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Monday 3 February 2014

Catch off guard

Hello,

I would really appreciate any advice you could give on my Patterdale Terrier.

His name is Gizmo, he's four years old. We got him as a rescue dog and we are his fourth owners. Before we got him we have heard he was owned by drug/alcohol addicts and has been beaten. Gizmo is scared of everything from wheels, walking sticks, people, noises etc.

He has always guarded his possessions but lately this seems to have increased, he guards anything he likes the look of; is there a way I can stop him from doing this? The other and worst thing he does, is biting people, mainly my mum who he has bitten around 5 times, however this is usually when my mum has been drinking alcohol, I was wondering if it stems from his old owners getting drunk and beating him? Gizmo was 10 months old when we got him and at first he seemed to improve but now seems to be getting naughty again, he only really listens to me and that's only 90% of the time.

I've tried writing a list of 'Gizmo' rules for my mum to follow to help Gizmo understand that she is also a pack leader along with me, ie. not to feed him off her plate or not to let Gizmo on her bed.

The reason I am so desperate for advice is because my mum says she has had enough and that she is going to take Gizmo to be put to sleep this week, I really can't bear this happening as I love him so much and I think he's a good dog he just needs the right guidance.
I know I could get a dog behaviourist but they are so expensive and I'm on minimum wage, plus as Gizmo doesn't do the bad behaviours constantly it would be hard to show the trainer the behaviours.

Please help, any advice greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Hayley, by email

8 comments:

  1. Poor Gizmo, poor you! It could be the actions of the drunk people he does not like from obvious past experience, or it could be the smell of alcohol on their breath associated with being beaten that throws it for him. Or both! Treats and positive reinforcement works great for nervous, fearful dogs. Give treats and praise, and introduce Gizmo slowly to the things he dislikes. Maybe your mum could keep away from Gizmo when she has been drinking, but coming to see him as much as possible when she has not been drinking, therefore making positive associations. Make everything positive! Start a fresh for your little dog, and take your time with this process. Positive, positive, positive! You can do it - and well done for giving him a loving home.

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    1. Hello, thank you for your reply. I've tried asking my mum to stay away from gizmo when she's been drinking but she says he always goes to her for a love then starts snarling at her, I live with my mum so it's quite difficult to keep them seperate. I work shifts so I'm usually on a late shift when he's bitten her. He seems to be a lot calmer when I'm around but obviously I can't be there 24 hours a day. I do give him treats (another problem is that he's a bit of a porker as he sometimes refuses to go for walks, if it's dark, wet or windy) but quite often now he's started to guard treats etc and snarls and goes for anyone that goes near him... We do try to stay out the way but if he's started eating his treat in a door way it's quite difficult to avoid! I'm going to give the behaviourist at blue cross a call tomorrow so hopefully they can give me some advice aswell. Thanks again for your reply :)

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    2. Thank you for your reply. I will check out these resources. Trying to get as many sources as possible and hopefully something will help. Thank you :)

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  2. There are some really good resources available if you can't afford a behaviourist. Try Jolanta Benal's series of podcasts: The Quick and Dirty Dog Trainer. She has a good book out as well. There are lots of good books available to help with behaviour issues, like those by Patricia McConnell, Pat Miller, Suzanne Clothier. Also try Youtube for good free training videos. I particularly like the series available by Kikopup.

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  3. I really feel for you in this situation. You've done so well homing a dog other people gave up on.

    Firstly I have to say I would not personally implement pack theory with him, but rather positive reinforcement using extremely valued treats like cooked chicken. Pack theory can be quite difficult to get a grasp of and when it goes wrong can make a dog prone to nervousness or fear much worse. I don't think anything like him eating off of plates is the problem. It sounds like he needs some serious work building up his confidence around, in particular, your mum. This will mean a lot of hard work on her part so you must make sure she understands that. It's clear he has bad associations with certain things, so you must make sure you begin to expose him to those things gently and with rewards for positive reactions. For example, if he acts up when your mother drinks, my first thought would be that when she drinks he should get some AMAZING treat every single time (we give our two sea jerky and the like,) and perhaps left alone to enjoy it so that he didn't feel threatened. I know from having a noise phobic dog how long that takes and you have to build them up very slowly, so for Gizmo, since he is afraid of so many things, it is a process that would take co-operation from everyone in the household, lots of repetition and reinforcement and a LOT of time!

