I have been a professional behavior consultant for over 30 years, and am very good at figuring out what is going on. however, I am now working with a very unusual problem that I have never encountered.
The original call came from a new grandmother who is taking care of her new grandson. The problem was that the dog "goes crazy" when the baby is there, especially when the baby is fussing. Barking, whining, crying ,jumping, etc.
In the initial evaluation and review of the 6 page questionnaire that was filled out previously it was very clear that the dog was extremely lacking in correct/complete socialization, and was a VERY high stress dog. Additionally, the owners had babied the dog, failing to achieve positive leadership. The dog ruled the house! The dog is a 4 year old terrier mix
After giving numerous guidelines to start taking back control and assuming leadership roles, we also implemented protocals such as Earned Attention, Leader related feeding, etc.
Over time we saw dramatic improvements in the dogs behavior in general, she calmed down in day to day life, stopped demanding attention, and started responding better to obedience commands.
We also implemented a socialization program to expose the dog to more varied sensory/situational input while couterconditioning if she showed any fear/stress. She became much less anxious when visitors arrive.
The main problem, tho diminished still exists. especially when grandma is dealing with the baby. I have discovered several interestng quirks to this problem. If grandpa is dealing with. the baby the problem is almost non existant! If the baby is at it's own home, instead of at the grandparents, the problem does not occur. When mom is at grandma's and has the baby, the problem is greatly diminished.
It's almost as if the dog does not trust grandma to take care of the baby! It might have to do with mothering instincts. We have tried the Calmer Canine device with some small success, and are about to start with Wagnific.
If anyone out there has ANY insight into this I sure would appreciate it!
The original call came from a new grandmother who is taking care of her new grandson. The problem was that the dog "goes crazy" when the baby is there, especially when the baby is fussing. Barking, whining, crying ,jumping, etc.
In the initial evaluation and review of the 6 page questionnaire that was filled out previously it was very clear that the dog was extremely lacking in correct/complete socialization, and was a VERY high stress dog. Additionally, the owners had babied the dog, failing to achieve positive leadership. The dog ruled the house! The dog is a 4 year old terrier mix
After giving numerous guidelines to start taking back control and assuming leadership roles, we also implemented protocals such as Earned Attention, Leader related feeding, etc.
Over time we saw dramatic improvements in the dogs behavior in general, she calmed down in day to day life, stopped demanding attention, and started responding better to obedience commands.
We also implemented a socialization program to expose the dog to more varied sensory/situational input while couterconditioning if she showed any fear/stress. She became much less anxious when visitors arrive.
The main problem, tho diminished still exists. especially when grandma is dealing with the baby. I have discovered several interestng quirks to this problem. If grandpa is dealing with. the baby the problem is almost non existant! If the baby is at it's own home, instead of at the grandparents, the problem does not occur. When mom is at grandma's and has the baby, the problem is greatly diminished.
It's almost as if the dog does not trust grandma to take care of the baby! It might have to do with mothering instincts. We have tried the Calmer Canine device with some small success, and are about to start with Wagnific.
If anyone out there has ANY insight into this I sure would appreciate it!
