Shelby, from Scottsdale, AZ contacted us after several years of dealing with her dog Nellie, a Border Collie mix with behaviors that caused her concern and frightened her. Shelby got Nellie as a rescue and was not informed of Nellie’s behaviors around other dogs. She also found that Nellie was intimidated with certain people and took awhile to warm up to them. She managed Nellie’s social interactions as best she could with other dogs, but oftentimes that meant isolating her because of how her initial reaction startled Shelby. Nellie would be on leash and after a quick, often tense first smell she would snap and lunge at the other dog. Shelby did not know why this kept happening and Nellie continued to do this behavior more and more until Shelby stopped setting up engagements with other dogs.
After chatting during our initial visit, Shelby thought it best to sign Nellie up for the Boarding School program that allowed Nellie to have intensive training with other dogs around her 24 hours a day. Nellie did her initial snap when meeting the dogs, but we found she took the discipline well for the behavior and ended the over reaction quickly. She also began to learn that doing so would not only teach her that this behavior is not appropriate, but that it would not get her removed from the other dog’s interactions. It was exactly the opposite. If she reacted negatively, she was required to stay and be around the other dogs more. Only when she relaxed and calmed did she get what she wanted and was allowed physical space. Nellie also learned important leash skills and how to better understand how to communicate that way, so when she went home, Shelby could better engage and correct those unwanted behaviors quickly and calmly. Nellie also learned better command skills and listening better under more stressful and distracting situations.
Shelby continues to bring Nellie to our group classes and has been doing wonderful with the distraction work that she often is so calm she helps the newer dogs to deal with social interactions. She is also able to meet up and have wonderful playdates with Shelby’s friends whose dogs she never thought would be Nellie’s companions. Shelby also feels confident and safe to take Nellie out hiking and walking in crowded [often dog heavy] places to enjoy both the scenery and the great weather that we have 8 months out of the year.
