When Lauren phoned me about Arthur, her 3 year old Dachshund, she said she was feeling desperate. “My dream rescue has turned into a nightmare - and yet I don’t want to give up on him”. 3 months into the rescue, things were not going well, and I was her last resort. Arthur had already been through several homes, and Lauren absolutely did not want to have to take him back to the pound.
Lauren works as a delivery driver and Dartmoor is her patch. Arthur goes to work with her and gets fantastic walks all over the moor. It should have been perfect - but Arthur was so nervous all the time, panting and shaking in the van, and whimpering whenever she got out to deliver a parcel. He would also stop and shake and refuse to walk on if he heard any loud vehicle - tractors or buses. The rescue centre had told her to pick him up to comfort him when he was scared.
On top of his fearfulness and separation anxiety, Arthur was also behaving aggressively with other dogs, barking and lungeing - particularly at big dogs. She began to avoid places where he might meet other dogs. His behaviour was also not good with people he didn’t know. He would bark and growl at new people coming into the house or near the van. Lauren said that by the end of each day she would end up in tears about how difficult things were.
Fear and Agression go together
The whole story was all too familiar. When a dog does not feel safe, its very stressful for them. They can’t relax, they can’t be on their own. Everything can be scary - and still they will try their best to protect their owner from ‘dangers’ like other dogs and humans, and this shows up as aggression. I like to remind my clients how their dear dog is always doing its best, in what they experience as a scary world.
Reassurance can make things worse
Lauren also had been doing her best to help Arthur feel safe. She had been having him sleep in her bed, and giving him lots of cuddles and fuss, and reassurance - especially when he was anxious or aggressive.
Kind Leadership to help Arthur feel safe
My recommendation was to completely change tack. No reassurance, less fuss, less worrying about him, no picking him up. Lauren needed to show Arthur that she was fine, the world was fine, and he was fine. Knowing that her dog was healthy and safe, she was able to ignore the shaking and whimpering, and carry on with confidence in herself and Arthur. This was a great way to show Arthur that everything was ok - much better than reassurance, which can just reinforce the scared behaviour.
Lauren needed to show Arthur that she was a good leader, and that with her in charge, the world was a safe place.
A challenge for the human
Arthur was no longer allowed on the bed or sofa, or on the front seat of the van. This was hard for Lauren at first, but I explained how it can be really helpful for the dog, as it’s another way they can understand that we are the good kind leader that can keep them safe. In the dog world, the leader takes the higher ground, and we were copying this to create a world that makes sense in ‘dog’ and is actually reassuring and calming. I assured her that calm cuddles were still fine.
The change began the next day
Arthur responded really well to the changes Lauren put in place. He began to settle down as soon as she started the work. Over a week or two, his fearful behaviour just faded away. So did his barking and aggression to other dogs and new people. He was feeling safe and could relax. He began to listen to her commands, get things right, and look to her for guidance.
“Life is a breeze now, I can take him anywhere, and we’re both so much happier” declared Lauren after a few weeks. She found so many ways to love being with him - from just being together in the new calm way, to having wonderful walks, or quiet cuddles together.
Good for Lauren, after a difficult start, not only she didn’t give up on him, she turned it completely around to: happy dog, happy human. So if you see a lovely lady with a well behaved dachshund, in a white van, delivering parcels on dartmoor… you’ll know the whole story.
Please phone me if you want to chat about your dog: 07967 735067 or email: judy@thedevondoglady.co.uk
コメント