04/08/2026
Sweet little Dinky here is one of my ongoing behaviour cases at the moment. She has had some pretty big feelings about people visiting her home ..... leading to her barking constantly at the guests until they leave 🐶
Initially we made some changes to ensure that her needs are being met .... this involved:
😴 Ensuring she was getting adequate sleep and making some changes to facilitate this
✔️ Using management to prevent her rehearsing territorial behaviour, including window screens to prevent reacting at passers by and soft music as background noise
🌟 Introducing some breed specific enrichment to help her feel less frustrated and more fulfilled
🐾 Increase chewing activites which increases Serotonin and helps mood regulation
☂️ Introducing ACE Freework to build confidence and optimism
We have then moved on to more practical training to help her, including:
🏃♀️ A more reliable recall
🛏 A "bed" cue
🌞 Some fun confidence building training including "touch"
✔️ Building some tolerance for short separations from her mum in a kind and gentle way
Once this step has been proofed the next step is to start training with visitors 🥳
It is important to always ensure that needs are being met before embarking on any training plan ❤️
The next step is to create a solid foundation for essential skills required to train around the trigger, this always begins way before we start working around guests to make it as easy as possible for everyone! 🌸
Towards the end of our most recent session when the training was finished and she had finished with her dig box this is usually the time where Dinky will jump straight back to barking at me ......
However this time she opted to start playing with her ball independently instead !! What a great choice ⚽️
Super work Dinky! 🎉🎉🎉
