05/07/2023
Star of the week goes to this beautiful girl! ⭐
This lovely girl was very worried that her owner was away, and really wasn't sure about walks without him!
Her impeccable training with her owner had to be completely stripped back when she was with me, to remind her of what she already knows, and that it's okay to be herself with someone new!
When dogs are anxious, and put in new situations, it's not that they're being bad, or stubborn, it's that they are so overcome with worry, that they actually can't listen! The words and commands they know, fall on deaf ears, because they aren't in a calm enough head space to even think. Their brain is flooded with the only thought of "this is new, and I'm unsure" plus she has no reason to trust me, as she doesn't know me!!!
So, we have to strip everything back to basics, similar to puppy training! We start with praising them for following closely, making eye contact, and interacting with us, even in the slightest.
Then, once they know that it's okay to 'just be a dog', they start to relax, the anxiety levels come down, and then you can start to implement the commands and buzz words they're familiar with. This may not be instant! But with each reaction to the command, you praise praise praise! Until they fully react to it!
After only a few days, she was relaxing much more, enabling her to worry less and be able to listen and think about what I'm asking of her, and at the end of the week, she has great recall, understands her commands again, and true to herself, picked a ball as a reward over treats 😂
She has in INCREDIBLE bond with her owner, so when that's not there, building up a new bond with someone else is simply going to take time. Her intelligence certainly shone through though! It's not an easy feat to learn and trust when anxious!
Suffice to say she will be ecstatic to have her owner back, and they will be equally happy to see her again 🥰
