After a bit, apparently satisfied, she flopped down beside her owner’s feet and closed her eyes for a nap.Īll in all, not the kind of behavior that I expect to see from most of my reactive patients. ![]() Apart from that, she took her time exploring the room – poking her head inside the agility tunnels, investigating the smells by the reception desk with great interest, and sniffing for wayward treat crumbs on the floor. I tossed her pieces of string cheese while her owner and I talked, which she was happy to eat. She regarded me warily at first, sitting quietly on my folding chair against the wall, but relaxed once she saw that I was making no attempt to engage with her. Small sounds and casual movements didn’t seem to faze her. She was not a “typical” reactive dog, in many ways – not overly anxious, no nervous panting or pacing in the training room. When I first met Sami, I found her very interesting. Her owner attempted to address this behavior by telling her “NO!” whenever she growled (as instructed by a previous trainer) and holding her in place by the collar for people to pet her.īy the time of our first meeting, Sami had attempted to bite a person who was approaching her on two separate occasions. Where before Sami had shown casual interest in other humans or ignored them altogether, she was now barking and lunging at people they encountered on their walks. In fact, much to her owner’s dismay, things had taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Taking her lots of different places, meeting new people, and using treats to help make it a positive experience for her. They also made regular trips to Petsmart and their local hardware store, and Sami rode along in the car when her owner ran errands to the bank or pharmacy.Įverywhere they went, she asked people to stop and greet Sami – and they were happy to help! She was a strikingly gorgeous dog, and everyone was eager to pat her head and offer a treat.īy any conventional measure, Sami’s owner was doing a fantastic job of socializing her with strangers. Armed with a pocket full of hot dog slices, she took Sami to the park every day after work – each passer-by they encountered was asked to say hello to Sami, pet her, and feed her a treat. This was causing some hurt feelings in the group, and her owner worried that Sami wasn’t “friendly” enough.Īnxious to remedy this problem, she resolved to do a better job of socializing her pup with as many people as possible. Although she loved to snuggle with her owner on the couch at home, and enjoyed rough-housing and playing ball with some hiking buddies that she knew well, she tended to avoid many of her owner’s friends on their weekend outings. She also loved to accompany her owner on off-leash hiking trips on the weekends with a group of friends.Īs Sami grew, she became more independent and aloof. Her owner brought her in for a consultation with me because she was having, as she put it, “some issues with Sami around strangers.” Things had seemed to be fine for the first few months after bringing Sami home – she attended a puppy kindergarten class with no problems, and did well with walks around the neighborhood and visitors to the house. ![]() Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young border collie I’ll call “Sami.” She was a beautiful example of a well-bred herding dog – quick, keenly intelligent, and fit and graceful at just over 12 months old.
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