Kiera and Snoopy, brindled Staffies (Snoopy has a little something else in the mix). They are seven and six years old respectively, and male Snoopy joined Kiera a couple of years ago.
There are no major problems with these friendly dogs, just various things that need dealing with before the baby arrives in about six months’ time.
The couple needs to be able to trust the dogs not to jump on people; they need to be able to walk the dogs safely with a buggy – they can no longer be pulling on lead, and barking or lunging at other dogs! They need to have their bedroom to themselves, so the dogs need to be introduced to sleeping downstairs gradually, well in advance, so that they won’t feel ousted by the baby. The dogs don’t have toys any more because of the potential trouble caused by Kiera who is possessive – and this must be resolved before the baby starts to leave toys about. They had one full-blown fight over food, so they are not left with chews or treats.
When visitors come they are so excited that Snoopy tears around the furniture and not only do they both jump up, they may start to redirect their excitement onto one another which very nearly degenerates into a spat.
At the root of most of the problems is over-excitement. Kiera before food, Snoopy around sounds outside, both dogs before walks and both frantically excited when people come.
In the evenings when all is quiet and calm they settle down a treat, as you can see from the picture.
