When their first visitor calls, Tara horrifies and shocks them by suddenly morphing into a wild dervish, barking and lunging. She is just the same with people she meets out on walks, leaping and lunging.
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 would a dog that once slept with the family cats suddenly bark, snarl and lunge at them? Today I visited eighteen month old German Shepherd Duke. Duke is a perfect example of how people unintentionally teach their dogs to do the very opposite of what they want. Their cats Read more
Could your well-intended routine actually be teaching your dog to bark at visitors? If the humans a dog lives with are not calm, stable and predictable, how can their dog be these things? If their human is erratic, then one might expect their dog to be the same. Unhappy lady Read more
How do you help a rescue dog who is trying to fit into a new home but doesn’t yet feel safe? Charlie has had quite a few ups and down in his two years of life before arriving at his new home. As soon as I saw him he reminded Read more
Have you gradually stopped enjoying life with your dogs without really noticing how it happened? Sascha is a beautiful two-year-old German Shepherd who lives with GSDs black Tango (10) and Annie (4). The couple who own them run a rabbit rescue and these dogs are incredible. Rabbits are free in Read more
When someone has been touching him and the hand is taken away or a hand is moved past him – say someone has reached for something – he doesn’t always go for the hand. He leaps up at the person’s face and snaps – so far only snapping the air.
He keeps an eye on each family member’s every movement. He patrols back and forth as they move around the house, and if they settle in different rooms he places himself strategically in a central spot. He has very strong protective herding instincts.
He likes to lie on the landing watching the front door. He likes to be higher. Also he likes to be ahead. When someone gets up he is instantly in front of them at the door, pushing through the door first.
The big problem is that the two dogs don’t understand one another. Jet will be giving all the right signals and body language that he wants to be left alone, but of course blind Max can’t read them. Jet can’t know this.
Darcy displays all the signs of a puppy who has not been kindly handled by a sufficient number of new people before she even leaves the breeder. One or more of the following factors could also contribute to the cause: being born to a fearful mother and maybe of a natural nervous disposition anyway, kept out of the way in another room or a shed for the first eight weeks of their life, possibly some inbreeding.