Dog Name: Benson
Dog Age: 1
Dog Breed: shih-poo
Behaviour issues:
Jill and Jamie called in early December to get started with their in home dog training with Bark Busters when their 7 month old shih-poo Benson, would not stop biting them or being aggressive.
they explained that he was constantly biting and growling at them - whenever they tried to touch him, pick him up, put his leash on, get him out of his bed, take an object away, etc. Grooming him or cutting his nails was absolutely out of the question without a kevlar suit!
They were extremely frustrated, scared to touch him and desperate for a solution. Even the vet in their family had made suggestions to try and "fix" his aggression and his advice had only seemed to increase Benson's aggression.
Aggression was the big issue here but he also needed walking instruction, general obedience and needed to be brushed without incident.
Outcome Descriptions:
By changing the pack structure and leadership roles and ensuring that both owners were now clearly communicating in dog language (body language and vocal tone/growl) and using their hands for PRAISE not punishment we began to rebuild the trust in this relationship. We also started to change some of their habits which would send confusing messages to their dog about leadership and who was in charge.
Benson now comes when called, no longer bites his owners, walks nicely on leash, can be groomed and have his nails trimmed without incident!
Client Comment / Review:
We called Bark Busters when our shih-poo, Benson, was around 7 months old because he was constantly biting and growling at us when we tried to touch him, pick him up, put his leash on, get him out of his bed, take an object away, etc. We were extremely frustrated and didn’t know how to interact with him. We were always scared to touch him because we didn’t know if he was going to try to bite us or let us pick him up. We have a vet in the family and when he saw how Benson would snap at us when we tried to take a chew away, he told us we should pick him up, say “no” and then pin him to show him who the boss really is. We started doing that and the problem kept getting worse. It was clear to us that he was dominant and we didn’t know how to fix the problem.
Lisa at Bark Busters came in and taught us the necessary tricks so that we could establish dominance with Benson. We were doing everything incorrectly and the little tricks she taught us were so easy and have made the world of a difference. We let him dictate play time, where to go on a walk, and would always go to him when we wanted something. He knew he was the boss!
She taught us that physically pinning Benson was giving him the message that our touches usually lead to forced submission. We had to teach him how to make the right decision by making him do things for us rather than us following his lead. For simple activities like making him come to us so we could put on his leash to challenging activities like cutting his nails, we now have a clear set of communications that Benson understands, making all of our interactions with him positive.
Jill - Liberty Village, Toronto