In June 2007 we relocated to south Wales for what will probably be 12 months.
A holiday facility in Port Talbot offered us a deal so that clients with dogs
could stay there with their dogs and train in the environment. Teal's
owners came all the way from Sussex to do three days work. Teal was much
loved but was very aggressive on sight with other dogs. He had been a very
unsocialised puppy before these owners took him and they had tried very hard to
stop him. They were at the point of hardly walking him at all because they
were afraid of what he would do so there was little pleasure to be had outside.
We are grateful to his owners for their story and very pleased for all of them
that things have improved so much.
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I took on a Labrador boy called Teal from rescue
who is a lovely lad, but was very strong willed but very good in the house and
great with adults, children and dogs. One morning whilst out walking him with
his dog friend. he was attacked by a boxer and his neck and ear were badly
bitten. From then on he didn't like boxers, which very quickly included brown
staffies. He then got worse and his list of dogs he disliked became longer to
include small dogs, spaniels, a collie and the only ones he was OK with were
dogs he knew and played with before this happened or Labs and retrievers. He
would bowl over any dog he didn't like and stand over them growling.
I dreaded taking him for a walk and joined the
band of midnight dog walkers, taking him out very early in the morning or at
night hoping not to meet anyone. If I saw a dog coming towards us I used to
turn round and go in the other direction. If he came too close to another dog
he would lunge and growl and kick up a dreadful fuss. Twice he pulled me right
over and on one occasion I realized that I had hit rock bottom when I was
laying on the ground with a snarling, growling Lab and looked up to see a poor
woman running down the road away from me with her two boxers in tow.
I took my boy to the vets to see if his aggression
was being caused by an illness but he could find nothing wrong. The only
answer he had was to put Teal to sleep and he kept telling me that there were
lots of nice dogs in rescue centres waiting for good homes. I knew I couldn't
even think of this as being an option as I loved him too much.
I looked up everything that I could find on the
internet about dog aggression and was lucky to hit on Debbie's web site. After
a phone call to her we booked a dog holiday to the outdoor centre in Wales.
When we arrived Debbie was there to meet us and we spent the first afternoon
telling her all our problems.
The next morning Debbie arrived early and we got
to work in the field at the centre. Debbie was kind but firm with Teal and he
seemed to know that she was in charge and that he had to behave himself. We
spent the morning working him on a long line, walking to heal, retrieving,
and playing ball and although he was enjoying himself he was learning that he
had to do what he was told. At lunch time we took him for a walk and a paddle
in the lovely stream at the centre and then he had a rest whilst we had lunch.
In the afternoon Debbie told me where I had been going wrong in that Teal
thought that he was Top dog and that I was only there for his convenience. She
taught me how to walk him on a shorter lead, dominance exercises to do with
him everyday and how to get better control of him.
The next morning Debbie arrived with one of her
lovely dogs and we took both dogs out on to the field where we spent ages
walking past each other gradually getting closer. Debbie showed me how to do
what she calls an emergency stop in case my boy kicked off, but I have to say
he was quite well behaved in her presence. You have to hear what I term the
'Debbie voice' . My boy looked at her as if to say 'What the heck was that'.
After three lovely days I went home full of hope
but knowing that it was going to be a long hard slog. To start with I began to
walk past other dogs, with more confidence, following Debbie's instructions,
sometimes Teal lunged and growled, sometimes he didn't but I just kept going
leaving plenty of space between us and the other dog. I walked miles each day
reinforcing all the rules that Debbie had shown me. Never again would I turn
round and walk in the other direction or hide in someone's drive until a dog
had passed!
It is now two months since we saw Debbie and each
week I have e mailed her with our weeks progress, or to ask her advice on how
I should have handled a situation and she has always been there for me. One
weekend I got very down and fed up as I had seen loads of dogs enjoying life
on the beach and began to despair of things getting better. Debbie e mailed me
back putting things in perspective and pointing out how far we had come
already. Things have improved and |I can now take Teal for a walk without too
much worry. We still have a long way to go, but just taking him out at a
normal time of the day with people and dogs about is a great achievement for
us. We do the exercises that Debbie taught us every day and Teal is listening
to me much more now. We have a much better quality of life since meeting
Debbie. We are going back to the centre later in the year when I hope that
Debbie will see a big improvement in Teal and me If you would like to talk to
us Debbie will tell you how to contact us. Hilary 2007
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