? Touchy. Guards Resources

They worry that it’s their fault that their dog bites them.

I’m sure it’s largely genetic. Some dogs resort to biting a lot more readily than others. Some dogs will put up with anything and not bite.

The family has had eighteen-month-old Rough Haired Dachshund Toto since she was eight weeks old. Like many people, they have had dogs before, treated them in the same loving way, but never had this problem. I myself can look back at past dogs of mine and wish I had known then what I know now.

Toto stole a shoe

She showed no signs of aggression as a young puppy. If they had predicted how dog bites were going to develop, they would have reacted differently from the very first time it happened, when at about a year old Toto stole a shoe – had they realised there was another way.

Like so many people would do, they chased and cornered her in order to retrieve the item. She will have felt both aroused and scared. She growled and then snapped. The behaviour then escalated quickly. (more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago

Grumpy When Stressed. Big Changes. Adjustment.

Trigger has become increasingly grumpy over the past three months. He growls more readily than he used to and has now bitten a couple of times.Grumpy when stressed

They took him to the vet for a thorough check to make sure his change in behaviour wasn’t due to anything physical, and he has a clear bill of health.

Trigger and Biscuit are beautiful Dachshunds, lovely friendly little dogs, Biscuit age three and Trigger six months older. The young couple, conscientious owners, give them the best they can in terms of food, love and care.

Life has changed dramatically

The problems they are having now where Trigger and the resource guarding in particular is concerned will have their seeds in his genetics. Although previously lurking, the behaviour surfaces when he’s under stress. (more…)

By Theo Stewart, ago