Pandemic Puppy home alone

We teach all our pups to climb safely and learn how to use their bodies. Such agility lessens the chance of injury later on.  Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learnin…

I wrote recently about all the new dog-owners who grabbed the opportunity of working from home and got themselves a puppy in this post, and I’m revisiting it because of all the questions I’m getting about it. 

People are often confused about “socialisation”, and now they’re more confused than ever!

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  • Socialisation is NOT shoving your puppy in the face of every dog you see!

  • Socialisation is NOT a question of packing as many strange new things into one outing as possible.

  • And Socialisation is definitely NOT only about dogs!

Socialisation

Socialisation - to give it its full handle: Socialisation, Familiarisation, and Habituation - is about getting our new dog or puppy used to our world.

Getting your new puppy out into the world - to experience lorries, shouting, rain - as soon as you can, is vital. Don’t wait for injections to be done - that’s way too late! You can carry him for “arm-walks” as one of my students calls them. If your pup is too heavy for you to carry, you can borrow a push-chair, or you can park your car somewhere and sit in the boot with him beside you, watching the world go by.

Socialisation is not just about meeting other dogs! Everything your pup has to learn about life with you is socialisation. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning, …

Socialisation includes other dogs, sure - but it also includes lots of things people don’t tend to think about . . . until there’s a problem.

Vacuum cleaner, dropped saucepans, tv images, children, babies screaming, electronic sounds, snow, sand, wobbly planks, stairs, grooming, nail-trimming, food-toys - all these are essential parts of what your puppy has to get used to.

Separation Anxiety

And another important part of socialisation is teaching him to be on his own. It’s understandable that the enthusiastic new puppy-owner wants to spend every moment with her new charge. But this is not helping the puppy!

Just like humans, dogs need to learn to enjoy their own company. Safely! So an important part of this is to have a safe place (a crate is ideal) where you can leave your pup without worrying he’s going to chew an electric wire and kill himself, or pee all over the carpet.

Start with short absences from the room when the dog is awake. Don’t make a song and dance when you return - keep it cool and matter-of-fact. Your new puppy will be sleeping in his crate more than anything else, so it’s easy to introduce these brief exits from his space.

These short absences will demonstrate to your puppy that you will always come back. If you time them carefully when he’s been fed, watered, played with, and wee-ed, he’ll be ready for another nap anyway.

A bit of complaining is natural. What is termed Separation Anxiety is when the dog becomes desperate, ripping doorframes, losing bowel control . . . Don’t confuse this with your puppy saying, “Hoi! Get me outa here!”

Having a routine is very helpful for your new dog to understand what’s going on. That doesn’t mean rigidly sticking to clock times. It means having sequences so that each thing predicts the next step. The last step will be into bed, and you leaving.  

Nighttime routine

Oh, and to begin with, I always have a new puppy sleeping in his crate right beside my bed. You can forestall any fears by being there when your pup stirs in the night. A few soothing sounds and a touch from you will send him straight back to sleep again.

If you want, you can transfer your dog and bed to another space once you have regular blissfully quiet nights!

Full-blown separation anxiety is not that common, in my experience. And it can easily be avoided by taking these early steps to give your dog confidence in you.

 

And for lots of ideas to change all those things you don’t want from your dog - like jumping up, barking at the window, and chewing everything (including you) - get our free ecourse here

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Keep your Growly Dog at home!

Learn here how your dog’s hormones are affecting his reactivity, and you may be making it worse!  Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning, all force-free and dog-fr…

Over here in England we are having one of our rare snow attacks. They’re sufficiently unusual to bring everything to a stop. It’s simply not realistic to spend the necessary money to alter the infrastructure for just a few days a year, as is the norm in countries where snow is a commonplace.

It’s very cold, the roads and paths are icy, there’s a biting wind … All in all, it’s keeping people at home.

And this is the perfect opportunity for you to give your Growly Dog a break!

