Disa the Elkhound

Thank you so much for all your help with my dog.

As you know, my dog is a two-year-old Norwegian Elkhound who has quite a few behavioural problems. I had become so used to them that I hardly noticed. However, things came to a head when she bit her dog sitter. She had got tangled up in her long lead and become scared when the dog sitter tried to untangle her, biting her on the hand and drawing blood. I know there is no excuse for my dog’s behaviour and I also know that it was not my dog’s fault but my own fault for letting things get to this point.

I set about looking for help via Google and when I found your web site I really liked your video and your approach. I emailed you about the problem and you replied within 20 minutes saying I could phone you. I phoned you and in view of the severity of the situation cancelled a trip to London and gratefully accepted your offer to see her the next day.

When you arrived, you asked me to stand by you while you communicated with my dog. She was behind a barrier and was barking furiously. You stood in front of her with your hands on your hips looking away from her and just stayed like that while my dog carried on barking. Eventually, after what seemed like hours but was probably about 10 – 15 minutes, she stopped barking, and sat down. She then laid down and you quietly said ‘good girl’. This started her barking again, but she settled more quickly. You then moved and she started barking again. Eventually you were able to walk up and down and up the stairs and she just sat quietly. When we opened the barrier she just could not adore you enough! She was sweet, compliant and friendly.

You then spent some time teaching me how to walk her on the lead so that she would stay just behind or beside me and not tug forwards. After that you asked me all about her and I realised just how difficult her behaviour had become, with her barking at everything, being edgy and aggressive when people came to the door, and basically not doing anything I wanted her to do. I had coped with this by avoiding these situations rather than dealing with them. I appreciated your honest and clear feedback and advice. At the same time, you were not judgemental.

Your assessment of her was that she was insecure and dominant and the theory of her being an insecure pack leader because I had not shown her I was the leader all made perfect sense to me. If she could relinquish that role and look up to me as the leader she could then relax and not be on edge, defensive and at risk of further aggression. She could become the sweet compliant dog that I wanted her to be. You showed me how to treat her so that she would respect me.

I practiced the technique on walks and found that I could control her much better and in fact spend most of the walk with the lead held loose. She will now come to me so I can stroke her and she can show affection as well, without her expecting a treat all the time. This is a relief as in spoiling her and giving her treats all the time as diversions, e.g. if a horse or cyclist went past, she was starting to put on weight. In the second session, the following week, we discussed questions I had arising from her training. We looked at techniques to get her to sit, back away, and come to me to have the lead put on her. She was running away and hiding before that.

You helped me to interpret her behaviour and for instance help her learn not to associate the lead with being anxious. I still have a way to go, but she is generally calmer and easier to manage on walks already. She is also looking sleeker now that she is on a healthier diet. Also, I am starting to feel better myself! I continue to do my training homework with her and will look forward to our next session in due course.

Thank you so much for helping us turn things around.

Best Wishes

Rica