I have the conversation about whether castrating dogs will calm them down or not so often that I felt it a subject worthy of a blog.  There is a school of thought that your dog is hyperactive, or aggressive because of testosterone, or with a female, because she has had a season, and therefore the resolution to the behaviour problem is to neuter or spay your dog or bitch.  The reality of my clients who have gone through with the process is that the dog’s behaviour has not improve at all, if anything it has got worse.   The truth is that a dog is not aggressive or hyperactive because of its hormones.  It is so because it feels that it has an important job to do, thinking that it is the top dog, because of the signals that it is getting from its owners default behaviour.  If you remove the hormones, you simply remove a feeling of strength from that dog, yet it is still getting the same signals from its owner, so it still thinks it has the same job to do, just with fewer resources.  The leader is the one who protects from danger; aggression is usually because the dog feels fearful of something so is warning or defending against it.  In the wild the Alpha male and female in the pack make these decisions and the rest of the pack accept them - they do no castrate or spay the other members of the pack, the rest of the pack trust in the Alpha pair to make the right decision.  It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of body parts of hormones.

So if you are thinking “Should I neuter my dog?” neutering for health reasons, or to avoid unwanted puppies is a completely different scenario, but if your dog is aggressive or hyperactive, before you spend lots of money having it castrated or spayed, think about your best option - showing your dog through your own behaviour that it doesn’t need to protect or look after you anymore!  I have even seen leg humping dogs that are castrated.  Give me a call if you aren’t sure whether your dog will benefit from neutering or not… 

I like to spend a little time reflecting at the beginning of the year on what I want to achieve and what I have to offer.  I found myself thinking about what I offer to people as a Dog Listener…  Well most people will come to me looking for Dog Training, because there is some sort of problem which is making life a bit difficult.  The problems are highly varied, from aggression to other dogs, aggression to people, resource guarding and the other ‘scary’ dog behaviours, to the annoying behaviours like pulling on the lead, barking at the slightest noise; to behaviours which show a real anxiety – destruction when you are out, whimpering and hiding at noises, toiletting when they see strangers…  the types of behaviour are so varied and vast, but ultimately what I give everyone is an understanding of their dog.  It goes without saying that when they hire me as a dog trainer they are going to see improvements in their dog’s behaviour (provided they continue the training we discuss), but what every single client I’ve visited has ALSO benefitted from is having their eyes opened when it comes to what is important to their dog.

This thought made me think a little bit about bringing children up.  When a child does something that we don’t want them to, we can teach them ‘no’ and explain to them why not, because that child is also growing up to understand English.  Our dogs are never going to understand English, you will never be able to rationalise with them in a human way, so you may as well stop now!  If you want to reason with a dog, you need to learn to understand your dog.  To understand what your dog’s perspective is, what is important to him/her.  Your dog came to you with a ready made set of instincts, no matter how young you take that dog in.  Work with the instincts, and your dog will want to work with you.

Anyone ready to start off the New Year with an understanding of your dog which will improve your relationship with your dog, and any other dog you ever have, forever…?!

Recently we heard news of the legislation regarding dogs which “go out of control and bite”, and how this is now extending beyond the original breeds which were classed as ‘dangerous dogs’ to all breeds and will go further than the destruction order, to in some cases include imprisonment for the owner for up to two years. 

The reality is that ANY dog can bite.  Not just dogs with ‘aggression’.  It doesn’t matter what has been said about the breed in books or by dog trainers, breeders or the media, or how lovely a temperment your dog has; every dog is an animal, and any animal could decide to defend itself if given a cause to do so.  I have never been involved in a physical fight in my life, but if it came to the crunch I think that I would lash out if I felt that was the only option available for me to defend myself or those I am responsible for protecting.  I have come across many dogs who have bitten, or warned that they may bite.  The following are the typical reasons that they may do this:

1.  Feeling threatened by someone coming into their personal space – rolling over to show the tummy in this case does not always mean ‘tickle my tummy’, if the dog is nervous, or unfamiliar to you it means ‘I am afraid, so I’m showing you my most vulnerable area so you’ll know I’m not a threat and will leave me alone’. 

2.  Seeing a visitor as a threat to the family – who is this person, what are their intentions?  Do I need to protect my pack?

3.  Protecting the family from strangers on the walk – joggers, children, people wishing to pet your dog, all can be seen as a threat.

4.  Neighbours leaning over the fence into their ‘territory’ – in the wild, encroaching the territory would lead to a fight to the death.

4.  Feeling the need to protect their resources, e.g. food, toys (do not try to take food from a dog!)

5.  Trying to stop owners from doing something they perceive to be dangerous – like slapping a childs hand away from a hot stove.

This is not an exhaustive list, and it is not intended to scare, it is simple to point out that there are lots of different occasions which could give a dog reason to bite and I have had numerous clients who’ve called me in because their dog has bitten someone ‘totally out of character’.  I wish to equip you with the information that you need so you can make a choice to ensure that you protect your dog and yourself from any mistakes it may make.  The key is LEADERSHIP.  A dog which makes decisions at times of perceived danger is a dog which thinks that it is the leader of your pack.  In extreme cases, the decision may be to bite.  Let me point out here that I have also had numerous clients who have called me in, insistant that their dog knows its place and that the owners are top dogs, however I have yet to visit anyone where this has actually been the case.  Obedience does not mean your dog trusts your decisions!  For more information I recommend that you read “The Dog Listener” by Jan Fennell, or call me for an informal chat.

If you would like one to one help call Vicky to arrange a consultation on 07908 192656