Either you venture out into the freezing weather and enjoy the solitude, or you simply stay home and let your dog romp around the garden, dancing in the snow.

A Cortisol Holiday

Did you know that once hormone levels are raised in a fight-or-flight response, that it can take three whole days for them to go down again?

That’s one of those actual, indisputable, scientific facts I come out with from time to time!

This means that when your anxious, reactive - Growly - dog has an unpleasant incident when out and about, you should cut home straight away and stay there!

For three days.

What can you do during those days?

  • Well, how about some games? I give you loads in our Academy

  • How about some scent activities? Just hiding a sock to start with!

  • How about some tricks? Tricks are such fun to teach and to learn! Plenty of those in the Academy too.

  • And how about some R & R? Just chill with your lovely dog. If there’s been an upsetting incident on a walk, your hormones will be whizzing around too!

Remember what you love about your dog, why you got him in the first place. Enjoy his furry, comforting presence.

Walks can happen another day. Your bond with your dog can be growing all the time!

Exercise?

Learn here how your dog’s hormones are affecting his reactivity, and you may be making it worse! Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning, all force-free and dog-fri…

This is the point where people start to panic, and say, “My dog will go up the wall if I don’t take him out at least 1/2/3 times a day!”

The last time I suggested this course of action on a Workshop I was giving to several thousand people, there were many who said this.

Some flatly refused. Their minds were totally made up and they weren’t going to take any risks by trying something new!

But those who grudgingly agreed to try it (along with all those who were very happy to hear a new idea) were astonished by the results:

◆          They found that they enjoyed the “extra” time with their dog.

◆          Their dog slept much, much, more than they expected.

◆          Life grew calmer.

◆          They loved their dog again!

 

And when the three days were up, they were able to venture out again on much calmer walks.

And no, their dog didn’t get fat. If weight gain is a problem for your dog, you may have to reduce his meals slightly for those three days. But you should be able to play active games - even without a garden - that will use up some of his calories.

And, of course, brain work is much more tiring than walking. Trying some of the new activities with your dog that I suggest above, will result in new learning: and that will certainly use up calories!

So take advantage of our wintry weather and keep your Growly Dog at home.

And always do that after something bad has happened. You’ll find the results eye-opening.

For a free e-course to help you with your reactive dog, go to www.brilliantfamilydog.com/growly

And to get started straight away with lessons to help your Growly Dog cope with our world, watch our

free Masterclass for Growly Dogs

MY DOG CAN’T KEEP STILL – HE’S WILD ALL THE TIME!

First published on positively.com and reprinted here with permission

You can teach your dog or puppy the calm behaviour you want! Your dog doesn’t have to be wild all the time. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning | FREE BOOK | #d…

“He’s always leaping about like a mad thing,” Jan said, as her large young labrador Jimmy thudded her in the stomach with his paws and jumped to try and nip her nose. Jan dodged her face just out of his reach, so he resigned himself to scraping her arm and chewing her cuff. She squawked, waved her hands about, pushed and pulled, shouted . . .

As I asked, “Have you tried teaching him to keep his feet on the floor instead of saying No?” the bouncy lab spotted a new victim for his attentions, leapt to the end of the leash and started giving me the paws-in-the-stomach, nose-nipping, arm-scrabbling, cuff-chewing treatment. I stepped back - but the owner stepped forward and gave her dog more lead so he could continue molesting me! It was as if she wanted to demonstrate thoroughly how awful her dog’s behaviour was.

Check it here!

I took the pup gently by the collar and lowered him to standing. He tried to grab my wrist for a while, then gave up. He was panting heavily (it was not hot), his face taut and lined.

This dog was not just enthusiastic - he was stressed out of his little brain! Yes, it’s great to have a dog who loves people, but you also want a dog who can control himself to the extent that he’s not getting frustrated, stressed, and frantic all the time.

The Wonder of Impulse Control

We set to work with a varied training program - all underpinned with impulse control - for the dog.

