by Jan Fennell
If I had my time all over again, I would have reacted completely differently to the behaviour that led up to that moment: I would not have chastised her when she misbehaved; I would have understood that when she ran off into the countryside, she believed she was heading off on a hunt, on a mission to help me and my fellow pack members. Blessed with the knowledge I have now, I would have relieved her of the responsibility of leadership and allowed her to lead a less stressful existence long before we got to that fateful moment. Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing: it will not change what happened to Purdey. It does, however, provide me with the inspiration to do all I can to save every Purdey I come across. And that inspiration is never stronger than in cases where children are involved.
There is no doubt in my mind that dogs do view children differently to adults. I believe there are two reasons for this, the first being that dogs find children even more confusing than grown-ups. If we think about it, a dog must find children particularly baffling. They speak faster, move faster and behave far less predictably than adults. As I have explained, calmness and consistency are essential in establishing a relationship with a dog. These are hardly words normally associated with children.
The second reason is even more obvious. Children are, in the most literal sense, nearer to a dog’s level. For this reason the animal tends either to see them as a threat or as creatures deserving of extra protection. The former, of course, is a difficulty many owners find hard to deal with. My own view is clear: very small children and dogs should be separated wherever possible, or supervised. Both need space in which to develop and should be given that space.
The sight of a dog protecting a child, on the other hand, represents something rather lovely to behold. I don’t believe there is a more magical bond. It is an incredibly powerful link, one I had seen myself years earlier with my own dog Donna. Even here, however, the bond can bring problems, as I discovered when I was called to deal with Ben, a commanding black mongrel who lived with his owners Carol and John and their nine-year-old son, Danny, in Salford, Lancashire.
Ben clearly doted on Danny and had become fiercely protective of him. His most aggressive behaviour had been directed towards John’s father, Danny’s grandfather. It was not hard to see why, of course. Grandad lived a hundred miles or so away in Wales and saw the family infrequently. Whenever he arrived at the house, he would shower the boy with affection. Ben had no concept of the relationship that underpinned this, he simply saw the senior member of the family as a threat and had begun to physically attack the grandfather. The situation had become so bad that grandad would sometimes be confined to an armchair, unable to make a move without Ben growling and glaring at him menacingly.
The strain such situations can place on a family is immense. Loyalties become confused. Owners are accused of caring more for their animals than their own flesh and blood. It can cause enormous damage. Luckily, I was again dealing with a family mature enough to deal with the problem. I began by tackling the situation in the normal way with the adults. They took to the process of Amichien Bonding well enough. But I knew that involving Danny in this was the key to success.
Involving children can be one of the most difficult elements of the process I practise. Quite understandably many fail to understand what is being attempted. As I have explained, in the case of very young children I recommend segregating them from dogs if they become too boisterous together. By the time children are three or four, however, they are capable of understanding much of what is going on and will be able to participate in the process, particularly if it is presented as a game. In my experience, teaching a young child to ignore a dog if it comes at them can work rather well. That said, even if it is presented as a game they can grow bored, as they do with most other games, so in the end it is a matter of personal judgment on the part of parents.
In the case of Danny, however, I had no hesitation in involving him in the process. Apart from anything else, in this case his help was going to be vital in dealing with Ben. Understandably, Danny found it very hard indeed to stop stroking Ben. When I asked him to stop doing this, he told me he found the job of ignoring his playmate incredibly hard. But, with his parents’ permission of course, I explained the potential consequences. I gently told him that if we did not get this right, Ben might not be his friend for much longer. I was not trying to scare the boy, I was simply trying to get the message across. Fortunately it worked, and for the rest of the session Danny dealt with the situation by stuffing his hands in his pockets whenever he was around Ben.
The session lasted two hours, during which time Ben did all he could to get the family’s attention. By the end of that time, everyone’s nerves were beginning to fray I must confess. It was at this time that Ben showed them the value of what they were doing. By now, Ben had exhausted his attention-seeking repertoire and laid down in a favourite spot in front of the fire. When I saw this I knew he had realised his time and energies were being wasted. With the atmosphere more relaxed grandad got out of his chair and walked across the room. Without thinking as he passed his grandson he automatically placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders. Ben remained on the fireside carpet, unperturbed. By the end of my visit, the tension surrounding Ben had visibly lifted. When I spoke to the family again a few weeks later, they proudly told me there had been no more confrontations. Danny was now looking forward to more frequent visits from his grandfather.
Chapter 10
The Bodyguards: Overprotective Dogs
The dog’s reputation as man’s best friend is a well-earned one. In addition to providing entertainment and companionship, a dog’s caring nature and sheer physical presence give many people an important sense of security, and we have all seen even the meekest of animals transformed into aggressive devils when their beloved owner is threatened.
A pet’s protective streak is not, however, always a force for good, especially when it is applied within families. I have dealt with a number of cases where favouritism towards certain family members has caused consternation. The most extreme example I’ve come across was that of Toby, a springer who lived with a couple, Jim and Debbie, in Grimsby. Toby’s protectiveness of Debbie expressed itself at night-time. As a result, she and Jim had grown to dread going to bed.
