Justin Gilmore and The Balanced Fetcher Dog Club - My dog’s behaviour when attached to their lead - Bruno.

Justin Gilmore is a professionally qualified dog behaviourist who specialises in:

• All types of aggression
• Puppy training
• Fears and Phobias
• Separation Anxiety, and much more.

He has created the 'Balanced Fetcher Dog Club' so that adopters can receive answers to dog related behaviour questions

Topic - My dog’s behaviour when attached to their lead.

In this issue we look at why our dogs might behave in a certain way when attached to their leads. A friend of Fetcher Dog, Bruno, was adopted just a few weeks ago and his owner wanted to understand and solve some of his displayed behaviour when out and about………

Justin says:

Firstly, members of the public and other dog walkers/owners do not know that our beloved dog is an adopted dog. They’ve no idea about our dogs past and they only see the displayed behaviour! So we should bear this in mind. In my experience, we don’t need to tell people that our dogs are adopted, we don’t need bright yellow or orange leads that advertise “aggressive dog”, “my dog requires space”. Instead, you might find it useful to say “I’ve not owned her for long and I’m still assessing her confidence” or “we’re just doing some training, do you mind clipping your dog back on it’s lead”? I find that most people are then welcoming and friendly, and then we might get into a conversation….or not.

Secondly, breed types. A Bull Dog is unlikely to play and make noises like a Cocker Spaniel. A Border Collie’s body language is likely to be different to a Sight Hound. Rescue dogs, especially over seas street dogs can of course have tremendous genetic variations, so traits will vary.

Back to Bruno. It’s my belief that dogs only ever have 5 options, fight and flight being 2 of them, so when we attach them to their lead, these options are removed or reduced. Dogs learn through play so nature is driving some of these behaviours. Depending on the dogs confidence, character and temperament we will see varying behaviours. The dogs drive and motivation also has an influence. As does their experiences. A dog may bite its lead for a number of reasons, but we should remember that the only “tools” they have are their mouths and paws, so it’s only natural that they use them. There are techniques and methods we can learn and utilise to prevent this, and so the dog becomes balanced again.

In this issue we look at why our dogs might behave in a certain way when attached to their leads. A friend of Fetcher Dog, Bruno, was adopted just a few weeks ago and his owner wanted to understand and solve some of his displayed behaviour when out and about………

And when we do see other dogs there are lots of things to consider such as: are they on a lead, off lead, a male dog, female dog, a dog that was/is/recently in season, a puppy/junior/adult dog, is it playful or has it stopped and become focused on our dog, does the dogs owner look like they are aware of the situation and so on. So as you can see, there are so many variables, and no two dogs are the same and owners attitudes vary which is why there is no one answer or method to fix all dogs in all situations. But having some knowledge and skills will greatly assist you, it reduces your frustrations and more importantly keeps you and your dog safe.

Dogs require Love, Trust and Respect so in the early days, weeks and months the bonding process shapes our relationship. Rules, boundaries and limitation are introduced, or not, or perhaps sometimes. You get the picture. We are all busy people, there are only 24 hours in the day, we can’t make it 25, so wouldn’t it be great if we could train our dogs during every minute we spend with them?

Well, now you can and I can show you how…….welcome to the Balanced Fetcher Dog Club.

If you have any questions you can speak direct to Justin at Dog Training in Kent - Dog Behaviourist and Trainer in Kent or telephone 07802 559 495