I received a message the other day on messenger:
“Hello, I was referred to you be a friend due to my 3 dogs attacking each other everyday for 3 days with my family visiting from out of town. They have never been this bad and now it's all the time. The stress and anxiety from all of them is at a all time high. I'm sure they are feeding some of that off my mom because she is very stressful person. One of my dogs I recently rescued in April from PiMA Animal Shelter in Tuscon AZ, the other 2 I've had for years. But they all have their own individual issues and for some reason now there's a dog fight and it's all 3 attacking one or everyone. Please let me know how I can set up something with you. I recently relocated out here and don't know anyone.“
Thats did not sound good. I immediately called and arranged an appointment in person even though it was a q90q minutes drive one way.
Rule Disputes- Aggression
This is Max 80#, I got him in April from a shelter in Tucson. He is about 1 years old and was found in a desert. Very loving dog to people. But gets very aggressive when the other dogs do something to him he doesn't like. He gets in these attack modes and goes nuts and bites anything in his way. I've learned to try and calm him instead of yelling at him one he's biting another one of my dogs. But when he bites then he doesn't let go.
Separation Anxiety- Possession Disputes
This is Spud 103# he is 6 and will be 7 on November. I've had him since he was 6 weeks and got him at a shelter in Illinois. He's the love of my life. Since I got max he won't sleep in bed with me anymore which is weird because he's always been attached to my hip his whole life. Since moving here in December his separation anxiety is at a all time high. I can't walk out the door with one of the other dogs without him or he goes nuts screaming and crying and lunging himself out of the cage or to knock the back gate now. He also has never been aggressive but this past week has been getting aggressive towards Max and growling and snapping at him. He is very bone aggressive and guards his food and will take everyone else's food.
Territorial and Possession Disputes
This is Duke 80#, I've had him since he was 5 weeks my step dad gave him to me when his dog had puppies. Duke is 5yrs old. He for the most part listens the most out of all 3. He is very toy aggressive and will take toys away from the other dogs. He also likes his personal space when he grumpy and will attack max to get him away from him or to just take the toy away even though he doesn't want to play with it he just doesn't want max to have it. He is also bone aggressive and can be aggressive about treats but it's rare.
When I arrived in the small one bedroom appointment, I found one dog isolated in the bed room, one dog gated in the kitchen, and one dog in crate. Very stressful situation!
We were dealing with multiple aggression issues, high level stress, recent relocation, big dogs, and a young owner who was ready to surrender Max back to the shelter.
I had to come up with a solid, stress free, flexible and owner friendly treatment plan.
Starting with Max, who was uneducated and has no bite inhibition. I showed Jessica to get rid of the prong collar, walked lose leash, get max attention and learn redirect him to alternative behaviors and be more obedient. Gave them tools and exercises to ground, and showed her to use emotional conditioning in combination with classical conditioning.
We had only one in person session and it seems Jessica has a gift with animals. She was able to absorb the lesson, work consistently and set new priorities in her life.
“We are doing great no issues in almost 6 months. They all love each other and know each other’s boundaries.”
