Sorry I haven't posted for a while! I've had problems logging into my Blog and it's taken ages to sort out!
The consultancy has been exceptionally busy in the run up to Easter. We've had some puppies graduate with honours from the Youth Club at 12 months of age:
Big Congratulations to Travis the Rottweiler who has done his breed proud and to Magic the Labrador who is a different dog to the anxious, shy little lady she was 6 months ago. Many thanks to their owners for working so hard with them.
The consultancy has been exceptionally busy in the run up to Easter. We've had some puppies graduate with honours from the Youth Club at 12 months of age:
Big Congratulations to Travis the Rottweiler who has done his breed proud and to Magic the Labrador who is a different dog to the anxious, shy little lady she was 6 months ago. Many thanks to their owners for working so hard with them.
We have also had the addition of little Tippy to the small breed Puppy Club. She has had a very unfortunate start to life having had no socialisation or habituation and both of her forelegs broken! Luckily her path crossed that of a dedicated veterinary nurse who has fostered her and is lovingly nursing her back to health not just physically but behaviourally. Tippy is generally very anxious about the world in general but every week she attends the club sessions we are seeing a bright, happy little puppy emerge who is getting more confident and sociable all the time.
I'll update on her progress in the coming weeks!
Some of the consultations dealt with have been very interesting - a couple of the ones that I've been really happy with:
Tia the Rhodesian Ridgeback developed a problem with eliminating in the kitchen at night after a series of unfortunate traumatic events at the end of last year. Thanks to the amazing patience and dedication of her owners and a detailed programme she is showing good improvement and we hope to get her back to her normal 'rhythm'!
Sander the Flat Coated Retriever was showing aggression towards his owners in certain situations. After a lengthy consultation we determined that he was actually displaying very appropriate warnings over certain situations where he felt threatened or challenged and once his owners understood this they changed the way they interpreted these situations and either deal with them differently or actually have the foresight to prevent them from happening in the first place - eliminating the need for any confrontation at all! This has put the owners back in control without any trauma or stress to either them or Sander. We hope to also find 'a job' for him to do, perhaps Working Trials, which should keep his wonderfully active brain stimulated!
With the help of a well-designed anti-pull harness we also had good first signs of success in deterring him from pulling his owners down the road and again, putting them back in control with as little confrontation as possible.
They have been working with Sander while away on holiday and I look forward to an update when they get back!
Working Dogs as Pets
I see many dogs in the course of my work but by far the most common problem I see is when the expectations of owners are not compatible with the features of the dog that they own.
Many breeds that are popular as pets are from working stock such as Flat Coated Retrievers, Australian Shepherds, Weimaraners, Vizlas, Border Collies, Springer Spaniels, etc., the list goes on.
Not all examples of these breeds display problems with a lack of stimulation but many do. Where a dog that has historically been bred as a companion such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has not been required to have strong drives that need fulfilling, dogs that have been bred to withstand hours of high levels of physical and mental stimulation in their field (no pun intended!) often display behavioural problems due to insufficient stimulation when kept as pets living the average family life.
The bottom line is that if you have a working breed and they are often 'uncontrollable', 'naughty', or even display inappropriate aggression, consider what they are capable of as a working dog and think about whether their 'inappropriate' behaviours could be due to a lack of stimulation.
Get some help and advice from a qualified trainer or behaviour specialist on how to get your dog's mind and body working at levels which they are designed for with exercises designed to fulfill their needs.
You might be surprised and extremely proud at the dog that emerges!