And for the owner: a new way of interacting with her dog, without blame, shouting, and recrimination - all underpinned with impulse control for her!

It’s important to note that if you don’t want your dog to do something, rather than try and stop him after the event, you should ensure that the thing you don’t like cannot happen in the first place.

This may seem obvious when you think about it. But many dogs are left directionless and expected to fit into the lives of a different species, and know all the rules from the start!

We don’t leave sharp knives lying around when there’s a toddler in the house, ready to shout and yell when they pick one up! We put the knives away where the baby can’t reach them.

Double Whammy

So you need to approach any dog problem from two ends. In the first place you ensure that the undesired behaviour cannot happen, and in the second place you teach an alternative behaviour for him to choose in the future.

After a few games which switched Jimmy from lunatic mode to thinking mode, we moved straight into teaching him the wonders of a small mat.

Rewarding him first just for looking at it, then for standing on it, over a few minutes Jimmy decided that this mat was the best place on earth to be. When called off the mat and rewarded, he turned and took himself straight back to the mat and sat, expectantly - calm and alert - waiting for his reward. His eyes were bright, his tongue gently lolling. His face was no longer creased and strained. As Jan said, “You can see the wheels turning in his head!”

Part of this process is to place the rewards between the paws, right on the mat. This is what persuaded Jimmy what a good thing the mat was. When he put his front paws on it, treats miraculously appeared there!

I have to add that by now, Jimmy’s owner Jan was standing open-mouthed. She could not believe that Jimmy was choosing to sit still, waiting for permission to move, with no lead to restrain him. She was also amazed that I was not telling Jimmy to do anything - he was working it out all by himself, and once he cracked the code then he could enjoy my praise and laughter and his piece of hot dog.

Jan realised that to get a change in Jimmy’s behaviour, she had to change her own.

Up to now she’d had little idea what to do. She’d seen tv programs where dogs were shouted or poked into submission, but was quite unable to make that work with Jimmy - probably because she was a nice person herself.

She was delighted to find that there’s another way to get what you want from a dog, and no shouting or poking is required!

Matwork RULES!

Over the following days and weeks, Jan made sure to spend five minutes a day playing the Mat Game with Jimmy. When I arrived for the next lesson, I was amazed to find Jan opening the door slowly - with barely-suppressed excitement - to reveal Jimmy lying on his mat in the hallway.

It was safe to enter the house without my nose being removed or my sleeves shredded!

Jan’s ferocious determination to stick to her task was unusual. Many people just like to be told what to do - then expect it to happen all by itself. But Jan had a lot at risk. Her daughter was pregnant and she wanted Jimmy to learn how to behave politely and calmly for when her daughter visited with the new baby.

So Jan’s results were very quick. She so enjoyed this new way of interacting with Jimmy - without shouting and blaming - that she had discovered what a genuinely nice dog he is. This new-found calmness and responsiveness was pervading all their lives and was a huge change for the better.

Some people will take longer to get their dog to the stage Jimmy reached quickly. But what matter? So long as you get there in the end, improving your relationship with your dog all the while, speed is not important.

Inside every manic, stressed, dog, there’s a calm, friendly creature just waiting to emerge.

 

I’ve given you enough to get you started here in your dog’s transformation from wild puppy to Brilliant Family Dog.

But to get all the low-down and a detailed program to work from, have a look at Book 1 in the Essential Skills for a Brilliant Family Dog series: Calm Down! Step-by-Step to a Calm, Relaxed, and Brilliant Family Dog. I’ll take you by the hand and guide you through the steps, just as I did with Jan.

You can choose paperback, ebook, or audiobook.

 

 

Really prefer video to reading? We’ve got you covered! Watch our free Workshop here, on getting your dog to LISTEN!

 

 

 

 

Babies and puppies - how to start

Dog Body Language is an essential skill that ALL dog-owners, particularly new puppy owners, need to learn fast! Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning | FREE WORKS…

I had a query recently from a dog-owner who was expecting a baby and wanted to know what she should do to prepare. This is a frequent question from people who think ahead and realise the possible dangers, rather than those who have a more happy-go-lucky approach to life.