By day, Toby was a reasonably well-adjusted dog, but at the end of the evening, however, he transformed. The moment Jim and Debbie began switching off the lights in the house and heading upstairs, Toby would bound up the steps ahead of them, rush into their room and jump on to their bed. While he would allow Debbie to climb in without protest, Toby would snarl and growl at Jim the moment he made a move for the duvet. His determination to keep husband and wife apart was so great that Jim genuinely feared he would be bitten.
Jim had resorted to all sorts of tactics to beat Toby into bed, everything from sneaking up ahead of Debbie, to distracting the dog by pretending there was some kind of danger in the house. Jim would walk off into another part of the house and begin banging loudly on a door, then the second Toby went to see what the trouble was, he would rush back into his bedroom and dive under the duvet. At first their predicament seemed funny but by the time Jim and Debbie called me, it was far from a joke.
Few facets of a dog’s behaviour are as fundamental as the protectiveness that Toby was displaying: in effect, he was behaving like a jealous spouse repelling a rival suitor. It is, on the face of it, a difficult point to grasp, yet the principle becomes clear when we consider the pack environment. As I have explained, the rules of life within the wolf pack are founded on the primacy of the Alpha pair. To the dog’s ancient ancestor, these two dogs rule supreme, and their status is so unassailable that they are the only animals allowed to reproduce. The key thing to realise here is that, as the lone dog in his ‘pack’, Toby looked to his human subordinates for a partner. And his choice had been Debbie rather than Jim. The prospect of them being intimate was utterly unthinkable to Toby, and the idea of Jim (in Toby’s eyes a subordinate pack member) shari
ng a bed with Debbie, his Alpha partner, was a threat to everything that held his world together. When one looks at it from this point of view, it was little wonder Toby was so protective. His instincts would have told him Jim and Debbie were male and female, only adding to his anxiety.
It often takes owners some time to accept the diagnosis I give them. This was certainly the case with Jim and Debbie who found it extremely hard to accept that, in effect, Toby was acting like a jealous boyfriend, repelling the advances of a rival suitor. As I talked to them and as they began to apply my method, however, they soon came round to my way of thinking. The first thing I asked them to do was to keep Toby out of their bedroom. Personally speaking, I have no problem with dogs sleeping in owners’ bedrooms. I would not go so far as to let them sleep on the bed; otherwise, however, I see no harm in them sharing the room if it makes people happy.
If Jim and Debbie found Toby had slipped into the bedroom without their knowing it, I asked them to use the reward principle to draw him out of the room. If he jumped up while Jim was in bed, Jim was to wriggle around and make the dog as uncomfortable as possible. The important thing I stressed was that the dog should never be forced off the bed. Any confrontation would force the dog to consider fighting – and that was a situation no-one wanted. Far better to engineer the situation so that the dog was removed from having to make that choice. Toby’s behaviour soon improved, and the end of Jim and Debbie’s day was soon a more relaxed and enjoyable time.
Being the amazingly intelligent creatures they are, dogs have evolved a huge repertoire of tricks to assert their authority, and dogs like Toby exemplify just one common method. I have also encountered a number of dogs that have a habit of leaning lightly against their owners. This can often build up so that the force the dog is applying effectively blocks any forward movement. It is a clever trick.
It is easy to see what is going on in this situation. The dog is trying to direct the owner’s movements, it is attempting to impose its will and, once again, establish the fact that it is in charge. This, of course, is bad practice and cannot be allowed to continue. If I am honest, this was not a habit I had seen very often until I began taking my work out into the wider world. Since doing so though, I have seen numerous cases, the most memorable being a German shepherd called Zack.
Zack’s owner, a lady called Susie, loved sitting on the floor with her pet. Of course, in most normal circumstances there is nothing nicer or more natural than being able to sit quietly with one’s best friend like this. The problem was that Zack took leaning to the extreme. Whenever Susie sat next to him, Zack would not just lean on her, he would place himself across her legs so that she was pinned to the spot. I saw it for myself when I visited them. The moment Susie sat down, Zack tipped his body into hers. Susie’s knees were tucked up at first, but Zack literally forced her to flatten them out on to the floor. He then spread himself right across her legs. German shepherds are big, powerful dogs and Susie was a relatively slight lady. She was, to all intents and purposes, Zack’s prisoner, she wasn’t going anywhere without his permission. As if to underline his status yet further, Zack then positioned his stomach so that Susie began tickling him. This too, it turned out, was a regular part of daily life in the house.
Zack was clearly manipulating Susie into adopting a routine he had chosen. As they sat on the floor together, the first thing I asked Susie to do was to stop tickling him. She was reluctant to do this. ‘He’ll get upset and start growling,’ she told me. Sure enough, the moment she stopped the tickling he began to make rumbling noises. She understood what was required of her, however, and went on to free herself from his body lock. She just took her legs from under the dog, got up and walked away. From there she began the basics of Amichien Bonding, taking specific care in this instance to remove herself whenever Zack tried to impose himself physically on her. Each time he did so, she broke loose. Zack was soon learning the consequences of his actions, Susie was soon able to lie on the floor beside him.
