Expert gives lead on how to make your dog calmer
A BURTON dog trainer has given tips on how to help jittery dogs cope with anxiety.
Luke Edgington has used a dog he trained, called Buddy, as an example of how anxious dogs can be trained to cope with social situations.
He says Buddy constantly barked and growled when they first met, but he has now learned to trust people more.
Luke, 36, says it was all about respect and socialisation.
Speaking to Teamdogs, the 36- year- old, who runs Stanton Dog Guy, said: “The first time I went to meet Buddy he was barking and growling so we started training immediately and we corrected that, showing him that new people aren’t a threat to him and teaching him to have more trust in and respect for his owners.
“It was important for people to be able to see what a loving gentle boy Buddy was; he just needed some guidance.
“Once he had accepted me and I had earned his trust which didn’t take long, I then started working him.
“We started with a lesson on a slip lead, then taking him to places where there were lots of people so he could learn how to behave around lots of new and potentially ‘scary’ things.
“His owners said to me they were concerned about him around children, so I introduced him to my children.
“We met him in the park and within a very short amount of time my kids were playing with him and he was having a great time, proving that providing we communicate appropriately with him he can learn to trust new people really quickly.
“So I told my client to get new people around the house and keep practising what he had learnt. “After a little while, he was doing great.
“He had a list of people he hated so my clients got them around and then he was amazing! They said they wanted to take him to the pub as they didn’t know how reactive he would be so I said let’s take him.
“There were only a few times where people approached him and he growled, so we explained to them that he was anxious. “You have to understand an anxious dog’s code. Don’t look at them, don’t touch them and don’t talk to them.
“If you respect their rules the dog will trust the person. It’s about respecting the dog’s code. The rule in my house is no touching, no talking and no looking for the first few moments.
“Once you have said hello to the people then you can say hello to the dog. It teaches the dog manners and trust.”