Catching up

I'm still trying to honour my promise to write regularly but failing miserably! Anyway where are we now? Well after George and Mia came Bailey and then chip.Both had their issues, firstly Bailey the springer/cocker cross is a lovely fella but due to some issues at home he has learned to snap at people if challenged. Bailey is a classic case of not leading your dog and allowing them to dictate to the owners. Advice here was to make sure he did as he was told but to wait for the correct response before rewarding it. So an example was him taking an item of owners clothing and becoming aggressive when they tried to retrieve it! By holding their ground and showing him they wouldn't back down he eventually gave it up without a struggle and although it took a while, the next time will always be quicker until the issue goes away!

Chip the working springer is a lovely dog who like Bailey was a pleasure to walk and have but his issue was whining and howling which he did for England! It seems his owners crate him when they go out which is not a problem except the dog is allowed to howl unchecked and becomes a habit and although they've never heard it the neighbours have!

Here I always disagree with the behaviour and use distraction and a water bottle to snap him out of it. Always reward the quiet if you can! Had he gone in the crate 10 minutes before the owners left and settled perhaps with a chew or stuffed kong he'd be less likely to howl!

Cheers

Steve