My human didn’t have enough knowledge to understand me; we couldn’t communicate very well. I got a bit unruly – and grumpy. My human was new to dog ownership. She had done an online puppy course; followed the typical puppy guides and taken me to the weekly village hall ‘dog training’ classes from the very beginning, but it just wasn’t enough to get the foundations right for a dog who is as switched on and as bright as I am.
It manifested in me having selective hearing; I’d choose when to listen / comply; I behaved ‘OK’ indoors, but when outside I often needed to step in and be the dominant leader; I always had to put myself in front and take control. Trying to communicate with my human just wasn’t working very well.
I also developed some medical & allergy issues, and I learnt when I got angry the vet backed off, and as soon as I found that worked with the vet, I started using it in other situations when I didn’t want to comply with what was being asked of me.
The final straw was when I was 15months old and I flipped at a routine vet appointment – getting angry was a great way to avoid doing things I didn’t want to do. My human knew in that moment that she needed a different type of professional help, otherwise I was going to be that problem dog that she had never intended.
After some desperate googling to try and find the right type of help, my human stumbled on Kelford – and spoke to Lyndon. I took my human there for some training session. Lyndon could speak to her in human language and help her understand how to read me and how to communicate with me. At last! I’d found the help I needed to communicate with my Human!
We’ve had a series of visits, it’s not a quick fix as my human had got some of the basics wrong, so Lyndon had to help address those, but together we’ve made great progress. Each session has built on previous sessions and we are both learning lots – in all sort of different setting, in towns, in forests, in fields full of sheep, at the reservoir….. We both wish we had found Lyndon much sooner!
My human and I actually enjoy each other’s company now 😊. I’m a much nicer dog to be around. I don’t feel the need to be angry anymore. The vet was amazed at the progress that had been made in my behaviour, given how badly I behaved previously. I can be quite the angel now, and when we are out and about lots of strangers come up to me and tell me how well behaved I am. We still both have much to learn, and have further training sessions planned, so we can continue to work towards that perfect dog : human partnership. We are really enjoying both the ‘process of learning’ and ‘what we are learning’; we both look forward to our visits to Kelford.
‘Zeeta’ the Wire-haired Vizsla and owner Karena Freeman