Changes in the family cannot but affect pets, especially when it is the birth of a child. When he was gone, the dog was the only beloved "child" of his parents, but then everything changes. They stop giving her time, all attention switches to the suddenly appeared squeaking lump, which sometimes frankly annoys the pet.
It is for this reason that many families abandon dogs when a baby is born. Firstly, there is not enough time for a four-legged pet, and secondly, it becomes aggressive, uncontrollable and can harm the baby. In such situations, a competent professional cynologist or zoopsychologist helps.
The American family turned to dog handler Victoria Stillwell to deal with the aggression of their once-calm Chihuahua. The dog's name is the eloquent nickname Killer, which has become a perfect match for her due to new circumstances.
As her owner Linda said, when the dog first appeared in the family, she was gentle and very affectionate. But when the daughter was born, the dog ceased to be like itself and began to literally terrorize both its pets and the people who come to visit them.
Many Reasons for Dog Stress
The first thing that the dog handler noticed when she came to the family was that the dog had some strange yellow-green hair. It turned out that the paint was coming off! Yes, yes, an eccentric mom, who herself loves to experiment with her hair color, regularly dyes her dog in different colors. Victoria said that she should stop doing this immediately, because this is the most stressful for the pet!
The family often has guests in the house, they are noisy, and it is very difficult to predict how the dog will react to this. She has already bitten both guests and their children more than once. But the most alarming thing is that this little Chihuahua has already bitten the owners' two-year-old daughter several times ...
The dog handler explained that the dog bites and shows aggression not because he wants to take revenge. She is in permanent stress, for which there is an obvious explanation: her "mom" rejects her. Previously, Linda treated her like her daughter, dressed her in different clothes and was very close to her. And then her real daughter was born, and the dog faded into the background. And she felt it perfectly.
Establishing positive contact without pressure
The dog handler needed to win over the dog in order to reduce its aggression towards strangers. To do this, she took her for a walk to neutral territory. She sat down on the grass and put a treat on her feet, which the dog ate with pleasure. And only then did she offer her a treat from her hands, which she also ate.
Thus, the dog entered the personal space of another person and established positive contact with him. Most importantly, there was no pressure or coercion on her. Then all the same was repeated by the hostess, who needed to renew the positive experience of communication with her beloved.
House for a dog - a zone of emotional comfort
The dog handler presented the family with a house for a dog, which should become a shelter for her. She can go to this house at any time when she is under stress in order to physically hide from the guests, from the child and even from the owners. This is its safe place, which the dog simply needs, because here it feels protected.
The owner had to regularly set aside time to interact with the pet one-on-one, without the presence of her husband and child, thus demonstrating that she loves her, cares for her, and that she very much needed.
Interaction with strangers
The last step was to establish a relationship between the dog and the guests it had bitten before. It turned out that earlier, when guests came with children and dogs, they began to disturb the little Chihuahua, and in response they received barking and bites.
But it was just necessary to change the tactics of behavior. Sit down next to her and ignore her. Just leave it alone and wait for her to define her own rules. At the first visit of the guest, the dog lay for some time in its bed, and then she went up to him, lay down next to him and began to ask for affection.
Dog's personal space
This is a very urgent problem for many owners of small dogs. They all want to cuddle - both adults and children. But the dog has its own personal space, and many tetrapods do not tolerate intrusion, therefore they respond with aggression, protecting themselves and their territory.
The dog handler explained to the family in detail that the dog must be loved, its space should be respected and that pressure should be stopped. And over time, progress will be evident.
source: It's Me or the Dog / Youtube
