Walking the Dog No Longer a Drag

‘I had always wanted a dog and looking after Millie for a few months while our friends found a home in Australia sounded like a great way to get in practice for a dog of our own’ says Nicky.  In fact the first 24 hours with Millie were disastrous and only led the couple to think that having a dog was probably a daft idea. 

‘The first evening we left Millie for a short time, while we went to visit friends.  When we returned Millie raced up the stairs in front of us and promptly hopped on to our bed where she plonked herself down for the night’ says Nicky. 

Convincing Millie not to sleep on the bed turned out to be a minor problem compared to dealing with her other anti-social habits, such as barging though doors sending anyone in her way flying and most worrying of all pulling on the lead to point that she was unwalkable. 

‘The first time I took Millie out she literally dragged me down the street, pulling so hard that she wrenched my shoulder.  It was really quite badly injured and when I went to my weekly massage class I had to volunteer to be the model because there was no way that I could give anyone else a massage’.

Following this injury Nicky was terrified at what would happen if she took Millie out and met another dog or even a person. 

‘She was so boisterous and jumped up at everyone, it was quite frightening.  She was totally out of control and there was no doubt that she was the boss not me’.

After just a couple of days the couple decided that some sort of professional help was needed and it was thanks to an advert in the Coventry Evening Telegraph that Bark Busters came to the rescue. 

Louise Mokrzycki, the Bark Buster trainer in the Coventry area visited Nicky and Russ and soon had Millie behaving like a perfect pouch. 

‘Millie is a lovely dog but she was like a whirlwind when I first went met her.  She would bound around the place and almost had the blinds down when she raced to the window to see what was going on outside.

Once Russ and Nicky understood the reasons for Millie’s behaviour we were very quickly able to calm her down by communicating with her simply and in a way she understood.  It isn’t only Russ and Nicky who are happier, Millie is much happier too because she feels secure and recognises her owners as the leaders’. 

The results certainly exceeded Nicky and Russ’s expectations.  ‘Millie changed within the first two hours that Louise was with us, it was quite amazing.  Louise stopped her barging through doors and had her walking to heel.  Millie really was 100 times better after just that first visit. That first week end we had Millie was total chaos, but now she is calm and we can control her.  It’s wonderful and that’s all thanks to Louise’ says Nicky.

And the good news is that Russ and Nicky fully intend to have a dog of their own once Milly is re-united with her owners in Oz.

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.