The last thing you want is to disturb the joyful anticipation of your pregnancy with worries about what might go wrong!

But early planning is so good, to get everything ironed out well in advance.

The first thing you’ll need to do is develop the trust with your dog that his needs are met. Watch our free Workshop here on getting your dog to LISTEN! Lots of helpful lessons to get this going smoothly.

Once you’re “all on the same side”, it’ll be easier to make the changes you need.

So here are some specific ideas for you to be constructive in this waiting time and build up to the new life for your dog with love.

Change!

Your lives are all going to change massively. If this is a first baby for you -you have no idea! And if your dog has little experience of babies . . . he has no idea either. Great! We start with a clean slate.

Any changes you’re going to make to your dog’s daily schedule should start to be introduced NOW, well before the baby arrives.

 

◦  Where do you want your dog to sleep?

◦  Where will you feed him, and when?

◦  When will you walk him?

◦  Play with him?

 

If you want to change any of these anchors in his day, start doing it now, a bit at a time. There’s no danger then of your dog associating the incomer with changes to his life. It will all be history and well-established by the time the baby arrives.

Baby gear

In the same way, start introducing baby gear early on. The pram or pushchair, the cot, the nappy basket - all these things will just be novelties in your home which your dog will happily accept.

As soon as you get your baby transporter, you can start taking it for walks with your dog. You can put a bag of shopping in it to give it a bit of weight. You may be surprised to find how well your dog walks beside the pushchair when your lead is anchored either to your hand which is pushing the buggy, or to your hip-belt. Never attach the lead to the pushchair!!

Along with this, you could get friends to stop and admire your bag of shopping, and reach over to touch it. Any signs of resource guarding (“protection”) in your dog you’ll need to address separately. You can read this post to get started.

Baby smells and sounds

A method many use to help acclimatise their dog to baby scents, is to give your baby’s blanket to a friend with a baby (don’t worry if you don’t know any yet, you’ll meet plenty of people with babies as you do clinic visits and the like!) and get them to use it for a day or two. Baby smells, including dribbles and more (!), will be on this blanket by the time it comes back to you. Just leave it on the floor somewhere for your dog to study and sniff. Leave him to it. The blanket could move around and find itself in the cot one day, the nappy basket another. It will become “furniture” to your dog.

And if your dog is very sound-sensitive, you can use recordings of babies - yelling, crying, squawking, whimpering - and play them when you’re fussing round the cot or pram. Background muzak.

Pay attention to your dog

Your dog has been used to life-before-baby. Don’t let him lose the freedom he’s always enjoyed! You’ll need to get out without the baby too, so take him for walks - or just play with him in the garden when the baby is asleep inside.

Both baby and dog will be sleeping (hopefully) for many hours a day. A lot of this time you should be sleeping too. But judicious management of sleep times can mean that there are few hours in the day when you need to be dealing with both baby and dog at the same time. This will enable you to give each undivided attention when it’s their turn.

What you can do is make sure that for your dog,

Baby = Good Things

 So whenever the baby is about, or can be heard, ensure your dog has a food-toy, or you toss him treats, or scatter his dinner on the floor for him to spend time hoovering up. These goodies only appear when the baby does.

Boundaries

Use your waiting time during pregnancy to make the changes you need for your dog to accept a new baby happily into your home. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learnin…

Baby gates are essential for your new household setup. And you’ll be so glad you spent that effort in crate-training your puppy!

Your dog needs to have somewhere he can go and never be disturbed. If he can choose to take himself away from a situation he’s worried about, you’ll all feel much more confident. Always give him a bolthole.

There will be times when you are tired, stressed, sleep-deprived, the house is a mess . . . and there’s a knock at the door. If your dog is happy to stay parked behind a baby gate in another room while you deal with your caller, this is one less thing to worry about.

