Having owned well-behaved dogs all their lives. Alan and Maureen Wilson were totally floored by Tinker, a rescue dog whom they adopted earlier this year.

Perhaps the name should have given something away, but when the Wilsons set eyes on Tinker at the Pine Lodge Rescue Centre in Ascot. they couldn’t resist the cuddly seven-month-old pup who, according to Mrs Wilson, looked as if “butter wouldn’t melt”.

In reality, the lively Border Collie-cross has made their lives a total misery destroying anything he could sink his teeth into, jumping up at people and refusing to come back when let off the lead. He made conversation in the house impossible because of his attention-seeking behaviour and finally became aggressive. The Wilsons couldn’t believe how bad the dog was.

“Tinker was a total nightmare; he would jump on the furniture, he would leap all over people if they sat down, he would run in the garden and then race in and leap up all over my husband who suffers from emphysema and would refuse to get down. He just ignored me if I called him when he was off the lead.

“He chewed everything he could get hold of including a clock, the TV remote control, my husband’s new glasses, a pair of my sandals and numerous objects that he took from our desk and from the table. On one occasion he ate Alan’s breakfast that I had put out and also polished off his tablets, which meant a trip to the vet to have his stomach pumped.

“Alan looked as if he had been in a war zone with bruises and bite marks all up his anns and, by this point, I was too frightened to let the grandchildren near the dog in case he bit them. It was really dreadful,” recalls Maureen.

In fact, the dog became so naughty he began to cause a rift between the Wilsons.

“Tinker caused a lot of tension between Alan and myself. Alan is an invalid and perhaps has less patience because of this, but the situation was unbearable and the stress certainly took its toll on both of us,” said Mrs Wilson.
 
She knew something had to be done or Tinker would end up back at the rescue centre - something she desperately wanted to avoid. It was at this point the couple called in Bark Busters.
 
Quick to respond was Kim Lummis, Bark Busters’ trainer responsible for the Alton area.
 
“What Kim has done is absolutely amazing,” said Mrs Wilson. “Within one very long session she had Tinker behaving like an angel. It was absolutely unbelievable and what is more, she taught us how to behave with him so that we could maintain this behaviour.

“From the first time Kim visited, Tinker hasn’t chewed anything at all, except for his toys. He no longer jumps up, he behaves perfectly when people come to the house, he comes back when I call him and best of all, he has stopped being aggressive.

“The grandchildren came over the other day and Tinker was lovely with them. It really does seem like nothing short of a miracle and I really didn’t ever think he would be as good as he is now.”

Mr Wilson is equally impressed. “The difference in Tinker really is immense. The change in him is far, far greater than I would have believed possible. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have thought someone had swapped the dog.

“Kim certainly had her work cut out with Tinker and I thought it might take her months to make any headway, but within a few hours we saw an enormous difference in him and we simply can’t thank her enough. Tinker is 100 per cent better and I take my hat off to her.”

Maureen Wilson with Tinker and Bark Busters trainer Kim Lummis

Kim said: “Tinker is ‘a real character’ who was successfully ruling the house and making the Wilsons’ life hell in the process.

“Although Maureen and Alan are very experienced owners, Tinker had managed to rewrite the ground rules so that he was doing things that they had never allowed their other dogs to do.

“I worked with Maureen and Alan and showed them how to communicate with Tinker in a way he understood. This allowed them to lay down new rules and boundaries, which Tinker respected. He is now a lovely little dog, and I’m so pleased with the result for all concerned, particularly for Tinker himself - in fact the Wilsons may need to change his name!”