Captain Calm to the rescue

I’m so excited about this that I’ve got to share it with you.  Some of you might find this obvious, but not me!  Moss and I were going down the wrong avenue.  She was becoming increasingly reactive when approaching other dogs, and it was really bothering me. 

Let me explain. 

As some of you will know Moss is a Border collie and her social type is alpha, that means she is born to be a pack leader, instinctively she feels some authority over other dogs.  Alphas, like Moss, can be misunderstood and their authoritative behaviour can be taken as aggression, it’s not, but it does need to be understood and carefully managed.

On Monday afternoon we had a lesson with Captain Calm the dog trainer, specifically to address the issue of how Moss approaches other dogs when we are out walking.  Although it felt like an indulgence to have a one to one lesson, I think it was an investment in our future. 

Meeting other dogs Moss would go into full collie mode.  She’d stop, stare, crouch and stalk.  It’s what collies do to control sheep.  Collies are hard wired to control movement, and if they are alphas as well, the instinct can be even stronger.

Since I didn’t understand her instinctive behaviour, things were going wrong, and I was losing confidence in my ability to control her.   I’d never experienced this kind of behaviour before. 

I was beginning to see fifteen years of lonesome walks in front of us.

That afternoon, Captain Calm, Moss and I went out for a walk looking for dogs to meet.  I have to tell you that Captain Calm works with dogs, all day every day, she’s a professional. 

Now, here’s the magic - Captain Calm could divert Moss’s attention from an approaching dog easily!  For me to witness a total change in Moss’s behaviour right in front of my eyes was massive. 

I’m not pretending that I’m good at the method yet, I’ve got to practice.  The key is watching out for the body language, the lowering of the head, then stepping in quickly and lightly to divert her attention with high value treats.

The issues we have with Moss are probably specific to her breed and social type.  Different dogs have different issues.  

My point is that dogs are trainable, some breeds more than others.  If you feel as though a dog is developing difficult behaviour, get help, it could make life much more fun. 

Is that blindingly obvious?

Photo:  A stalking collie not Moss