Grooming And Barking Problems

Chip, a Staffy Labrador cross, barks constantly in the car and is aggressive to other dogs.

Poppy, a Cocker Spaniel with grooming and growling issues.

Flint, a Patterdale Terrier which chases its own tail.

Biddy, a Yorkshire Terrier from a rescue centre with severe nuisance barking problems and travel tantrums.

Jasper, a long-haired Jack Russell that barks at anything and everything.

Chip is a 2-3 year old Staffy Lab cross and barked constantly whenever he was in the car. He is a little nervous and after neutering got worse. His owners Rachel and Eric had brought in another behaviourist who, after two sessions, advised sedation. Chip has also been to a residential school which improved his obedience but it didn't cure his barking in the car. He was also dog aggressive and barked and lunged at dogs, cars, scooters, vans etc. I worked with Chip, Eric and Rachel for over two hours to see if we could help Chip to overcome his fears and calm down. A few days after I posted my report I received this e-mail: Hi Ade, We got your information on Chip yesterday, thank you. Also thanks for the miracle work you did with Chip in the car to stop him barking.  We have continued with this all week, he does try and bite his lead and whine to start with, but then lies down in the car and is as quiet as a lamb. Each day we are having to correct him less and less, so fingers crossed in time he will fine, and no correction will be needed. We have also had a lot of success on his walks.  No barking at traffic (except motorbikes!!!), and we had our first jogger pass us this week, without him barking!!  This has meant that his walks have become enjoyable for all of us, so we are taking him on much longer walks. We are still having a problem with other dogs.  We have passed several who are walking on the other side of the road, and as soon as Chip sees them he barks and lunges. We have been correcting him, and are hoping that now we are not avoiding other dog walkers, in time, and with correction this will improve. We have also been walking Chip with our sons Staffy (who for some reason Chip doesn't have a problem with). Chip seems very relaxed when he walks with Tye, and we hope that this will help chip to be come more socialised. I have attached a photo of Chip for you, and I will keep in touch and let you know how we get on. Thanks again for all your help. Rachel & Eric

Poppy the Cocker Spaniel

Marina and her daughter Heather have a Cocker Spaniel called Poppy. She was aged 15 months when I got a call to help with her behaviour when grooming. She snaps and has to be muzzled to be groomed. When I arrived at the house Poppy barked a lot at the door and then raced away, through the kitchen and garden to have a good bark at me through the gate as well. I was invited in and Poppy growled at me from across the room. She is nervous of strangers and people in doorways. I thought firstly that Poppy and I should get acquainted on a short walk before I started any dog training. She didn't like to be away from Marina and it took a little persuasion for her to start to respond to me, displaying some protest and nervous body language. When I corrected her she shrank down and had a nervous wee. but soon settled down and started to enjoy the walk. I showed Marina and Heather how I would approach the grooming, I used my own special  dog whisperer technique to give poppy a massage and quietly introduced the grooming brush into the equation. Poppy's eyes started to close and her head went up, this dog was starting to enjoy the experience! Within 20 minutes I was gently grooming Poppy with no muzzle, no snapping and no growling. I then instructed Marina on the technique. I also showed Marina how to get more control over Poppy's barking with a simple dog training technique, and another technique for good door manners so that visitors could relax and so could Poppy.

By Email: Since you visited Poppy has made a significant improvement in herself and her general manners, which we are very pleased about. When out walking my mum now feels more trusting in Poppy. Grooming is more pleasurable however there is still room for improvement, which we are working on.
We feel Poppy has also demonstrated to be less fearful when out and about.
Poppy also seems more content and able to entertain herself, which may be due to age.
My mum would like you to return for a refresher session for herself and Poppy as discussed previously. Heather.

