Dog Name: Grace
Dog Age: 3
Dog Breed: Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier
Behaviour issues:
Location: London, Ontario
Jumping up, barking, people aggression
Gracie was aggressive to almost all people, including those in her home. She was very territorial and protective, and would use a predictable aggressive act (biting and pulling on coats, sweaters, shirts) to keep younger female pack members from leaving the house, and serious aggression to the adult male homeowner, who she felt was a risk to the females. Grace was also aggressive to any visitors to the home, with barking, growling and nipping becoming typical behaviour to control those around her. Grace would seem prepared to obey the dominant female person in the house, but only once she became very, very angry with Grace’s aggressive behaviour. Any effort at dog training had failed prior to a visit from Bark Busters.
Outcome Descriptions:
My initial visit identified the reasons for Grace’s aggressive behaviour, and I explained to the dog owners that Gracie had become the decision-maker in the house, and that her decision to use aggression to control activity in the household could be replaced by a decision to follow the lead of all household members if they demonstrated consistent leadership that she understood. We put this leadership in place and Gracie’s behaviour and role in the pack relaxed significantly.
Two months later the family contacted me again because Gracie’s misbehaving aggression had returned, so I revisited their home. They had stopped most of the strategies we put in place, so we re-established their behaviour and Gracie responded in a favourable way instantly, and remains a well-behaved pack member.
Client Comment / Review:
Just a followup to let you know Grace is definitely improving. The door has much less significance to her it seems. Leaving the house is no problem. She (Gracie) is responding very well to Jeff and myself, which is surprising as Jeff was the one she liked to dominate the most with her female instincts.