Frustration & Getting back on Track- Willow

Willow is my partner in crime, a three year old collie cross that is as loveable as she is mad. And trust me, she is mad! She has always been a handful and has always had a strange issue with meeting other dogs. Becoming incredibly snappy and aggressive. However once she has gotten to know a dog she becomes their best friend. It is a frustrating cycle that never seems to end, and out in public she comes across as just being unruly… why? Because there is nowhere near enough time for her to get past that initial meeting of another dog when out and about. So she just creates a nightmare until the offending dog is out of her way and has left the area. I have taken her to several trainers and behaviourists that have all come back with the same answer. She isn’t scared. She is simply rude, and she has made the link that most people steer clear when she starts making a fuss, in turn their dogs also leave and she has full control of the situation.

I have similar issues when I have her with me around the horses, she insists on nipping at their heels and driving them around, herding instinct I know. Yet she refuses to work sheep. My biggest issue is how hard headed she is. When she is focused on me she is the most attentive and obedient dog I have ever known. The second I lose that focus though, that’s when the trouble begins, she will completely ignore me. Blocking me out it doesn’t matter how loudly I call her back, what command I give her to attempt to divert her attention, nothing works.

Her obsessive personality can be difficult to manage, for example when there are people over she will not leave them alone, even if she is being ignored herself. She is the same with a tennis ball, constantly hassling you with it or even turning it into the only thing she will focus on when on a walk. So much so that you can’t even take it to use as a reward as she just searches for it and won’t listen to anything else that I say to her.

She is incredibly vocal and will bark and bark in retaliation if she decides that she doesn’t want to do what you are asking of her. And as much as it can be amusing to onlookers, it is actually a complete nightmare to have to argue vocally with your dog just to get her to sit.

To cut a long story short she has recently been much better, and much more trust worth, and I was starting to think that we were really making progress. However last night she proved me so wrong. She was out with us checking the animals for the night as usual when she suddenly took off across the field and jumped into the next doors garden. Why? Because they had a dog visiting, a dog that Willow had never seen before. Luckily she didn’t snap at it and once she had seen that it was another dog and the people from next door had shout at he to get out, she did come back. What upset me though was after all of this work over the last three years, I couldn’t do anything to stop her running to that garden. Nothing that I did even slowed her down for a second.

The plan of action?

This.

I will be creating a strict routine for her, where she gets a full training schedule set out and is in a set routine every day for everything else, such as walks, play, time out with me off a lead. I am also looking into getting her spayed to try and even out the hormones a little and she will also be getting a vet check up in due course, just to eliminate any other issues – not that there have ever been any before. We will be following the book ‘Click to Calm – Healing The Aggressive Dog’  by Emma Parsons. Willow has been clicker trained before and it worked well, so I am hoping that by following the guidance of this book we might start to get ourselves back on track. She is meant to be coming on holiday with myself and my boyfriend in the summer so I am hoping that I can at least settle her a little before we go.  As I learn how to perform the reiki treatments I will also be giving her regular sessions with that in the hope that her energy channels etc. will remain a little more balanced and she might just be a little more level headed.

Anyways, positive head on and with any luck this frustrating turn of events will soon be a thing of the past!