Fergus

Fergus was a nervy, anxious puppy who was always hyper & never calm.  Although things like bikes & cyclists didn't bother him when he was wee, once he reached a year old he became very scared of anything on wheels - which manifested as barking, growling, lunging and trying to nip.  This behaviour escalated until there were certain dogs he didn't like, as well as all other animal types & this was beginning to transfer onto humans too.  Although always a challenge, due to him pulling on lead and running away when off lead, walks became extremely stressful.  360 degree vision was required to keep him and the rest of the world safe.  The final straw came when he lunged & tried to bite a lady who had patted him whilst he was sitting on lead with my husband, outside a shop.  To be fair to the dog, the lady came out of nowhere & literally pounced on him whilst ruffling his backside - I wouldn't have liked it much either! She was quick to apologise as she realised it had been her actions that had caused Fergus' meltdown.  However, we realised we couldn't go on like this & that there was a real possibility of Fergus hurting someone.  I was also suffering from sore shoulders and a painful neck, partly due to the stress and partly due to his pulling.  We decided to look for a behaviourist/trainer to see if we could turn his behaviour around.  We didn't want to think about the alternative.   

I came across Walk & Train on a Google search & explained our problems.  Linnea replied very quickly & was so supportive in that first email - suddenly we didn't feel we were all alone with a problem dog.  She set up our first meeting which would be followed by several one-to-one sessions.  

Linnea arrived on one of the wettest days we had last year - in the summer!  She observed Fergus on the walk whilst asking questions & getting his history.  She made several suggestions which we could put into practice straight away - one being, to feed him whilst out on his walk & using his food as a reward rather that buying special treats.  This worked very well for Fergus as he just loves using his nose to sniff out his breakfast & tea.  She also showed us how a slip lead would help to control him and get him to walk without pulling.

She also explained how to handle Fergus when he didn't respond after being given a command such as 'on your bed'.  Linnea also suggested changing Fergus food.  We opted for a lower protein food, which we think has helped.

Linnea left us to put the new regime in place & then did an enormous amount of work putting together worksheets which were completely relevant to our problems - in other words, totally personalised.  This all came with suggested video and web links - the amount of work she did should not be underestimated.

Then the hard work began - we were to implement the new regime, whilst doing things like having Fergus on a lead as my husband rode a bike at a distance Fergus was comfortable with, getting closer over a period of time.  We walked past joggers at distance, then got closer to them over time, we walked past hundreds of buggies, around the outside of playgrounds etc.  We got him to jump over low branches, onto tree stumps, wriggle under low branches, anything that would build his confidence.

We had several meetings with Linnea building on what we were doing with Fergus - then she decided it was time to walk him at heel through a busy environment&chose George IV Bridge - Fergus responded excellently - & that was our turning point - you could see him think that actually, he could manage this.

We are still a work in progress - does he still pull?  Yes, but I know the fault lies with me. Do I still suffer with my neck & shoulders?  No, because he only pulls occasionally during a walk & I can get him to stop.  His recall is excellent, he can walk past bikes & joggers whilst on lead, although we are still cautious when he is off lead.  He never does his old barking/growling/lunging routine - not even when he sees a cat!  Walks are no longer fraught with fear & we can once again take him with us if we go for a coffee.  Yes, he can still be nervous sometimes, but we have been complimented on having such a calm dog!  People have noticed that he seems to be a much happier dog & he now actively comes to us to be petted, which he never did before, preferring his own company.

Life was hard last year, but Linnea was with us every step of the way, between our sessions and email back-up & life is so much rosier this year.  She works exceptionally hard for her clients & gets brilliant results!

- Liz