Update: Since our last contact with you poppy has improved further.  Poppy went to a groomers to have her hair cut, which is something we previously had been apprehensive about doing. Poppy came back looking nice and they said she was absolutely fine.  This is a huge improvement.
 Poppy remains well behaved when at home and out walking, with not a growl for sometime now! We do not have any problems at present but we will not hesitate to contact you in the future if needed.
 Thank you for your input                              Heather

Flint the Patterdale Terrier

By Email: "Our dog thinks his own tail is his mortal enemy and can become frenzied in his attacks on it. The problem was exacerbated recently when he was bitten by another dog - on the tail. He now wears a 'lampshade' to prevent further damage but he is driving us mad!"
Flint is a 4 year old Patterdale Terrier that Jan and John have raised from the age of 8 weeks old. He chased his tail as a pup, grew out of it, but then started biting it whenever the owners were eating. When playing with a ball he was bitten by another dog on the ear and tail and since then has become obsessive about attacking his own tail. He is still very friendly to other dogs. As they live on a narrow boat, Flint is constantly getting his "lampshade" caught as he moves about the boat.

I observed Flint for a while and noticed he was an attention seeker, and if he didn't get attention he would turn his head around, fixate and growl at his tail and then start to bite it, it looked comical as he whirled around but the behaviour was totally unacceptable. This dog behaviour had resulted in nervousness frustration and distress for his owners and they needed help. After some observation and asking a few questions we took Flint for a walk and I showed John and Jan how to start to take control of Flint using very simple dog training exercises and be his pack leader. We met a few unbalanced dogs in the marina and that is also going to affect his general dog behaviour. I showed how to correct the tail biting and get Flint to understand that it was now unacceptable to behave in this way. Flint soon realised we were all pretty serious about it and started to chill out. We worked through a few more dog training techniques to get Flint to calm down on and off the boat before the end of the session.

By Email: Dear Ade
Almost a full week has passed so now is the time for us to report back.
We were delighted with the progress you made with Flint in only 2 hours. He was a different dog in your hands. Pity there were no TV cameras on the scene - you could have been famous! Then we had to take responsibility for ourselves and there's no doubt you have given us an insight into our dog, which has helped us improve his behaviour enormously. We progressed well on day 1, picking up from where you left off. We made Flint listen... We may have spent too much time with him as we suffered a set-back when friends were looking after him while we were away overnight and for 1 day. My friend was far too tolerant and even ended up sleeping on the sofa with the dog - not something even one of us would ever do.Once we got back we had to start afresh by asserting ourselves and making Flint know his place in the pecking order. The first night back I had to get up 3 times to check him. The 2nd night he responded to the verbal command. We had to use the lampshade collar at night, of course, to save him from himself.
Since that night, Flint has slept through without chasing his tail once.
We can't say we have 'success' yet, as he does still get into his "oblivious-to-everything-else-must-chase-the-tail" mode from time to time - usually when he has woken from a nap. We don't leave him alone unattended without protection. This is now a cage muzzle, which he accepted without any trouble at all. This makes life much easier getting about the boat.  We make sure he has plenty of opportunity to access water and food, of course.
Flint has developed a new habit now. If one of us is working in the galley (kitchen) he will come up quietly from behind  and squeeze his head between the legs just below the knee and then just stand there until John or I make a move. This is a bit of a mystery to us. Perhaps he's looking for protection from that monster of a tail! (he just wants a bit of attention - Ade)
The success with the lunging after cars hasn't been tested much but on the one occasion he was walked along a road we were astonished at the progress we made in just half an hour by stopping him BEFORE he lunged using your method and looking him in the eye. By the time we got home he wasn't really reacting to cars at all. Let's hope he remembers next time.
One other problem - the one that made him get bitten on the tail in the first place - is his wilful insistence on running off to greet other 'people', both human and canine, when he's off the lead in a play situation. He's fine walking up the towpath or through the woods. He'll stop briefly to greet others but will quickly return to us. On home ground he will just ignore any recall demand from us in order to go and play with another dog or ask another owner to throw his ball. He certainly holds no grudge after being bitten so badly before. No doubt you'll suggest spending some time on formal recall training. We'll try to fit it in!
I think we're doing quite well, on the whole: My discipline voice now has more volume to it . We'll carry on as we are, unless you think there's something else we should be doing, and I'll keep you posted. The biggest test will be in the first week in August when he will be looked after by friends again. This time there will be more people looking after him and he will be able to stay on his own boat to sleep and for meals, which should make life easier. We're hoping that by then he'll be as normal (whatever that means) a dog as it's possible for him to be.
Best regards Jan and John

