Right so this post is going to be a mixture of things!
Firstly who saw the dog training on bbc ones “the one show”? It is on bbc iplayer and it is on about 30minutes in. I heard a lot of comments and complaints about what people had seen and had to look at it. Frankly I think it was irresponsible of the BBC to air that. They showed a small dog with food aggression and the cure to that is to stick your foot in its mouth? Really? Apparently they have had a lot of complaints concerning the segment on the show (including dogs trust and other charities!) but they have also had a lot of people asking for that man to “train” their dog. The guy was there for 3 hours apparently and I don’t believe for a second a behaviour like that can magically be dealt with within that time. They made it look easy and made the guy look like he could be a quick fix for their dog’s problems. When it comes to dog training there are SO many different methods out there and it can become confusing for dog owners to know what methods work best or work at all. I never rule a method out until I have done my research on it and I would never try it on my dog unless I was 100% happy with it. A lot of people are against Cesar Millan methods (an idol of the guy on “the one show”) as he uses dominance techniques such as pushing a dog down etc etc. I bought his books and I went to one of his shows and I learnt a lot. I now don’t humanise my dogs (as much!) as I used too, his books taught me the importance of keeping calm around my dogs as they will feel what I am feeling and that the best way to teach your dog boundaries is to be confident and consistent. I don’t however use dominance on my two or pin them etc! My main point is, do your research please and do not try things with your pups if you are unsure what you are doing. If you go to a trainer or get advice do your research there too. If it looks like an easy fix, it most likely is. End rant! Haha!
On the subject of training and food aggression I had a tiny breakthrough today with Darkley. He still shields raw food from me and other dogs, but that is all. No snarling, biting or growling anymore and if I had to take some food away from him for some reason he would let me. (such a proud pup mum!) So today I gave them a raw bone each for lunch, I shut Holly in the kitchen and Darkley was out in the garden eating his- giving them their own space to eat. Darkley finished up first and strolled in and lay down and the crunching stopped in the kitchen. Holly starts whining to come out, so I let her out and she sped off to be reunited with Darkley. Darkley spots a bit of bone left in the kitchen and decided to finish it off while Holly plays in the living room -not bothered by it at all. Holly then slinks off ninja style to the kitchen and I see Darkley wander in to the living room and lay down. Holly then follows with the bone in her mouth! Darkley did not seem to care and curled up and settled down for a nap! Not a huge breakthrough but enough to make me proud of my boy.
Holly went to the vets today and they are happy with her and we are going to try and cut down her medication soon. She has lost more weight though! When we got her they said she was around 17kg when we picked her up, she dropped to 16kg two weeks later and now down to 15kg. The vet just said to feed her up more as he would like her around 18kg. I have been giving her extra food but I didn’t want to throw too much at her straight away, so I am adding in a 3rd meal and see how it goes.
Haven’t mentioned my terrible twosome Buddy and Buzz much, but my two little budgies have started to get night terrors bless them. There were a few rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightening the other night which gave them a fright. They are covered up and in a room with the curtains closed so I am guessing it was the noise that frightened one of them which in turn set the other one off. Since then they have been having the odd fright now and then even with a light left on for them all. Hoping they will settle down again soon the poor little guys!
Right I think I might have a cheeky nap with a pup that has fallen asleep on my knee!
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