The same goes for when you need to relax. One of my clients who had done wonders with her very reactive re-homed German Shepherd Dog was being harassed by her well-meaning family during her pregnancy, with horror stories of dogs eating babies. They insisted she get rid of the dog. She was very anxious, understandably.

So I gave her a way to have her beloved dog near her while she nursed her baby, by using a baby gate in the doorway near her sofa. Her dog, who was well-used to this new system by the time the baby arrived, had no complaints, and was happy to field the treats she tossed him from time to time while she ministered to her baby.

After working this way for a while - and adopting the Baby = Good Things policy outlined above - Guy proved himself a star, and went from being on high alert to every baby sound, to relaxing entirely. Baby and dog got along just fine, and “Guy” was the child’s first word! I was so pleased to receive this note a few months later:

“I just wanted to let you know how things are going. Guy has been great and has really calmed down. You were right when you said that when we relax, he will follow. As soon as we felt calmer, Guy just seemed to realise that all was ok and that he didn't need to keep alerting us to our baby’s presence. We can all be in the same room together which is lovely. We put Guy in the kitchen behind the gate when our son is on the floor because we can completely control the situation then. After the baby’s bedtime at 7, Guy gets a piece of his old life back with us!”

Relax!

You can see there that the biggest change - after all the safety measures were put in place - was the family relaxing. There’s no need to imagine the worst when you are truly doing your best. There was a huge history of trust with this dog which was in danger of being lost because his family was suddenly acting so weird towards him. Once they changed that, everything went smoothly.

And they still had time to enjoy their quiet time with their beloved pet

Last Thoughts: photos

I hate to see those “cute” photos all over the internet of babies crawling over dogs. A basic knowledge of Dog Body Language - lots of links below in Resources - shows that these dogs are stressed, anxious, invaded . . . possibly an accident waiting to happen. Please don’t do this to your dog! And ensure he can always get away from babies and children whenever he wants to.

 

Dog Body Language - what’s that?

Dog Body Language is an essential skill that ALL dog-owners, particularly new puppy owners, need to learn fast! Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owners through books and online learning | FREE WORKS…

We’re all pretty fluent in human body language. We know when someone’s giving us the cold shoulder, looking quizzically, folding their arms to form a barrier showing resistance to what we’re saying. It’s all part of our rich communication skills.

But what if we had no speech? What if this were the only way we could communicate?

That’s where dogs find themselves!

Your puppy arrives with you, a few weeks old, with little idea what these great lumbering creatures of another species are doing with him.

He has no idea how to communicate!

So he’ll try barking; flattening himself on the floor; running away; jumping up; trying to play inappropriately (e.g. with your trouserlegs). Eventually, if all he gets is shouting or punishment*** in response, he’ll resort to snarling. This means he’s frightened of you! He may feel he needs to get in first with a snap in order to stop you doing whatever it is you’re doing. 

*** By “punishment” I’m not suggesting you’re beating your dog with a stick! Punishment means anything that is unpleasant - so it could be ignoring, yelling, confiscation, banishment, pushing or pulling ..

Sometimes, the puppy has found this is the only way to get attention from you.

This is a sad state of affairs, and one which many new puppy-owners find themselves in. They mistakenly think they need to discipline their puppy.

Do you discipline a newborn baby? Of course you don’t! You lavish her with love and affection, studying her all the time to find out her needs and wishes.

Disciplining a puppy is confrontational. That is not what you want with anyone you’re trying to build a relationship with.

So this is where the sensitive owner needs to step in and make it clear what communication works and what doesn’t.

Get the basics down first

The first thing to do is establish some basics:

  1. A proper housetraining program is in operation. Get your free Cheatsheet for Errorless Housetraining here

  2. Your puppy is getting all the sleep he needs, in a dedicated place where he cannot be disturbed.

  3. YOU are getting all the sleep YOU need!

  4. Your puppy is getting high-quality food in sufficient quantity at the right amount for his age

It always amazes me how many new dog-owners have no idea about these points. But if they aren’t met, you have little hope with the next part!

