The Husky who refused to go for a walk

The eight-month-old dog would walk down the road as far as the park but refused to walk any further.  The joke was that when Kobi wanted to walk he would drag Louise along to such an extent that she was barely able to hold on to him.  Doctors have suggested that the dog’s pulling may have caused a collapsed lung from which Louise recently suffered.   Yet when Kobi didn’t want to walk he simply sat down and cried and nothing would convince him to take another step.  Nothing that is, until Jinny Hatton of Bark Busters arrived on the scene.

Jinny soon realised that Kobi was suffering from fear.

‘I soon deduced that the problems stemmed from the dog having been frightened by a shop shutter which had been pulled down as Louise and Kobi were passing.  The shutter had made a lot of noise as it closed and this had clearly terrified the young dog.  From then on Kobi refused to walk any further than the end of the road where the park is’ says Jinny, a Canine Behavioural Therapist with home dog training company Bark Busters. 

Jinny showed Louise how to become his pack leader, and to demonstrate to Kobi that if Louise thought it was safe to walk down the street then it was ok for Kobi to follow her.

Louise was amazed at the results, even by the end of the first session.

‘I can’t believe the difference in Kobi since Jinny has been working with us.  He really is brilliant now and what she has done is a little miracle.  I can now walk Kobi without him dragging me down the street and I can coax him to keep walking when he stops.  I understand him much better and I have learnt to recognise what his body language is telling me.  I know that he will improve further, but he is already 90% better than he was’ says Louise.

Last week Kobi achieved something that Louise would never have believed possible – a visit to a motorbike track.   ‘When I took Kobi to the motocross show I expected to be getting straight back in the car with him once the bikes started racing, but he was absolutely fine and happy throughout the whole event.  I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t frightened of all the noise from the bikes, but he wasn’t’.

Jinny is absolutely delighted with the improvement she has seen in Kobi.

‘I have rarely seen a dog with such problems outside the house as Kobi, it was shocking to see the severity of his distress, he was truly terrified. I am so pleased that Louise called me when she did.  We have been able to ease his fear and nip any behavioural problems in the bud to ensure that Kobi is an obedient and happy dog.  We just need to keep reminding Kobi of his nomadic and intrepid ancestry,’ laughs Jinny.   

Happy owner Louise is now making the most of every opportunity to show off her well-behaved four-legged friend.

‘It is fantastic to be able to walk Kobi with ease and now I just want to go out with him all the time and show him off’ she laughs.

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.