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Things to ask a behaviourist....

4 replies

ClaireDeTamble · 13/06/2012 11:07

We have a (approx) 4.5 year lab cross breed which we got from rescue 2 years ago.

He is really good with humans but terrible with other furries and displays real fear-aggression with other dogs. We don't know what happened when he was younger to cause this.

Over the past 2 years, we have done some low level training with him (although not as much as we would like due to a new baby) and he is a little bit more obedient, but his reactions to other dogs seems to be getting worse.

He also goes mental when the door or letterbox goes or if he is outside and he can see people walking past the gate. During the day, he mostly goes to work with DH in his van but will act up if he sees other dogs or people on bikes or with shopping trollies etc. Due to his unpredictability with other dogs, he is always kept on a lead when walking - the one time he was let off, he attacked another dog and when we first got him, he got out a couple of times and attacked other dogs.

We intended to go to a behaviourist in a couple of months when I was back at work from maternity, but this morning, he again attacked another dog when DH accidentally left the gate open while loading his van.

Clearly the situation cannot continue, so I am in touch with the vet to get a referral to a behaviourist sooner rather than later. While I know dog on dog aggression does not make him any more likely to attack a human, I worry that if one of the girls gets in the way while the red mist is down they will get hurt. Also the dog he attacked this morning belongs to one of DD1's school friends, so if I see her mom on the school run, I want to be able to say we are doing something about it.

My hope is to eventually have a dog that does not go mental everytime someone walks past or knocks the door and that can be walked off lead, playing fetch down the park, however, I will settle for him not ripping our arms off every time we walk past a house with a dog and not having the fear that if he gets out he is going to maim or kill someone's beloved pet.

The behaviourist at our vets is a member of APBC, but I was wondering if there was anything else we should ask / check apart from obviously telling her what we have written here?

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herbertjane · 13/06/2012 11:31

A good behaviourist should be asking you the questions so don't worry too much. You could ask them about the BAT method if they are favour then go with them! BAT is fantastic for reactive dogs - it can take time but you will see a huge improvement in your dog.

They should come to your house and visit you and all the family members depending on the dog issues they may want to see the dog with or near other dogs (if safe to do so). The visit can be as long as 2 hours or more so that the behaviourist can get the full picture. They should give you management advice on the spot and will then go and write a full programme of rehabilitation for you. At any point ask them questions to make sure you are happy with what they are recommending don't worry about asking what may seem like obvious questions we want to make sure you fully understand.

Hopefully they will clearly explain what you need to do and also be on the end of a phone or email to give you more advice or sometimes just a bit of motivation if things aren't going as quickly as you will like.

BAT info here

Just to reassure you generally a dog to dog reactive dog will not ever act the same way with humans - ironically often they are the most gently kind dogs around people. However the behaviourist will be able to judge this in situ and the whole purpose of visiting you at home will look at all the behaviours your dog shows. There may be general stress signals that you may not have noticed and the behaviourist will pick up on this for you.


Good luck and let us know how you get on.

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ClaireDeTamble · 13/06/2012 12:04

Thanks

You are right - he is soft as pudding with the girls - I don't worry about him attacking them, but when the door goes or the letter box rattles he bolts at it full pelt and nothing stops him. If DH or I happen to be standing in front of him, we can sometimes stop him going, but stop commands don't work at all. Even if he is shut in the kitchen, he goes mad barking and jumping up the kitchen door.

DD1 knows to get out of the way, but DD2 will be toddling soon and if she is in his path when he bolts, she will get hurt.

The behaviourist associated with our vets does consultations at the clinic - should I insist on a home visit instead then?

It's these people Pet Behaviour Centre

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thewizenedone · 13/06/2012 14:02

Our dog is lead reactive to other dogs which would appear to stem from two incidents where she was nipped when on the lead when she was younger. We adopted her four months ago, and primarily when we were out had trouble as she would go nuclear as soon as she saw another dog, lunging, straining and barking nothing would calm her down, when she went into this "zone" . We tried clicker training to no avail. We saw a very good behaviourist who had her sitting next to an open car with dogs in within five minutes accepting treats Hmm when we had tried this she shut up long enough to get the treat but then normal service was resumed. She made several observations during the session and we have followed her advice.

After taking on board the advice, ie make her work for everything at home, even if its only sit for dinner, sit before opening doors etc, and also Teanosugars excellent advice! Grin we are making progress, shes not perfect but what dog is? we have gone from a lunging mad beast barking and unresponsive to a woof or two. She will sit. She is however very much a house guarder and goes nuts when the postman comes.

Ironically ours is good off lead with other dogs, but does show the usual "in your face" characteristics which seem a breed standard so does get herself into trouble now and again.Grin she generally legs it at the first sign of trouble so definately a case of can talk the talk but not walk the walk. One thought is that there is a spray that emits a hissing noise, she hates it and we only have to show it to her to calm her down when she is having a bad day, that might help with the going mad when the door bell goes perhaps.

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herbertjane · 13/06/2012 17:00

Clare and David are both experienced very dog behaviourists. I do know that Clare does do home visits. Paul was a lecturer of mine when I was at Southampton Uni! I would speak to them when you make the appointment and see if they will do a home visit.

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