Great progress at our walking at heel course.
It is great to work with other dog professionals who are passionate about the welfare of the dogs they work with. I recently ran a walking at heel and recall group class exclusively for Pluto's Pet Care clients. This is some of the feedback received:
‘Thank you for the course, Julie. We all learned a lot. Bertie is already better at not jumping up and has improved on loose lead. We will keep on practising!!’
‘I just wanted to thank you for your help over the last four weeks. I just wanted to tell you that I have had two really wonderful walks with Connie the last two days. She is so much less “pully” now and I’m sure with more practice she will perfect the loose lead walking. I also took her to the beach and her recall was spot on again. I have also made huge progress with the barking for food and attention. So, thank you so much.’
Sniffing
Walks had become a nightmare for Bonnie and Willow’s guardians, they contacted me for help as both dogs barked constantly on walks and were causing them to rush to get the walks over with as soon as possible; the barking started before they left the house and continued until they returned home.
After a deep dive into the dogs history we uncovered two fearful events which preceded the start of the barking behaviours, both were fearful events in which one dog was attacked by an off-lead dog several years ago. There had also been a few other changes in behaviour recently which were uncovered and prompted the recommendation of a vet visit to rule out any physical causes. The vet recommended a trail of pain medication for one dog and anxiety medication for the other, this was coupled with changes in how the dogs were walked and the introduction of activities to aid relaxation and increase confidence.
Over the next 6 months we had regular catch ups by phone and two more in person visits, with tweaks to the behaviour modification plan made along the way. Walks are now much more pleasant for both the dogs and their guardians; they still have off days (as we all do) but the dogs can now cope with their surroundings in a much more positive way.
Recall practice after our last 121 session
Mia and Kasper’s guardians contacted me in August 2023 as their dogs were no longer getting on like they used to and did not like to be left home alone following a recent house move. Mia was not enjoying walks and often refused to go out and Kasper had started to stare at random fixed points in the house.
During our first session we unpacked a few other behaviours and potential emotional responses and reasons for them. After ruling out any medical issues we worked on reducing stress for both dogs and rebuilding relationships and confidence in their new environment.
We often underestimate the impact that life events, such as a house move have on our dogs. Environmental changes, new sights, smells and sounds all have an impact. Mia and Kasper’s guardians have worked hard to help their dogs adjust to their new surroundings, they are now happy to be left at home, no longer follow them around everywhere and are much calmer. Kasper’s staring has stopped, and Mia is enjoying walks again.
Ava's story
Sometimes the world is just too much for our dogs, even going into the garden can be traumatic let alone going for a walk. When I first met Ava, she was fearful of the outside world, only venturing into the garden for the essentials and then immediately returning to the safety of indoors. Ava’s guardians were committed to helping Ava, we worked on improving her mood state and building her confidence. Within a month Ava ventured into the garden for longer and started to explore. After 4 months Ava was happy to play in the garden and had built up enough confidence to walk a few steps outside. Six months from our first meeting, Ava was waiting by the door asking to accompany her guardians on a walk. This was a very emotional day for all involved. Behaviour change does not happen overnight, it takes time, effort and commitment which Ava’s guardians have in abundance. Now for that walking at heel training....