Sensitivity and understanding

Now you need to watch your dog like a scientist would.

🐾 What is he doing when?

🐾 Why is he doing it?

Take your personal feelings right out of the equation. This is not about you! It’s about a tiny creature of another species, who has found himself in a strange new world with people who don’t seem to understand him.

So if he does something you don’t like, don’t take it personally! Ask yourself what the reason may be for this.

 A. Is he overtired? (HINT: this is normally the first reason for puppy “misbehaviour”, just as it is for toddlers.)

B. Is he hungry?

C. Is he bored?

D. Is this the fastest way for him to get your attention?

E. Are you telling him off for breaking some rule he does not know exists?

 

Start learning exactly what is going on, how your puppy is acting just before he does the thing you don’t want, then look for a way to change this without punishment, force, intimidation, or shouting.

Just as with that toddler, usually all that’s needed is to attend to one of the basics listed above. Once all those boxes are ticked, you can move on to distracting him with something interesting (movement, food, toy, outside) and teaching him how to play the way you’d like it - with toys and not your hands.

So what’s with the Dog Body Language?

Dog Body Language is an essential skill that ALL dog-owners, particularly new puppy owners, need to learn fast! Follow your own inner voice and work with your dog in a purely dog-friendly way. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives…

To help you understand exactly what you are seeing - as you watch your puppy as a scientist would - have a look at this video which gives you a quick guide to how dogs express themselves.

So often people misunderstand what their dog is saying! They anthropomorphise their actions, ascribing motives where there are none.

Honestly, dogs just want a comfy billet and a quiet life. Is that what your new dog is getting with you?

 

 

Want to learn how to get your dog to LISTEN?

Watch our free Workshop!

 

 

 

Why Did My Dog’s Reactivity Get Worse, When I’m Trying My Best?

First published on positively.com and reprinted here with permission

 

Many people will tell you to do nasty things to your reactive dog, to STOP him lunging and barking. But the harsher you are to your dog, the worse he will get. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owner…

Does your reactive dog seem to be getting worse?

More fearful, anxious, or aggressive - not less?

There are a few key strategies you can put in place very easily that will make a dramatic difference to how your dog perceives the world.

Here’s an excerpt from my three books on Growly Dogs - Essential Skills for your Growly but Brilliant Family Dog

 

This is Chapter 5 from the first book Why is my dog so growly? It’ll get you started on the road to change.

Chapter 5: Why did it get worse, when I’m trying my best?

It will get worse - unless dealt with

There are some things that dogs do that will go away on their own. Some puppy behaviours, like chewing, submission-weeing, digging, will simply evaporate if carefully managed. But there are other things - usually the things we really don’t want! - that will build and build, getting worse and worse, until we decide to act.

When we do something for the first time, a neural pathway in the brain is built. To begin with this pathway is fairly narrow and hard to find. Think, learning to drive a car - it’s all foreign to us and hard to remember the sequences. But the more we repeat that thing, the wider and brighter the neural pathway becomes until we can just slide down it without a thought. It becomes our go-to response. We can drive on auto-pilot!

So every time your dog does something, he’s building those neural pathways bigger and stronger. He doesn’t have to think hard, as the learner-driver would to locate which pedal to press. It becomes his automatic, instant, response. In the case of our reactive dog: “See dog: bark!”

While this all started as a fear response, it’s now become a habit as well. So while we change the fear response, we will also be teaching new and better habits.

It works for the dog 

If there’s something that’s frightening you, your first instinct is to get away from it. If you can’t get away from it, you’ll try to get it away from you. Hence some manic responses to a wasp in the house!

When your dog puts on a song and dance routine of barking, whining, lunging, and prancing, at the sight of another dog, he’s trying to get it to go away.

