C.A.R.E.™
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The Psycho Flossie ???
Our New Friend Flossie
Our friends at one of our major pet stores referred us to the delightful house of Flossie. Her parents nickname her "Psycho Flossie". This isn't because she is a vicious animal, but she is very hyper and hard to control. I was thrilled when I got to the house that the parents had made a list of things they wanted addressed during our consultation.
To cut a long story short, Flossie was in charge of the house. She went "potty" in the house, she did whatever she wanted and there were no consequences to her actions. This was a simple case of discipline and educating the pet parents. I am happy to say that they were very receptive and willing to do whatever it takes to get their 8 month old pooch under control. It was a much needed lesson for this active little lady and her family.
Well .... a definite leadership issue in this house needed to be addressed but this awesome family were so enthusiastic about confronting the issues, it became easier. I honestly love calls like this, a family understands, asks a lot of questions and takes direction with a tremendous amount of grace and respect. It is so easy to "humanize" your pets and when she is as cute as this little bundle, it's also easy to feel sorry for her .... DON'T !!! Its not deliberate that she does the things you don't like, it can be a combination of things ... frustration or boredom is a normal factor. This little angel would pee/poop in the house, shun her food, jump on people, disobey her parents ... I'm sure you get the picture.It is so easy to misunderstand smaller dogs because people think that they are cute/delicate/easily hurt.
Subconsciously you will think that a tiny dog needs to be treated with kid gloves, but really they require the same discipline and structure as any other dog no matter what the size. If you allow the dog to take over he/she will and it will become an issue that snowballs into something that is even more frustrating.
It's very difficult to go into all the exact details, but needless to say, that with the co-operation of the pet parents, it was a very well received visit. we walked Flossie, showed her parents the power of the pack leader, discussed resolutions to issues with feeding ... etc, also practiced exercises to influence, control and correct the behaviors that Flossie was displaying. It's all about the 3 R's ... Read, Recognize and Rectify !!! Once you master this with your pup, you will be a made person and your dog will be more responsive.After a follow up with Flossie and her parents, I am pleased to say that there has been a total turn around in her behavior. Her parents have also enrolled her in obedience classes and she is doing very well.
I am very happy for this family, as originally, they weren't sure whether they wanted to keep her or not because she was so unruly. All I can say is that I am proud of you all. Well Done !!!
This site is dedicated to Dylan, a true 'best friend'