Mary called me with regards to her Parson’s Jack Russell Jake.
Jake has had a chequered past, being shunted from home to home for being aggressive and dominant. Jake has a history of biting feet when he gets stressed.
Mary adopted Jake to live with her other dog Shandy. Both dogs lived contentedly together for some time. Sadly Shandy passed away and Jake reverted to his old habits.
I arrived at Mary’s home to meet Jake excitedly jumping and bounding all over the room. He was intent on jumping on the sofa to elevate his head position and show his status within the pack.
It was obvious that Jake thought he was the leader of the house by the way he projected his protective body language. Poor Jake thought his mission in life was to protect Mary.
I asked Mary to put a house line on Jake. Jake soon commandeered one of his toys and lay down in front of Mary, guarding it. I knew this was a protective, dominant communication so I approached him quietly to take hold of the line. Jake immediately pounced at my feet and started biting. I swiftly marched him straight out the room and shut him in the hall for a few minutes then allowed to re-enter the room.
I removed his toys and started to clicker train him to sit in his bed. To be honest Jake responded very well and was happy to sit in his bed on command for a click and a treat. This was the foundation replacement behaviour for jumping on the sofa. I suggested that Mary take Jake’s bed into her bedroom and night and encourage him to sleep in his own bed rather than Mary’s bed.
The next visit was always going to be a little tougher than the initial one. I was accompanied by my son Louis and super stooge dog Lulu. The good news was that Mary had already noticed a difference in Jake. He appeared to be much more relaxed and content.
We practiced some bed commands when Louis with Louis walking in and out the house. I went over the basics of intermittent clicking to ensure that Jake understood that he had to stay in his bed when instructed rather than simply sit in it for 2 seconds and run out again.
We then tackled Jake’s lead pulling and aggression issues. I walked him outside performing my loose lead techniques. He soon got the hang of things and was happy to keep pace with me and get rewarded.
The next stage was to integrate him with Lulu. Jake got very aggressive when he saw Lulu. As soon as he pulled on the line I turned and marched quickly in the opposite direction. I kept an eye on him and praised him when he gave me his focus. I kept repeating this until he was happy to walk up to Lulu without trying to nail her.
I also enforced my authority by standing between Jake and Lulu and made Jake deal with the situation. I made sure he did not cross the line between me and Lulu.
I then started walking along the road in parallel with Louis and Lulu. I corrected Jake if need be but I made sure he was rewarded for compliance. Next stage was to take Lulu and Jake around the block together.
I asked Mary to take Jake while I walked along side her with Lulu. Next step was to start feeding both dogs together - job done.Jake had been totally desensitized to Lulu and was happy to share food and walk with her.
I must admit that I’ve never been a terrier fan but the more I work with these spunky wee guys, the more I like them and I’ll probably end up owning one in the future. They have boundless energy and are keen to please once they understand what is expected of them.
Jake still has a long way to go and there’s every chance of a relapse if he starts getting the wrong signals. Dogs like Jake need consistent reinforcement and stimulation to keep them interested. Mary will have to create a daily routine that will exercise his body and his brain.
I’ve no doubt Mary just loves Jake to bits. There was never a question of the two being separated but hopefully my help will strengthen their relationship and make life more enjoyable.
Jake has had a chequered past, being shunted from home to home for being aggressive and dominant. Jake has a history of biting feet when he gets stressed.
Mary adopted Jake to live with her other dog Shandy. Both dogs lived contentedly together for some time. Sadly Shandy passed away and Jake reverted to his old habits.
I arrived at Mary’s home to meet Jake excitedly jumping and bounding all over the room. He was intent on jumping on the sofa to elevate his head position and show his status within the pack.
It was obvious that Jake thought he was the leader of the house by the way he projected his protective body language. Poor Jake thought his mission in life was to protect Mary.
I asked Mary to put a house line on Jake. Jake soon commandeered one of his toys and lay down in front of Mary, guarding it. I knew this was a protective, dominant communication so I approached him quietly to take hold of the line. Jake immediately pounced at my feet and started biting. I swiftly marched him straight out the room and shut him in the hall for a few minutes then allowed to re-enter the room.
I removed his toys and started to clicker train him to sit in his bed. To be honest Jake responded very well and was happy to sit in his bed on command for a click and a treat. This was the foundation replacement behaviour for jumping on the sofa. I suggested that Mary take Jake’s bed into her bedroom and night and encourage him to sleep in his own bed rather than Mary’s bed.
The next visit was always going to be a little tougher than the initial one. I was accompanied by my son Louis and super stooge dog Lulu. The good news was that Mary had already noticed a difference in Jake. He appeared to be much more relaxed and content.
We practiced some bed commands when Louis with Louis walking in and out the house. I went over the basics of intermittent clicking to ensure that Jake understood that he had to stay in his bed when instructed rather than simply sit in it for 2 seconds and run out again.
We then tackled Jake’s lead pulling and aggression issues. I walked him outside performing my loose lead techniques. He soon got the hang of things and was happy to keep pace with me and get rewarded.
The next stage was to integrate him with Lulu. Jake got very aggressive when he saw Lulu. As soon as he pulled on the line I turned and marched quickly in the opposite direction. I kept an eye on him and praised him when he gave me his focus. I kept repeating this until he was happy to walk up to Lulu without trying to nail her.
I also enforced my authority by standing between Jake and Lulu and made Jake deal with the situation. I made sure he did not cross the line between me and Lulu.
I then started walking along the road in parallel with Louis and Lulu. I corrected Jake if need be but I made sure he was rewarded for compliance. Next stage was to take Lulu and Jake around the block together.
I asked Mary to take Jake while I walked along side her with Lulu. Next step was to start feeding both dogs together - job done.Jake had been totally desensitized to Lulu and was happy to share food and walk with her.
I must admit that I’ve never been a terrier fan but the more I work with these spunky wee guys, the more I like them and I’ll probably end up owning one in the future. They have boundless energy and are keen to please once they understand what is expected of them.
Jake still has a long way to go and there’s every chance of a relapse if he starts getting the wrong signals. Dogs like Jake need consistent reinforcement and stimulation to keep them interested. Mary will have to create a daily routine that will exercise his body and his brain.
I’ve no doubt Mary just loves Jake to bits. There was never a question of the two being separated but hopefully my help will strengthen their relationship and make life more enjoyable.
With solid leadership and plenty of positive stimulation, I’m confident that Jake will settle and become the companion that Mary is looking for.
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