Elsie had attended all of Contented Petcare’s puppy classes and the agility classes. She was really well socialised, always been around lots of dogs and happy meeting dogs on walks. She was attacked by a dog randomly on a walk with no injuries and I was more shocked than she was. However gradually over time she became more and more nervous when seeing dogs approaching from afar and even when meeting dogs on the walk. She would tense up then stare at them from far away and warn them away before they get near with a grumpy growl. Nicola did some one to one sessions at home with me and Elsie to use positive rewards to help both distract Elsie initially and teach her that the new dogs are not threatening. It’s really helped me feel more confident with what to do and what not to do when she is tensing up as well as help me communicate confidently with other dog owners regarding her needing some space and not wanting a dog jumping on her head! She has improved with meeting dogs she still has work to continue but I’m glad it’s getting better and not worse. She still meets new dogs on her home stays and when she is out with the other dogs with the dog walkers and has continued to be great in those settings. I can see now how her problems escalated from that one event and wish I’d realised sooner she was changing as it would have been easier to reassure her earlier on. Anyhow I wouldn’t have known what to do or what was happening with her and it has given me skills and reassurance with how to manage and improve her behaviours.
Elsie had attended all of Contented Petcare’s puppy classes and the agility classes
