Why does a dog become reactive when she feels unsafe in everyday situations? Feeling unsafe. There is a list of things that get 18-month-old Jack Russell Eva nervous, overwrought and unable to cope. They all boil down to one thing – she feels unsafe. The list includes: Travelling in the Read more
Milo spent the two years before coming to live with the couple in a Romanian rescue. I would guess for several years before that he was on the streets, fending for himself.
When a dog is frightened of traffic, people and new places, how do you know whether exposure is helping or making things worse? Is it desensitising or is it over-exposure? Ellie, her siblings and other Tibetan Terriers were picked up from a breeder in a dreadful state of neglect, with matted Read more
Why would a dog that seems friendly at home suddenly bark and lunge at people on walks? I have just met another Henry – a Miniature Schnauzer age two. He is quite unusual to look at, being brown and with a poodle-like curly coat. Cute! Henry was barking behind a door Read more
I’m pretty sure that at the root of Luna’s problems is not having left the gun dog breeder until she was twelve weeks old. There will have been no early habituation or socialisation. She won’t have been taken out anywhere to meet a variety of people nor introduced to the outside world while still young enough to take it in her stride.
Everything about Cassie’s behaviour points to her having spent the first year of her life in a crate or very small space, deprived of stimuli. This is an educated guess only. When she was rescued three years ago (she’s now four) her posture was hunched.
Why would a small, friendly dog bark constantly when the real problem is fear of people? Bentley barks. The little dog’s main fears and consequent barking is either directly, or indirectly, associated with his fear of people. Bentley is an adorable and much-loved Coton de Tulear. In researching the breed, Read more
How do you help dogs who have spent their whole lives frightened, confined and deprived of normal life? The lady was, to quote her email, at ‘such a low ebb’ as she described what was happening with her two recently adopted puppy farm dogs. Considering the mental condition of the Read more
I have just been to two five-month-old Canaan siblings. Before the family picked them up about four weeks ago, despite being brother and sister, each puppy had had a very different life.
Why would a friendly dog be fine in busy places but react aggressively when people visit his home? Beautiful Indie is another Shepherd-type dog that is reactive to people – particularly people coming to his house. He was abandoned as a puppy of three months old on the streets of Read more