While we love Alfie the Chihuahua very much, we realise that his behaviour sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. For example, when we are out he barks madly at other dogs and whilst he likes being petted by kids and women, he is not at all happy around men. And although he behaves well when out with his professional dog walkers, with us he leads us a merry dance – he runs off, doesn’t return when we call and is generally a bit naughty.
Being a small dog, people often laugh off this bad behaviour as cute or the result of “little dog syndrome”. And being so small, it’s easy to pick him up out of harm’s way when he starts to get aggressive around other dogs. This wouldn’t happen if he was a significantly heavier Staffy or Lab. And people would not be so tolerant.
So we called in a professional. Filled in all the forms. Sought permission from our vet (apparently, it’s a legal requirement – dog care is more joined up than human care it seems). And waited patiently for Beverley Saucell BSc (Hons) DipCABT from Fetch! to arrive.
Exactly at 1030am the bell went and Beverley attempted to enter our house. Alfie went mad – barking wildly and making an almighty fuss. Embarrassed? I should say so. We sat down and started chatting – ignoring Alfie’s continuing grumbles from the safety of under the kitchen table. Then he jumped onto my lap. I was told to put him back on the floor. Oh no! So I did. And so he jumped onto my daughter’s lap. She put him down. And then he went over to Beverley and put his paws on her leg, asking to be lifted onto her lap. What a turncoat!
We spent a fair bit of time talking about his puppyhood, his socialisation and early days with the family and all of his many “problem” behaviours. The diagnosis is that he is rather nervous and the aggressive behaviour is the result. So we need to help him remain calm and start a programme to reduce his sensitivity to the triggers of his nervousness. We were given some tips about changing from a collar to a harness, using a longer lead with a smaller clasp and having a bag of treats for training purposes.
After an hour or so we went on our first outing so Beverley could observe his behaviour first hand. Just a few yards from the house we encountered four builders and a happily sitting Scotty dog. Alfie went into a frenzy of barking – much to the amusement of the builders and the surprise of the Scotty dog (sorry!). So we continued to the park with guidance on how to do “Let’s go” evasive action – with lots of rewards and encouraging words. Sorry again to the startled Wienerama who wanted to play in the park and who Alfie barked at. Back at home we started learning how to shape his behaviour so that eventually he will “settle” on a small mat for when we travel on buses and trains.
The first session was a couple of hours. We have started implementing some of the new behaviours – keeping him shut away when the door bell rings, stopping him from jumping up when we are eating and regular training sessions getting him to come in from the garden and settling on his mat. It might not seem like much but he looks a lot happier and is responding well.
Let’s hope we make enough progress for when Beverley returns in a fortnight.
http://www.fetchpets.co.uk/