And this often works! Either

  • the other dog is frightened off and moves away

  • the other dog’s owner thinks “this is a nasty dog” and turns away, 

    OR

  • the barking dog’s owner is shamed into beating a hasty retreat

If it works, he’ll keep doing it. Because he has no other course of action to rely on. 

Fight or Flight

This well-known expression really comes into its own with the reactive dog. It’s the reason many people think their dog is “fine” off-lead, but turns into a monster on-lead. As we saw in Chapter 1, this dog is usually not as “fine” as people think. It’s only because the off-lead dog has the freedom to move away (flight) that things don’t go badly wrong.

Once your dog is tethered to you, however, he knows he can’t flee, so this leaves only fight. This can all be made worse by the fact that he’s unable to express his body language and calming signals. It’s difficult to look nonchalant and relaxed if your head is being held up in the air.

Trapped in a tunnel!

Many people will tell you to do nasty things to your reactive dog, to STOP him lunging and barking. But the harsher you are to your dog, the worse he will get. Brilliant Family Dog is committed to improving the lives of dogs and their harassed owner…

This feeling of being restrained or trapped can also be made worse by being in a “tunnel”. This is the stuff of nightmares for many people: ahead is an all-consuming fire, behind is a crush of people and cars - panic!

For your dog this tunnel could be made up of walls and hedges and parked cars, as on a street pavement, or can be a real tunnel of a narrow footpath with walls and trees either side. Even being 10 yards from a field barrier - trees, or a hedge - can prompt the fight reflex, as the flight option is limited.

And what does the owner bring to this party?

Sadly, we often make this all far, far worse.

I know we don’t want to, and we think we’re doing everything we can to stop it. But we do tend to add fuel to the fire.

If you’re like 99% of reactive dog owners, you’ll be in a continuous state of shock and apprehension when out with your dog - just waiting for something to kick off. So you wind the lead round your hand a few times, just to be sure, to be sure. You keep your dog on a tight lead, close to you - as if creeping through enemy territory and waiting for mines to start exploding any moment.

And the second you spot another dog - BANG! Off goes the first mine. You gasp and breathe in sharply, you go trembly and flustery, you tighten that lead even further, gripping it to your chest. “Oh no!” says your dog, “What’s she so afraid of? What have I got to bark at?”

Your understandable fear and anxiety over your dog is now triggering your dog’s outburst. 

A loose cannon

It may be that, up to now, you’ve really had little understanding of why your dog behaves as she does. You know all too well how she behaves! It seems to you that she is unpredictable. She’s lovely at home, so why does she put on this other persona when out?

You’ve come to distrust your friend. 

And this feeling of unease, distrust, panic, seeps into even the calmest of walks. Your dog is now on her toes! If you’re afraid, then there must be something bad out there. Your dog will work hard to locate it and try and keep it away.

How stressful a pleasant walk with your dog has become!

This is no fun for either of you, and this is what we are going to change. But wait, there’s more you need to know first.

A social pariah

Maybe you’ve found that the only way out of this nightmare is to walk your dog at 5 in the morning, or at dead of night - at The Hour of the Difficult Dog. The only people you see are other owners of difficult dogs, who will scurry away like rats in the sunlight as soon as they spot you.

You have now become a social pariah. When you first got your dog, you had happy visions of companionable walks with friends and their dogs. What has happened? Walks have now become a chore. There’s no fun here for either you or your dog.

You know that what you’ve been doing up to now is not working. So here’s a complete turnaround for you - and you’ll be quite amazed at the difference it will make!

ACTION STEP 4

As soon as you spot another dog,

1. Relax

2. Soften your hands on the lead, keeping it loose


3. Breathe out


4. Say cheerily to your dog, “Let’s go!” while you turn and head the other direction

I can hear your protests already! Just try it. We’ll address problems and fallout later.

To read more, go to www.brilliantfamilydog.com/growly-boxset where you’ll find all three books in ebook and paperback and a box-set of all of them at once.

And to get started straight away with lessons to help your Growly Dog, watch our free Masterclass for Growly Dogs

 

 

 

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