Therapy Cures Uncontrollable German Shepherd

Sian Dodd of Babbacombe Road, Torquay was at her wits end with Klay her German Shepherd who behaved appallingly and had taken to barking relentlessly.  ‘Klay would bark at literally anything – it could be leaves falling, a cats bell, absolutely anything could set him off in a frenzy of barking.  I dreaded a dog warden or someone from Environmental Health tuning up on my doorstep because he must have driven the neighbours mad.  He would literally push me out of the way at the back door just so that he could get outside and bark his head off.  He was on guard 24/7 and I had no idea how to stop it’ says Sian.  The barking didn’t stop when out on a walk, Klay just continued to bark his head off at everything and everyone.

The bad behaviour wasn’t restricted to barking either.  ‘When I took him out he would drag me down the street as if I was on roller skates and he would rear up on his back legs barking at other dogs.  I always wore walking boots because I never knew what I was going to be dragged through’ confesses Sian.  ‘If I let him off the lead he just raced off, only coming back if and when it suited him.  I had no control over him whatsoever’.

Klay would also race round the house barking madly.  ‘It was impossible to sit on the sofa because he would dash up and chew your ankles and grab them if you tried to walk.  He would also stand in front of the television and bark at me until I got up and did what he wanted.  There is no doubt that he was 100% in control, not me’.

His behaviour with visitors was dreadful too and nobody got through the front door without being pounced on.  ‘He is a big dog and he jumped up at everyone, virtually knocking them over.  My father is elderly and it was a really dangerous situation when Klay leapt at him’ says Sian.

When visitors got in, it was no better.  ‘I had no choice but to shut him away because he would continuously bark and it was impossible to hold a conversation when he was in the room, he just constantly demanded attention’.

Bringing in shopping was hopeless because Klay would trample on it and chew anything he could get at.  He also insisted on sleeping in Sian’s bed – under the duvet with his head on the pillow and she had the devil of a job to get him out.  ‘I’m sure he thought it was his bed not mine’ laughs Sian.

Although Klay was a friendly dog, Sian also admits that he was very intimidating and she was frightened that his increasingly dominant behaviour might turn to aggression.  ‘The bigger he got the more wilful he became and I just knew that sooner or later he would be aggressive and that frightened me.  I knew if I didn’t get some help that eventually I would lose him’.

The only member of the family who got the better of Klay was the cat.  ‘The cat would have none of his bad behaviour and a few quick swipes with her claws soon had him under control’ laughs Sian.  ‘As for me, Klay had no respect whatsoever and he totally disregarded anything I said.  I now know that he was looking for a leader and that I wasn’t behaving like one.  I just didn’t know how to communicate with him in a way that he understood’ admits Sian

It was Sandra Hughes the Bark Buster Therapist in the Torquay area who taught Sian how to communicate effectively with her dog.

‘The difference in Klay following the training with Sandra has been quite amazing, it really is little short of a miracle.  Within 48 hours of our first session Klay was like a different dog.  The barking had stopped and I also had Klay walking beautifully to heel and behaving well with visitors.  Gone are the mad dog sessions with Klay tearing round the house, barking, chewing and causing mayhem and gone are my fears that sooner or later Klay would have to be re-homed’.

Sandra explains that when she first saw Klay he was completely uncontrollable ‘Sian had no hope of stopping him barking, jumping up, pulling or getting him back when he was off the lead on a walk.  Klay is a lovely dog, but he needed some rules and boundaries.  I showed Sian how to become an effective leader to Klay and as a result he is now relaxed and well-behaved.  Sian is a terrific owner and she now has a terrific dog’ says Sandra.

Sian is delighted at the results ‘Sandra gave me a lot of confidence and I knew that the training would work, but the results are much better than I had hoped, I can’t believe that I have such a well-mannered dog

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.