    It's difficult to say in a box what I would personally do with him, and also without knowing him, so I would say that I think it's very important he gets to a behaviourist. If it meant working extra or using some savings, surely the end result of a happy, confident dog is reward more than enough? I think in this case a behaviourist is a must because of the extent of his behaviours.

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    1. Thank you for your reply, second time lucky as not sure if my reply sent first time! :(
      I had used pack theory as that was what was in a lot of the books I had read, however since contacting dogs today they sent me dogs trust booklet which seems to be against pack theory so I'll definitely be changing that tactic. He does get treats whilst mum is drinking but once he has finished them he will go over to her for attention but then start snarling. I would do anything for gizmo and have thought about moving out but all I could afford would be a dingy flat with no garden and although gizmo is quite lazy and won't go for a walk sometimes, he does love to be in the garden. I know much of the problem lies with my mum and I've asked her to stay away from him whilst she's drinking but he goes up to her and whilst she agrees before she's had a drink, keeping it up can be a problem. I work shifts so it's quite hard to get any extras in although I would try it, only problem is that if I'm on a late or night shift I constantly worry that mum will get drunk and gizmo will bite her. It's not so bad if I'm here as I can take him upstairs out of the way. He seems calmer when I'm around and most the times he has bitten her have been when I'm at work but obviously I can't be here 24 hours a day :( I'm going to give the blue cross dog behaviourist a call tomorrow and hopefully get some tips I've not thought of and I'm going to have a talk to my mum and try and get her full cooperation in training gizmo. We had a really well behaved dog before gizmo who died of cancer so I think my mum measures gizmo against him, but all dogs are different and I love gizmos character. Thank you again for your comment, hopefully I can post back with positive progress soon.

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  4. Gimzo's issues probably do stem from his background and they are quite complex. I don't think you should be trying to tackle them on your own but finding a good behaviourist will help in the long term. You may be lucky if you contact someone from UKRCB or APBC and ask if they know of any students who are looking for case studies, all students are mentored so if they can't help they will have someone they can ask. Also if Gizmo is insured the insurance company may pay to have someone in.

    In the meantime make a lot of positive associations for him using high value rewards for him. Look up pack theory as it has been disproved many times now and can lead to stress for your dog.

    Do you need to talk to your mum about her drinking? If she has a problem she may want to speak to a professional about it, but if it's just social drinking then you will know if she's going to be drunk and have somewhere as a hide-a-way for Gimzo to be in when she comes home. Having a den of his own such as a crate may be a good idea anyway as you will be able to give your dog somewhere he can hide when the world is too much for him.

    Olwen Turns SAC.Dip Cloverleaf Canine Centre

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    1. Hi, sorry I've only just seen your reply, thank you. I've not been using pack theory since I made the post as I read some info from the dogs trust. I've been in contact over the phone with the blue cross and she had some really good ideas that I'm currently trying to use. It's going to be a long process but hopefully will get there in the end. I like your idea of calling up about students, so I will also give that ago. Unfortunately it's not social drinking with my mum, but some nights are worse than others. It's ok when I'm there as I just take him out of the way it's mainly when I'm on late shifts or night shifts at work. I wanted to get gizmo a crate as a hide away but my mum won't let me as she says there's not enough space, so trying to think of a way around this, he did used to go to the arm chair in the back room to get away but he's stopped doing this now. Hopefully things will continue to improve with gizmo, thanks again for your reply :)

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