When
dog owners contact me, there is usually a serious reason for it.
In
most cases it is already a manifested problem at this point and the
I
always ask if they already have something done against the "Problem"
with their
dog and if they have an idea, why their dog became a “Problem Dog”.
At
this point most of them had already contacted a "Dog expert" or went
to a local
dog training. But unfortunately, the "advice" didn't work
out for any reason
whatsoever.
I
will introduce you to some of these cases from now on and I believe
that some
of you will see similarities with your dog "problem".
Today
it is about Oscar, a Cocker Spaniel:
I
always start solving the problem at the dogs home, to get a picture
of how the
dog lives, and what rank he has within his family (pack).
I
can usually get a picture after a few minutes where the real problem
has its roots
and most of the time my image is different from the discription of
the problem
from the dog owners point of view.
So
we come to Oscar, a “mad dog” (8 years old), but unfortunately he now lives
with his fourth family, and obviously all families have failed on him and no one
had identified the causes of the problem.
Oscar has been showered with affection and at the same time no one had given
him any discipline and limitations or guidance, which he desperately needed.
Instead
he had been treated like a human child, which was pushed to make his own
decisions at all times, because nobody restricted him. Although he gave clear signs and warnings, nobody saw them, so Oscar started to
react with more and more aggression towards his owners. The problem
manifested itself, because
still nobody reacted to it.
It
is a classic example of human failure.
The
previous owners of Oscar had no intention to ask help from a
professional Dog
psychologist considering solving the problem, instead they passed
him and the problem on to the next owner.
The
solution is simple for me, even now after such a long time it can be solved, because
a dog lives always in the now and not in the past.
And
always the problems have their roots at home.
It
only took a little time to re-socialize Oscar to help him to the
right way and he was so grateful to finally get into a good life,
that was all he wanted, a pack leader he could follow and rely on.
When I start working with the dog and dog owner and explain the reasons for the dog's behavior, then I get mostly as a counter reaction :
"Yes
of course, why did I not recognize all this ?"
I
think it's always very exciting and I see just that in my role as a "Dog
psychologist”:
the
dog owner recognizes the problem with my help and with my
instructions, the dog can be rehabilitated, provided the dog owner
can take my instructions on board.
Read
my monthly articles and if you need help in educating your dog or solving problems, then give me a call !
Every
problem can be solved, no matter how old your dog is !
Thank you for reading,
Sabina Farnhill, Canine Coaching
Dog Training on the Costa Blanca from Calpe, Benissa to Javea
