Pearl started snapping too and although it’s mostly at the young lady, it’s other people also. Family members want to fuss her. Looking as she does, people everywhere want to touch her. When she reacts, telling them in clear ‘dogspeak’ that she doesn’t like it, she is scolded. NO!
What happens when a frightened dog is treated as though he’s trying to be dominant? Staffie Boxer mix Digby came out of his shell after a couple of hours. What a character. This is yet another story that could make me cry. A young couple get themselves a puppy. They don’t Read more
The big question is, do you want an obedient dog that may lick her lips, look away or even cower from you when she is doing something you don’t like, or a confident cheerful dog that happily stops when asked and does something else instead?
What is behind the behaviour isn’t dominance – the puppy wanting to become Alpha – but that certain behaviours bring him the most reinforcement. When he gets a bit rough he can bank on getting rewarded in terms of attention of some sort.
Why would the friendly young Beagle suddenly bite someone she didn’t know? A couple of days ago, to the total horror of the young couple who own her, their dog bit someone. How her humans behave in response Their reaction was very natural but to the more enlightened completely inappropriate. Read more
What happens when a frightened dog is punished for being scared? Not a very good photo I’m afraid – black dogs are difficult and I wish you could see his lovely face. Eighteen-month-old Cockerpoo Algie is becoming increasingly wary of men he doesn’t know – and some that he does. Read more
Why do little dogs sometimes seem to bark at absolutely everything? 20-month old Poodles Squirrel and Teddy were joined a couple of months ago by little Westie/Bichon cross Lily who is now 5 months old. Their family runs a children’s nursery. As our meeting progressed, they kept saying, ‘I can’t Read more
Why would a friendly, well-socialised dog start bullying other dogs? Three-year-old Ollie is large for a Boxer and he’s wonderful. He’s not only absolutely confident and fearless, but also gentle and friendly without being pushy. In the house he’s biddable and obedient. He has been extremely well socialised from the Read more
Could one simple change in the words you use make your dog far more willing to cooperate? Today three of my five dogs were by mistake let out of their ‘daytime’ room into the sitting room (with five lively dogs one needs some physical boundaries). The three offenders were the Read more
Why does a dog start humping another dog as soon as they get home from a walk? The three beautiful dogs gave me a polite greeting when I arrived and it would have been hard to guess there were any problems. Fourteen-year-old Border Collie Dizzy is no trouble at all, Read more