All of us, I’m sure, have encountered homes that are overseen by an overprotective dog. At the first sight, sound or smell of a passer-by the dog comes belting out, barking and bouncing around in the most animated way it can manage, pacing or even racing up and down the perimeter wall or fence of its domain as it does so. The message it is sending out is clear: you are dangerously close to my territory, stay away for your own good. Many people do exactly that.
Such behaviour, particularly from a loud and aggressive, large breed of dog, can be a serious source of distress for passers-by. It is common for people to make a point of crossing the road or even making a detour so as to avoid confrontations. Children, in particular, can be terrorised by such dogs. Of course, there are an unfortunate few owners who revel in their dog’s aggressive reputation. Equally there an unpleasant few passers-by who will deliberately inflame these animals, winding them up into an even greater frenzy in order to satisfy their warped sense of humour.
In most cases, however, the fact of the matter is that this behaviour is as upsetting for the owner and the dog as it is for the passer-by. The root cause of this problem, what I call ‘boundary running’, is of course territorial. The dog believes it is the leader of its pack and sees all approaches to the perimeter of its den as a potential attack on his domain. In the course of my time treating dogs, I have seen dogs that have become deeply distressed by the burden of this responsibility. One case springs to mind, in which the dog would run around the boundary of its owner’s circular garden. The poor animal would run and run – in ever-decreasing circles yet in an ever-increasing state of anxiety. The good news, as two case histories will hopefully illustrate, is that boundary running is a relatively straightforward problem to treat.
The first case involved a lady called Mary and her Border collie, Tess. Mary and Tess lived in a home on the corner of a housing estate and, as a result, had an almost constant stream of pedestrians walking along the perimeter of their garden. The main problem, however, lay with one particular neighbour, another lady who walked her dog, another Border collie, past Tess and Mary’s home at the same time each morning. The sight of this other dog would set Tess off every time. She would run along the perimeter of the fence barking and snarling as she did so. Truth be told, the other owner seemed to encourage the dog to fight fire with fire. It too would leap around aggressively, agitating Tess even more. Mary had tried her best to overcome the problem, but with no luck. By the time she called me in, she was at the end of her tether.
Mary had made all the most common mistakes. She had, for instance, got into the habit of shouting at Tess. Owners who say ‘stop it’ are only guaranteeing their dog will do the complete opposite and continue. By doing so, they are acknowledging what the dog is doing: they are winding the dog up even more. I began by asking Mary to go back to basics and begin the Amichien Bonding process. In addition, I asked her to keep Tess in the house for a day or so while she got the message across. I felt that by connecting with Tess in this way, she would be in a much stronger position to get the right message across when the time came.
The test came a few days later, when Mary let Tess out in the morning. Tess’s old adversary turned up at its usual time, and as usual Tess responded to the challenge by barking and running along the perimeter wall. Mary’s task was to relieve her of the responsibility of patrolling the boundaries of their ‘den’. To do this, I asked Mary to extend the request and reward principles she had been applying inside the house. Tess was in such a state, she barely noticed Mary walking up to her. Knowing this would happen, I got Mary to touch Tess’s collar lightly to attract her attention and then offer her a treat. In cases like this, in which owners are dealing with deep-seated, highly distressing situations, I ask them to give their dogs treats that reflect the special nature of the circumstances. It is, of course, the owner’s choice what they use. I personally choose cheese, which my dogs love but only get on rare occasions. The special treat underlines the message that certain actions bring certai
n, pleasant, consequences.
Mary used her treat to gain Tess’s attention. Once she had done so, she used the skills she had learned to lead her inside away from the situation. She did the same thing the next day, again gently encouraging Tess to walk away from the situation. This was no quick-fix situation, it would take time. Mary persevered and, by the fourth day, Tess’s anxiety had reduced to such an extent that she would notice Mary’s approach before she got to the fence. Soon Mary only had to walk three-quarters of the way to the fence before Tess came to her for her treat. Tess was clearly getting the message.
After a week, this had progressed even further so that Mary only had to stand on the doorstep, fifty feet away. Tess was still barking at the other dog but nowhere near as intensely or as furiously. When she saw Mary at the doorstep, however, she returned to the house and the situation calmed. After another few days, she would not even go to the fence. Her mild barking would go on halfway down the garden. Eventually Tess – and the other dog – got on with their lives in peace. The morning ritual was no more.
I have been asked to deal with quite a few boundary runners in recent years. In the case of a pair of schnauzers called Kathy and Susie, my job was to treat two dogs at the same time. Because of the unusual set-up of their home, Kathy and Susie had a huge boundary to guard. Their house was set at the rear of a row of twenty or so terraced houses. This meant that all their neighbours’ gardens backed on to the large grounds at the front of Kathy and Susie’s home. At the first hint of any of these neighbours entering his or her garden, Kathy and Susie would spring into action. Understandably, the neighbours were not very happy about this. The owners were unhappy too, they didn’t want their dogs being a nuisance either.