Dog behaviourist or trainer.... which do you think we need.

ncmc

Hi all, I just want to get some outside opinions on my dog’s behaviour. My husband and I have a six year old Cocker Spaniel. We don’t have any children, so she grew up really only coming into contact with me and my husband. She has never been fond of kids; she gets very frightened around them, especially if she is cornered by them. We have tried to get her used to children, letting kids approach her carefully when we are there, petting her and praising her all the time. For a while, it seemed like she was improving a lot, but the last couple of months, she seems to have taken a step backwards again. She snapped at a child in our estate last week, she didn’t bite, it was just a warning, but she wasn’t cornered and would have had plenty of opportunity to run away if she was frightened. Over the weekend, my nephew was over in the house and the dog was shut away in the bedroom, he sneaked in and got a real fright from her, she didn’t bite him, but she must have been growling at him, because he was terrified when he got out of there. I am normally very careful not to let kids near her, but we live on an estate with a lot of children and I have a lot of nieces and nephews, it would be nice if I could even have her in the same room (monitored) as kids and not be worried.

She also seems to have become very territorial of the house; she goes nuts if a dog comes near the house, or even if someone walks past the window. At night, she sits in the window and if I leave her out for a wee, she runs barking up and down the estate, she knows this is bold as she comes back in with that hang dog look; she only does this at night, never during the day. I would say this has gotten worse over the last 6 months or so. I can’t think of anything that would have caused a change in her personality.

Finally, she has become quite disobedient, won’t listen to our commands, if we tell her to get down off something, she either ignores us or else does it but gets straight back up again.

Now I fully accept responsibility for all of this, because she has always been very spoiled. We never did much training with her and she has always had the run of the house. We are terrible when it comes to being authoritive with her, she just gives me a look with those big brown eyes and I just let her do what she wants. I am just wondering if it is too late to change her behaviour now. I know we have no chance of doing it without help, but would it be a trainer or a behaviourist we would need? I don’t believe in the dominance theory, so would not be interested in anyone who preached that, can anyone recommend someone? We are in Cork by the way.

I think what has stirred me into action now, is the few threads on here about dogs that bit after giving many warnings that were ignored. I would die if my dog bit someone or if something happened her. I know that she is getting a bit older and I know some dogs can get a bit more irritable as they get older, I would like to get these issues sorted before she becomes old and beyond help. Thanks in advance and thanks for reading this long post.

sambuka41

I think a behaviourist would be best, there seems to be a few things going on there. The kids thing in my experience is the easiest to fix. My dog was afraid of kids and it is almost sorted after only 2 months. I never thought she would be ok with kids.

Some of your dogs behaviour has changed recently so a behaviourist might be able to identify why. Although the only one I know is in Dublin so cant help with recommendation.

Also if you are having trouble with her and others, or kids I wouldn't be letting her out without a lead. She sounds anxious and she will be more comfortable on a lead but also you have a better chance of controlling her if something were to go wrong.

be prepared for a lot of exercise (i was recommended 3 20 mins walks a day) and a lot of consistency with the plan. Good luck

Shazanne

Could you give the recommendation you have for the one in Dublin? I have some issues I would like to sort out too with an older dog (age 5). I live in midlands so anywhere is within reach really.

ncmc

Thanks Sambuca, great to hear that your dog got over her fear of kids, that one is obviously my biggest worry. The other stuff I can either live with or minimise the amount it happens, but her fear of kids is very worrying. I realise I’ll never be able to trust her 100% with children, but even to get to the stage where she could stay in the same room, supervised with kids and maybe let them pet her without having a meltdown would be great.

She does get plenty of exercise, in fact the only thing I can think that has changed in the last six months is that she comes out jogging with me 3 or 4 times a week. I was wondering if it’s possible that she’s getting too much exercise and maybe is overtired and cranky?

How does one go about choosing a behaviourist? I’m sure there are plenty of cowboys out there!

sambuka41

I got my referral from my vet, she went to college with the behaviourist but she is also is quite well known. Maybe see if your vet knows of anyone, or check back through old posts here?

Its can be expensive to go see one so you are right to try and be sure it is someone qualified and good.

Vince32

Personally I think those people are a waste of time and money, all you need to do really is spend 20 minutes a day doing command training with some treats. You can borrow a book from the library or find training videos online (recommend Zak George's youtube channel)

If the dog won't listen to you, place it where you want it to be, calmly and tell it this is down and give it a treat, then when it jumps up again, repeat until it learns to obey.

You can train your dog easily and with minimal expense by doing a little research and sticking to the programme. Once the dog is listening to you and your husband, you can let the kids join in with the training exercises, and in a matter of days / weeks, not months / years, you'll have one of the best trained dogs in the neighbourhood.

Just remember, once you start this, you have to see it through and finish the training, decide on the commands you want your dog to learn, research how to train them, and do it. There is no magic wand a behaviourist or trainer will wave about and suddenly have a perfect dog, each owner has to put in the man hours and see it through to the end, set the rules and make sure everyone sticks to them. It will be a big change for everyone in the household, but it will be worth it in 2 months time.

