Polly and Murphy

Gill called me asking for some help with her terror terriers.

On my first visit I arrived at the home and totally ignored the dogs when they entered the room. I explained my methods to Gill and her husband and asked them what their canine behavioural and training goals were.

Gill’s request was pretty standard.

• To be able to let the dogs off the lead and call them back
• To have the dogs walk at heel and not pull everyone off their feet
• To stop being aggressive towards other dogs
• To stop being aggressive in the garden
• To be able to take the dogs to their son’s football match without them causing mayhem.
  
  First I tackled the heelwork with Gill and Murphy. I done the usual long line training techniques where I encouraged the dog to follow not lead. We then introduced a wait command.

During our walk we encountered another dog. Murphy was "asked" to stand behind me when the other dog approached. He tried to resist but soon realised that it was a better idea to sit patiently and let the dog pass. (i.e. I asserted my leadership skills and let him know that I was capable of dealing with the situation and did not require his help)

We also performed a desensitization exercise when he saw another dog approaching. (i.e. as soon as he noticed the other dog we started walking briskly in the other direction. As soon as we got his focus we praised and encouraged him to follow by increasing pace)

Next up was Polly who is a Jekyll and Hyde character. Polly is so sweet and loving until she sees another dog then she turns into this aggressive little monster.

Gill's husband Richard and Polly went for a quite stroll and I demonstrated the long line technique and the wait command. Unfortunately we never seen another dog.

I then demonstrated how Gill and Richard could incorporate some basic commands and good manners into their daily training routine. This encompassed waiting at the door then waiting at the garden gate on the way to and from the exercise area. I also enforced the no eye contact when entering the room and no dogs on the sofa rules. All this was demonstrated in a very calm easy-going manner without stress or confrontation.

My next visit was geared towards tackling the dog aggression stuff. Enter super stooge dog Lulu. I arrived at the house and spent some time introducing Richard to Lulu.

I got Richard to walk Lulu back and forth along the perimeter of the garden. I placed the 2 dogs on a long line at made them sit behind me without barking or snarling. I rewarded and praised the dogs for good behaviour.

I then walked Murphy out the garden and controlled his aggression when he could see Lulu at a distance. I praised his good manners. I gradually moved closer to Lulu, turning and walking in the opposite direction each time Murphy snarled. This is basically testing the behaviour with a distraction and conditionally praising or correcting the outcome. This modifies the dog behaviour using positive consequence of action. After a few corrections Murphy was walking parallel to where Lulu was standing.

I performed the same stuff with Polly then I handled the two dogs at the same time, praising for good manners and correcting undesirable behaviour. This was my way of controlling pack power.

Next step was to walk up and down the street with Lulu, Polly and Murphy together – job done.

To reinforce the behaviour we all went back in the garden were all 3 dogs ran around in peace while we chatted quietly. To top it off we entered the house and let all 3 dogs settle down.

This is a classic desensitisation exercise I perform to show the aggressive dog that there is no need to protect or get aggressive. By enforcing control at a distance and gradually moving closer we take the sting out of the situation.

One thing I must stress about desensitisation is that the behavioural side must be firmly under control before any dog aggression training can work properly.

Some dogs get so aggressive with other dogs and people simply because they are trying to “protect” their perceived mate or dependants. This side of dog behaviour is tragically misunderstood and many dogs are needlessly put to sleep.

Make sure the dog is not suffering from separation anxiety and knows his rank within the human pack before you attempt to desensitize outdoor aggression.

Care must be taken to ensure you do not confuse a protective behavioural issue with a dog-to-dog dominance scenario.

I left the owners for 2 weeks to get on with things. Gill had encountered some mixed results with the dog aggression stuff. Polly was doing really well but Murphy was having the occasional relapse.

I decided to take my son Louis to handle Lulu on my next visit so I could concentrate on helping Gill. This time I raised the bar by sending Lulu out at full speed around the park while the dogs where being controlled by their owners. This definitely heightens the stress levels in aggressive dogs, especially sight based terriers. I then worked with Gill getting her to walk Murphy passed Lulu. We then incorporated Polly. Everything went OK.

Next up was Murphy’s fascination with chasing footballs. I asked Gill’s son to kick the ball up and down the path next to where Murphy was standing. I kept turning Murphy away from the ball and praised him when he gave me focus. We gradually moved closer until we were next to the ball. He wasnt perfect but this was a giant step forward to his usual manic tantrums.This kind of fascination cant be corrected in a single session so it was more a point of letting Gill and Rich see how to go about the desensitization process.

After the session all 3 dogs went back to Gill’s house. The dogs were happy to lie together with no aggression. This would never have happened previously.

These cases can never be totally cured in 2 or 3 sessions. The owners need to enhance and build on the desensitization processes I put in place. The dogs appear to be much calmer and generally happier now. I firmly believe that these dogs will become well-balanced individuals if these techniques are implemented and exercised regularly as part of the dog’s routine.

So getting back to Gills original goals. Well hopefully I’ve given them the tools to achieve all their goals. The off lead recall is an exercise that needs to be tackled after the desensitization is firmly engrained. Long line distance training is probably the best route to go to achieve this goal. The heel-work is definitely getting there. The desensitization to other dogs and footballs is an ongoing process but there is no reason why these dogs should continue to be aggressive.

I really enjoyed working with Gill and Rich. They’re genuinely nice people who want to make the dogs part of their family and include them in all their day-to-day activities. I’ve given them the tools and the insight into modifying their pets behaviour. I quietly confident about this one.