  Biddy the barking Yorkshire Terrier

Referred from a Vet practice in Swadlincote:-
We have recently acquired a 7 year old Yorkshire Terrier. We are having problems with her continual barking when people come. Can you please help?
Biddy is a 7 year old Yorkshire Terrier, that Ray and Barbara got 8 weeks previously from a rescue centre, she barks constantly at visitors in the house and won't stop. Their daughter is visiting and  Biddy is driving them crazy.
She likes the car but whines constantly in it. They have tried stroking, treats, and attaching her to the seat with a leash but she wants to be on the drivers lap! She also barks at the  neighbours over a low wall. She steals the post and chews it.

When I arrived Biddy wanted attention. She has a very short attention span, and will sit for about 2 seconds before she is on her feet again. I demonstrated how to correct Biddy and after about 15 minutes you could see the penny was starting to drop. I showed Ray and Barbara how to stop her stealing the post and destroying it and start to take control of the house. This is the start of being her pack leader. We went out on the park to do some leash work and stop her pulling. Then we had a trip in the car to sort out the whining. Ray couldn't believe how quickly this could be cured so he took the long way home just to check I hadn't hypnotised the dog! I then changed places with Barbara just to show that she could control Biddy too. Finally we did some recall work in the back garden which went well and she didn't bark once at the neighbours. I call that a result!

By Email:  Hello Ade just a few lines to thank you again for all your help and to let you know how we are getting on with Biddy.   For the first two days after you had been, we had no problems at all with her. Then on the third day she decided to try her old ways again (when my daughter was in the room) and got quite nasty when I tried to get her in to "her own space". However we persevered and "sort of" had her under control again. Next morning she started to carry on again but my daughter spoke to her herself and she became quiet. Then Ray and I went out for an hour and left them together. When we got back all was peace and quiet and everything has been fine since. She now knows that she is bottom of the pack.   She is no longer a problem in the kitchen as she leaves when I tell her to and the "Sentry and General" excercise works a treat at the front door when the door bell rings. Her recall is good in the garden but we haven't dared to try it out over the field yet.   Thank you again for giving us back our sweet, gentle and well behaved little dog.   Best Regards Ray & Barbara
 Well done Ray and Barbara, you have really put the effort in with excellent results. Ade

Jasper the Jack Russell

JASPER is a 19 month old Long-haired Jack Russell belonging to Saleema and Paul. He barks at uniforms, bigger dogs on or off the leash, and runs around them barking then runs off. Started fearful barking, they have tried treat distraction, saying "ENOUGH" and shouting. Nothing works. 95% submissive behaviour then flips. Aims: Stop the aggression to other people and dogs. Improve walking to heel and general obedience to commands.                            After one session: Thank you very much for your detailed report, it is really appreciated. The last few days with Jasper since we met you have been mostly positive, we have kept him on the lead most of the time except to play ball at the end of a walk in a quiet space so that we can correct him easily. There was one setback when he was off the lead where he barked and ran circles around a stranger and my verbal corrections did not work, but all corrections on the lead have been successful and have nipped any growling or barking in the bud. This morning I even managed to get him to walk nicely and calmly behind a pigeon up ahead that he would usually try and chase! We have both been practising the improved "recall technique", and this has been working well and is much more fun Thank you for your help. I hope with some sustained, consistent, on the lead corrections his barking will not be an issue so that we can start letting him off the lead again. Thank you, Saleema