If you have a dog who can bark or lunge towards other dogs, people, traffic, bicycles or other things in the environment, I can help you. I offer consultations in evenings and weekends, in the South Oxfordshire/West Berkshire areas. I can also offer an option of online consults for those who are further afield, see service page for details. The name ‘paws to connect’ is based on the principle that
we need to take time to connect with our dogs. Once you start working with me, this is something we will work towards in the moment, finding ways to connect. However this starts by looking at the bigger picture. I take a holistic approach, taking focus away from the problem initially to look at you and your dog’s routine, lifestyle and relationship, to help you both get to a better place to be able to manage situations, and work towards calm. My approach is based on the following principles:
- Relationship: When you are with your dog, it is important you can trust each other. I can help you strengthen the bond between you and your dog, which is the basis on which you encounter the world together. This involves looking at the relationship outside of the ‘problem area’ and finding ways to have enjoyable and calm time together to build trust and confidence.
- Routine and stress: When a dog becomes stressed in a situation and feels the need to react, they will have a physiological stress response as well as the behaviour you see. This means a rise in the steroid hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure and heart rate. It can take hours or even days for the cortisol level to go back to what it was, so if the dog is finding every walk stressful they will find it more and more difficult to cope and reactivity will increase. I will help you look at your routine so you can make changes to help your dog feel relaxed for as much of the day as possible.
- You – having a reactive dog is stressful for you too, and humans have the same stress response as dogs do. This will not only impact your ability to manage a situation with your dog, but also your dog will pick up on your stress and worry and this may make them more reactive. Our dogs read us incredibly well, and they are often ‘mirrors’ of our own feelings. This is why trying to cover up how we feel often does not work. The stress of having a reactive dog will affect your relationship too, as you may become less keen to spend time with them, particularly out on walks. So we will look at ways to reduce your stress too.
- Communication: Dogs cannot use words so will communicate how they are feeling through their behaviour. Here, your dog’s behaviour is an expression of their emotions, and the way the dog can communicate how they are feeling. For example, with reactivity, your dog is communicating that he/she is not comfortable in a situation. This communication may start with subtle signs, but if we miss these the dog will feel they need to shout to be heard. I will help you to read your dog’s more subtle behaviour to enable you to respond to the ‘whispers’ and help your dog feel heard and understood. This will support you to have a better relationship with your dog. So I will also help you to find ways to communicate with your dog in a clear and honest way. As I when we are covering up how we feel and communicating something that conflicts with how we are really feeling, this can cause confusion and stress for us and our dogs.
- Training: you will see that a lot of this does not involve training to ‘fix the problem’. My approach does not look at ‘fixing’ but supporting you and your dog to improve your relationship which will create trust, confidence and calm As part of this process, we may use training techniques such as desensitisaton, counter conditioning and train certain behaviours or responses to help you to manage situations, and we will do this using positive reward-based methods. Punishing your dog for trying to tell you that they are uncomfortable will have damaging effects. Remember we focus on connection not correction.
- Acceptance: your understanding of how your dog is feeling will help you accept where he or she is and what he/she finds difficult. This may mean accepting that your plans for your dog, for example to be a social butterfly going to the pub with you, meeting people and dogs, may not be ideal activities for your dog at this time. If you want to learn how to support your dog more effectively by improving your relationship and trust with your dog then please contact me. Do you want help in other areas? Though I specialize in reactivity, I can help with other challenges you may be having with your dog. Get in contact to discuss further. About me:
I have worked with dogs and people for over 20 years. During this time I have helped many people and their dogs with training behaviour issues. I have worked training assistance dogs for people with a range of disabilities and supported those partnerships to develop once the dog is placed. Here I have seen the importance of developing a trusting relationship. Having worked with a range of people during my working life, I am also here to help the other end of the lead – you! I have achieved qualifications in human psychology, teaching and counselling skills. I have personal experience of having a reactive dog and understand the stress, anxiety and sometimes embarrassment that comes with that, which sometimes causes us to make decisions that are not in the best interests of the dog or ourselves. This helps me to empathise with your situation and avoid making judgements, and puts me in a better position to support you working with your dog. I take a person-centred approach, taking time to understand you and your situation to tailor a plan that works for both you and your dog. I am interested in how our own mental state influences that of our dogs, and have seen the way our dogs can ‘mirror’ how we are really feeling, even when we are not sure ourselves. As part of my studies I ran a project investigating how our emotions can affect our dogs and found evidence that a spike in human anxiety can result our dogs showing signs of anxiety. My qualifications:
MSc Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling (CABC), University of Southampton,
BSc (Hons) Animal Biology, University of St Andrews
MSc Human Psychology, Oxford Brookes University
Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills, Buckinghamshire College
Level 4 Certificate in Teaching Adults, Buckinghamshire Adult Learning Centre
Multiple short courses in dog training and behaviour and animal assisted intervention. Multiple short courses in human disabilities, dementia, autism, deaf awareness and I also have British Sign Language Level 2 (though a bit out of practice).
