Rescue Dog Rescued From His Own Bad Behaviour

‘Oscar is a lovely looking dog who would melt anyone’s heart, but his behaviour almost led us to give up on him’ admits Pat.

Oscar had a history of behavioural problems and had previously been returned to the RSPCA because his new owners couldn’t cope with him.  The most severe problem was separation anxiety; he simply couldn’t bear to be left on his own.  ‘If I was on my own with Oscar he wouldn’t let me leave a room without him, he would even follow me in to the loo’ laughs Pat.

When the couple did eventually try to leave Oscar home alone while they popped out shopping, he simply barked and howled the house down.  ‘Our neighbour told us on our return that he literally hadn’t stopped from the minute we left the house until we got back.  Although she was lovely about it, we knew that we couldn’t allow this to keep happening’ says Pat.

Over the next few weeks Pat and Bob ensured that one of them was with the dog at all times.  ‘Most of the time we managed okay because Bob works nights and so he is around during the day, which meant I could pop out shopping. But there were of course times when we both wanted to be out together and that was just impossible.  Friends and family were very good and let us take Oscar with us when we went to visit, but you can’t take a dog literally everywhere all the time’ says Pat.

Oscar was also very demanding of attention.  ‘He would constantly paw and nudge us for attention and would regularly bark when he wanted us to play. He also took to racing to the door and furiously barking when anyone came to the house’ says Pat.

Oscar’s behaviour outside was even worse.  ‘He constantly pulled on the lead, didn’t come back when off the lead and would often turn on other dogs which was very worrying’ says Pat. 

The couple became increasingly concerned about Oscar’s behaviour, especially the separation anxiety, which led to the continual barking and howling when he was left alone.

‘We were planning a holiday to visit our son in the States this summer and realised that there was no way we could leave Oscar with our daughter the way he was.  Indeed there was no way we could leave him with anybody’ admits Pat.

Pat, who suffers with Rheumatoid Arthritis and ME and Bob had become increasingly stressed about the situation with Oscar. Finally Pat agreed that if they didn’t get the problems sorted then Oscar would have to be returned to the rescue centre.  ‘This decision certainly focused my mind and made me absolutely determined to find someone who could help us with Oscar’ says Pat.

It was Jacquie Callaby of Bark Busters Home Dog Training who provided that much needed help.  ‘Jacquie pretty much turned Oscar around in one three hour session.  It was quite amazing how quickly she was able to change his behaviour.  The training really was marvellous and Oscar is 500 if not 1000 times better’ says Pat.

Jacquie explains that in this case her first task was to show the owners how to communicate effectively with their dog.

‘Oscar is a lovely dog, but he did have some quite severe problems which needed addressing.  He was a nervous dog who needed strong leadership to give him the security that he lacked.  I showed Pat and Bob how to take control in a way that Oscar understood and once he had confidence in them we were able to resolve his problems’ says Jacquie.

‘We can now leave Oscar for a couple of hours at a time and he is absolutely fine and doesn’t bark at all which is wonderful’ says Pat.  ‘I am amazed how well the training has worked and I know that we will gradually be able to leave him for longer lengths of time without any bad behaviour or barking’.

Pat can now see that although she and Bob thought they were communicating effectively with Oscar that wasn’t in fact the case.

‘We have had several dogs in the past and have always managed them easily, so I was confident that we would be fine with Oscar.  It was a bit of a shock when that wasn’t the case’ admits Pat.  ‘I can now see that we treated him like a little furry human being and that was our biggest mistake.  Looking back I now understand that Oscar certainly thought that he was the leader, but clearly couldn’t cope with the role.  Jacquie has helped us to change all that and Oscar is definitely here to stay now’ says Pat.

For more information about Bark Busters take a look at www.barkbusters.co.uk

To contact a Bark Buster Therapist call Freephone 0808 100 4071

Bark Busters, the world’s largest, most trusted dog training company, started in Australia in 1989 and came to the United Kingdom in 1999. Since inception, over 400,000 dogs have been trained worldwide. With more than 230 offices in eight countries, Bark Busters is continuing its mission to build a global network of dog behavioural therapists to enhance responsible dog ownership and reduce the possibility of maltreatment, abandonment, and euthanasia of companion dogs. Bark Busters is the only international dog training company that offers a lifetime guarantee. Therapists will provide future sessions free of charge if problem behaviours recur, or if any new problems develop. For more information, call 0808 100 4071 or visit www.barkbusters.co.uk, where dog owners can complete a Dog Behavioural Quiz to rate their dogs’ behaviour.