How Dog Behaviour Accidently Became My Fascinating Vocation
Freya V. Locke - Dog Behaviourist | Author | Blogger. Issue 43, 2024
Hi Gang.
Halloween is coming up soon, and for some of us Pagan types, it is an important time to remember our loved ones. 🎃🍂
It is also important to know who you are working with, when it comes to your precious pups, so I figured you might like to know how I became a behaviourist.
So with that in mind, I want to tell you about Moo, the boy who made me become a doggy pro.
Baby Moo
Once upon a time, there was a little dog called “Marvin”. However, nobody called him Marvin. Everyone knew him as “Moo.“
I fell in love with him, when as a four week old puppy, he wobbled over to me, and promptly did a rolypoly, falling onto my foot. I picked him up, he fell asleep in the palm of my hand, and I was smitten. It was love at first sight.
Moo was a Tibetan Terrier crossed with a Cavalier King Charles and was the most adorable little floofer in the world. He loved cuddles with his mum (me) and wanted nothing more than to be wherever I was.
He was a little bit off his food at 8 weeks old, when he came home. By 12 weeks he seemed to have had a bit of a tummy bug that was lingering. Still, I assumed he was going to be ok as at that point, he was still eating.
Maybe he just wasn’t hungry … I was sure some exercise would sort that out and that once he had an appetite, everything would slot into place.
The Hard Times
Until he stepped outside the front door. His first few walks should have been joyous, but instead they left me in tears and him in pain.
The world was a very scary place for Moo. His tummy hurt so much, and walking made him throw up. He also had lots of diarrhoea with blood in it. So when he was out on walks, he got very upset. He didn’t want anything or anyone to come near him incase they caused him more pain, so he growled and barked and tried his best with his tiny body to scare them all away.
Dinners were also scary for Moo. So he stopped eating them altogether.
He chewed the backs of his legs until they had bald patches.
The vets advised me to change his food, so I did. Numerous times. He would perk up for a week or so and then go back to being ill.
Naturally I consulted Dr. Google who first told me my dog was bad, and how to punish his behaviour (thankfully I didn’t. I believe fully in harm none, and this situation is no different.) Allergies and Intolerances also popped up in the feed, so I began looking for help from the vet and the local dog trainers.
I was told “allergy tests are not conclusive” and the local trainers I approached would not have an aggressive dog in their classes. There was another trainer, who had a reputation for methods that sounded horrible. There was no way I was subjecting Moo to any of what he told others to do.
I felt stumped - I did not know what to do or where to turn.
When he was 18 months old, they gave me the choice to put him to sleep. He was half the weight he should be, and looked neglected. He was an anxious, aggressive mess. But something kept telling me to keep going.
Moo’s Recovery
Eventually I stumbled across The ISCP and I began learning all about nutrition and about behaviour. Through them I discovered how to help Moo with food intolerance tests and formulating our own food, avoiding anything that was flagged. I pushed for allergy tests regardless of whether the vet thought they were effective, and they flagged up that Moo was allergic to dust and storage mites. Storage mites are often found in kibble, and in dried food such as flour, or in things like cheese, that sit around for a long time. So all of that was off the menu too.
I then had to work out how to talk him into eating again. Normally, when training things, we use food as a reward. But this was not going to work as Moo was deeply suspicious of his dinner.
One thing he loved was his tennis ball. I had recently begun to learn all about pairing triggers with good things, and also about a technique called shaping, and a plan was forming in my mind.
I began to dip my finger in his dinner, hold it near to him, by his nose. As soon as he breathed in, I would roll the ball as a reward. Moo swiftly began sniffing the food on my finger in return for the tennis ball bouncing across the room.
I bopped him “accidentally” on the nose with it, so that he had to lick it off, before I rolled the ball. Before I knew it, he would lick food straight from my finger in return for the flash of bright green across the floor.
From there, we built up to tiny lumps of food. Then bigger lumps. Then, whole morsels. Before I knew it, he was eating small meals during our games of ball.
As his appetite grew, and he began to put weight on, he stopped chewing his legs. The vomiting and passing of blood stopped.
At last he was becoming a healthy, happy dog.
The Great Outdoors
Next I set to work on a process called “Desensitisation and Counter-Conditioning” to change how he felt about the outside world. It was a fascinating process, that seemed so simple and obvious, once I knew how to do it.
Why had the local training classes not mentioned this to me? I’m glad they didn’t, in a way, as I would never have gone down the path of becoming a behaviourist if they had just given me all the answers.
I had never thought about working with animals before, but it was so very satisfying watching his transformation that it became a no-brainer. I started walking dogs and helping out at a local training class to get a little more experience with different kinds of dogs, while I continued my studies.
Little Moo went from a terrified, barking mess, to a happy, fun loving, extremely clever dog who was doing tricks for children on the high street, and visiting my old Nan in a kind of therapy dog role.
He walked perfectly to heel and didn’t really need a lead. His behaviour around other dogs was impeccable and he had several special little friends who we met regularly for walks and to play in the park.
Covid 19 Came Along
He was with us all through the lockdowns and helped me train many dogs over the internet when we were all housebound. We had an online school where I would talk through concepts to the class, Moo would demonstrate and they could copy with their own dogs. Without his help, I would not have been able to keep working.
He joined in our street lockdown bingo every Saturday night, in the front gardens (all socially distanced and responsible, but still very much like a holiday camp at home and great fun.) He joined in the Thursday clap for the NHS and howled along to the cheers. He did tricks up and down the road to entertain those who were living through the crisis in solitude.
He was my angel. My pride and joy. The closest living being to me. We were inseparable. We all have that one special love in our lives and he was mine.
Through him, I discovered a love of helping dogs with their issues. Slowly, I became more and more qualified until I am an accredited canine behaviourist - knowledge and skills assessed (ACB-KSA) and I am currently studying to go down the clinical route.
Moo’s Legacy
Sadly Moo is no longer with us. A foxtail grass seed injury took him away from me when he was just six years old. Losing him almost broke me, it was entirely unexpected and the worst day of my life. He was the bravest of boys right up until the end, and he passed, curled up in a little ball, cuddled up in my lap. The last thing he heard was my voice telling him how loved he was and that he was a good boy.
He passed within an hour of my Nan, and they adored each other, so I know they went together to the next place.
His legacy lives on in my business and through the dogs that we have helped because of him and his life with us.
Get The Book!
Want to know more about helping your anxious dog the Fun Not Fear® way?
We have a book! Available in all formats from Amazon.
Grab your copy, and get helping the dog in your life to overcome their struggles.
Canine Enrichment
This week we added a new book into our recommendations. “Canine Enrichment : The Book You Dog Needs You To Read. By Shay Kelly Msc, Bsc.”
Canine Enrichment is a vital part of creating a healthy lifestyle for your dog and is something we recommend regularly as part of our behavioural support programs.
Twyla loves anything involving using her nose. So she gets to do a lot of finding things. I’d love to hear about what enrichment activities your dog is given to take part in.
That’s all from me this weekend!
Warm ‘N’ Fuzzies,
Freya xx
What a beautiful tribute to Moo and the relationship you two had/have ❤️ You being with him as he passed, and his passing so close to your Nan, what a comfort to both of them it must have been to start the next part of their journeys together.
I did not know you have a book, off to investigate.
Thank you for sharing
I’m still crying, Freya. What an angel. He came into your life to guide you towards your path and now he’s watching over you. 😢🐾