The running and barking thing, seems like she is just burning off energy, mark the time she does this, and about 1 hour before each night take her out for a walk 30-45 minutes, then come home and have your supper. You'll notice it stopping almost instantly.

If dogs get 1 inch they will take a mile, and it's important that when you give a command you have the ability to follow through, for example if the dog is off leash somewhere and you call "come" and it ignores you, you can't follow through because the dog is too far away, but if the dog is on the couch and you say "down" and the dog ignores you, you can pick it up and put it on the floor, give it a treat and go back to your chair, start small, with, sit, stay, lie down, wait and come (indoors with no distractions) and move up the process to outdoors(no distractions) and then outdoors (with distractions, toys, other dogs etc.) and you will build up the leader / follower relationship.

Hope it helps

sambuka41

Vince32 wrote: »

If the dog won't listen to you, place it where you want it to be, calmly and tell it this is down and give it a treat, then when it jumps up again, repeat until it learns to obey.

Dogs are not robots, it's not a matter of programming them. They are living animals with their own personalities, histories, inherited traits and different owner circumstances.

Basic obedience is very important, but when you ignore the signs that something else is going on, something beyond pushing boundaries, then you risk having incidents like what has been noted in the past few weeks here, with children biten and dogs being PTS.

It's not always about training, treats alone without understanding exactly why the dog is behaving the way she is is risky; you could be inadvertently rewarding the wrong behaviour.

tk123

Vince32 wrote: »

Personally I think those people are a waste of time and money

I've always gained from classes we've done. Sometimes the owner is the one who needs the training - a trainer/behaviourist will asses how the owner and dog work together and advise on the best way for that owner to work with their dog. Also there could be something subtle you may not realise you're doing when you're trying to train the dog that a professional will spot. We've been to classes and each dog is different - what works for one owner/dog may not work so well for another.

planetX

Vince32 wrote: »

Personally I think those people are a waste of time and money, all you need to do really is spend 20 minutes a day doing command training with some treats. You can borrow a book from the library or find training videos online (recommend Zak George's youtube channel)

If the dog won't listen to you, place it where you want it to be, calmly and tell it this is down and give it a treat, then when it jumps up again, repeat until it learns to obey.

You can train your dog easily and with minimal expense by doing a little research and sticking to the programme. Once the dog is listening to you and your husband, you can let the kids join in with the training exercises, and in a matter of days / weeks, not months / years, you'll have one of the best trained dogs in the neighbourhood.

Just remember, once you start this, you have to see it through and finish the training, decide on the commands you want your dog to learn, research how to train them, and do it. There is no magic wand a behaviourist or trainer will wave about and suddenly have a perfect dog, each owner has to put in the man hours and see it through to the end, set the rules and make sure everyone sticks to them. It will be a big change for everyone in the household, but it will be worth it in 2 months time.

The running and barking thing, seems like she is just burning off energy, mark the time she does this, and about 1 hour before each night take her out for a walk 30-45 minutes, then come home and have your supper. You'll notice it stopping almost instantly.

If dogs get 1 inch they will take a mile, and it's important that when you give a command you have the ability to follow through, for example if the dog is off leash somewhere and you call "come" and it ignores you, you can't follow through because the dog is too far away, but if the dog is on the couch and you say "down" and the dog ignores you, you can pick it up and put it on the floor, give it a treat and go back to your chair, start small, with, sit, stay, lie down, wait and come (indoors with no distractions) and move up the process to outdoors(no distractions) and then outdoors (with distractions, toys, other dogs etc.) and you will build up the leader / follower relationship.

Hope it helps

I don't think this applies to a fearful dog though. You can have all the obedience in the world, but if the dog is frightened and badly socialised it may still bite. Worst scenario of all is that you 'train' the dog into suppressing all the signals of discomfort, and then it lashes out without warning one day.
OP I got in a behaviourist - my dog has a fear of men, and some kids. It was worth every penny to get the insight into the body language of fear, and to get clear instructions on how to desensitize the dog while keeping everyone safe.
You'll have to train the kids as well though...

Selfheal

If I were you I would contact James French in UK - Animal Communication Training. Check out his website on www.trust-technique.com. Very much a philosophy of building trust and asking, not telling.

Cherry Blossom

Selfheal wrote: »

If I were you I would contact James French in UK - Animal Communication Training. Check out his website on www.trust-technique.com. Very much a philosophy of building trust and asking, not telling.

What qualifications does this person have in canine behavior? I see lots of marketing drivel and no mention whatsoever of what the actual point/philosophy/method is. It looks like a load of psychic drivel to me tbh.

Whispered

Selfheal wrote: »

If I were you I would contact James French in UK - Animal Communication Training. Check out his website on www.trust-technique.com. Very much a philosophy of building trust and asking, not telling.

I'm actually a fan of Reiki, but without proper training qualifications this person is only damaging both the training profession and people who like holistic practises. If you need a behaviourist then you should go to a behaviourist. A fully qualified, tested behaviourist with some experience behind them. Not a holistic practitioner.

Any good trainer trains through trust and co-operation. There is no need to go to the UK. If you look at APDT website (which is down at the moment, but their facebook page is still up and running) you will find a good trainer there, they could also direct you to a properly qualified behaviourist.