Why does Mackie lose control when family arrive at the door? It’s all about the build-up. Cocker Spaniel Mackie is three years old. He is lively, excitable and friendly. The couple have their two adult daughters living nearby. One has a toddler and the other a baby. Their problem is Read more
When hyped up and wild, Nellie needs help. She has a need. Putting a lid on it merely makes it erupt somewhere else. They want something acceptable for her to vent her wildness.
Wild behaviour from a dog the size of the adolescent Newfoundland can be scary. When Beau leaped at the kitchen table she knocked the coffee mugs flying! Seven-month-old Beau was chosen from the litter as the most bold and pushy puppy. She organised the others, I am told, by barging Read more
Connor’s is a story in two parts. This first story is about Connor and his frantic agitation when two people get too close to each other.
He came to them a year ago, probably only weeks away from death. The dog, scarred with broken teeth, scared and skinny, had stopped eating. He had been in the kennels for two years and seemed to have lost the will to live.
From the moment the couple took him in, the Staffie Greyhound mix, now five, surrounded by patient love began to blossom.
From the start Connor became agitated when either the man moved too close to the lady, or when the lady approached the man. (more…)
The list includes jumping up at them when they sit down and if ignored flying at them. If pushed away crossly, she may nip. It’s a battle to put her lead on and her teeth are used. She attacks and grabs the lead when they walk.
Yesterday I visited a young couple with three dogs. All three were rescued from Bosnia and have come here from Italy where the couple used to live. One had been dumped from a car and the other two most likely had been strays on the streets. Before I arrived and Read more
This can be nipped in the bud, but only with a different approach.
The owners – the gentleman in particular – had taught her to jump up at people by exciting her. He caught her feet and danced about, encouraging her to jump on them when sitting down.
She is wildly excited and jumping on them when they come home – and rewarded with fuss. Even when people didn’t want her to be jumping up, their way of trying to stop her was merely reinforcing it.
Bella is a typical rather pushy pup. In the house she will not leave poor Stonker alone, jumping on him and trying to play fight. He is severely stressed with this, so he goes and hides.
Much of the time now he’s in hiding.
Sabre is a rescue German Shepherd, probably around eight years old. He has a very friendly temperament. In the evenings poor Sabre is very stressed and obsessively seeking attention. It took him getting on for three hours to calm down completely when I visited. All evening he was whining for Read more