Last year in April, my very best PellePirat was attacked by a Rottweiler. It happened out of the blue, and he was eaten from behind, without any warning.
It has had major consequences for him - and us. He became extremely scared. Of everything. Suddenly he was hiding under the bed, was afraid of the slightest noise in the kitchen, and yes, of course he also became scared and reactive to other dogs.
We have always enjoyed, since he was very little, training a lot and being among others. So it turned our daily lives upside down. The first priority was that he should feel well again. And we have been working on that ever since.
We got Olli last September. Our very own bodyguard and mascot. She looks after the Pirate and takes her responsibility very seriously. This means that we can actually go most places again. Because the Pirate is safer.
We counter-behave REALLY a lot on other dogs. This means that every time PP sees another dog, I give him a "Check!", which means he gets a treat. He shouldn't go into obedience mode, but relate to the other dog that passes by (at a good distance) and slowly I can see how he feels more in control and confident when we see other dogs. He has been given an alternative way to react. We've come a long way. There's still a long way to go, but I can see that his mental state is MUCH better. And that's the most important thing.
Of course, it's not the worst thing that I've been studying to be a behavior therapist at Hund & Træning since August last year and therefore have good advice at hand, but even now I work with real cases where dog owners are with dogs, like my PellePirat. And ask me for help. It's always easier to help others if you've walked the path yourself.
PelleP hasn't been to any training at all since April. We briefly tried something outdoors last summer, but he got terribly stressed out. Even though he loves training, especially tricks with his favorite Johanna, the influence of the other dogs was too great. So, Olli took over all the training that takes place among other dogs. And PelleP has only trained Nose Work.
Nose Work has really become his sport now. He has developed so well. He has his NW1 in DK and he also has his scent test in Sweden. So the plan is that he will also go to Sweden and compete. Nose Work is the sport where we have been able to participate - also in competitions - without it stressing him out completely. And I am really grateful for that.
Yesterday PelleP was SCREAMING when we hit the Stestrup hall, where Olli was going to trick training. He knows the hall. He has been training both LP and tricks there for years. So after Olli had been to class I was allowed to take PP out and let him come up to the hall. He was SO happy. And we started by just doing a little target training at the door, and letting him interact with the other dogs who were training in the hall. When he himself was ready and asked for it, we went into the hall. And then I saw a little glimpse of my old PelleP, who happily and happily barked at me and fooled around with tricks in front of me. Despite the other dogs. 10 minutes later he himself asked to go - so we did.
There is a way out of even the most difficult situations. My PellePirat will certainly never be indifferent to other dogs at the training ground. But he may come back to enjoying coming to training - and maybe, sometime in the future, he can participate in a skill test - which was always the idea with my little silly pirate.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, currently training to become a behavior therapist and is passionate about training, especially Nose Work, and runs PowerDog. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.
Olli is the newest member of the house. A Malinois bitch who will hopefully also step her beautiful paws into LP, tricks and Nose Work.
When your happy dog quietly returns
Last year in April, my very best PellePirat was attacked by a Rottweiler. It happened out of the blue, and he was eaten from behind, without any warning.
It has had major consequences for him - and us. He became extremely scared. Of everything. Suddenly he was hiding under the bed, was afraid of the slightest noise in the kitchen, and yes, of course he also became scared and reactive to other dogs.
We have always enjoyed, since he was very little, training a lot and being among others. So it turned our daily lives upside down. The first priority was that he should feel well again. And we have been working on that ever since.
We got Olli last September. Our very own bodyguard and mascot. She looks after the Pirate and takes her responsibility very seriously. This means that we can actually go most places again. Because the Pirate is safer.
We counter-behave REALLY a lot on other dogs. This means that every time PP sees another dog, I give him a "Check!", which means he gets a treat. He shouldn't go into obedience mode, but relate to the other dog that passes by (at a good distance) and slowly I can see how he feels more in control and confident when we see other dogs. He has been given an alternative way to react. We've come a long way. There's still a long way to go, but I can see that his mental state is MUCH better. And that's the most important thing.
Of course, it's not the worst thing that I've been studying to be a behavior therapist at Hund & Træning since August last year and therefore have good advice at hand, but even now I work with real cases where dog owners are with dogs, like my PellePirat. And ask me for help. It's always easier to help others if you've walked the path yourself.
PelleP hasn't been to any training at all since April. We briefly tried something outdoors last summer, but he got terribly stressed out. Even though he loves training, especially tricks with his favorite Johanna, the influence of the other dogs was too great. So, Olli took over all the training that takes place among other dogs. And PelleP has only trained Nose Work.
Nose Work has really become his sport now. He has developed so well. He has his NW1 in DK and he also has his scent test in Sweden. So the plan is that he will also go to Sweden and compete. Nose Work is the sport where we have been able to participate - also in competitions - without it stressing him out completely. And I am really grateful for that.
Yesterday PelleP was SCREAMING when we hit the Stestrup hall, where Olli was going to trick training. He knows the hall. He has been training both LP and tricks there for years. So after Olli had been to class I was allowed to take PP out and let him come up to the hall. He was SO happy. And we started by just doing a little target training at the door, and letting him interact with the other dogs who were training in the hall. When he himself was ready and asked for it, we went into the hall. And then I saw a little glimpse of my old PelleP, who happily and happily barked at me and fooled around with tricks in front of me. Despite the other dogs. 10 minutes later he himself asked to go - so we did.
There is a way out of even the most difficult situations. My PellePirat will certainly never be indifferent to other dogs at the training ground. But he may come back to enjoying coming to training - and maybe, sometime in the future, he can participate in a skill test - which was always the idea with my little silly pirate.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, currently training to become a behavior therapist and is passionate about training, especially Nose Work, and runs PowerDog. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.
Olli is the newest member of the house. A Malinois bitch who will hopefully also step her beautiful paws into LP, tricks and Nose Work.