Alexa Du PlessisWhat to do when a dog growls at you when he is eating or on the sofa?
Any form of aggression should be discussed with a professional. There are always different reasons for this behaviour, however it is a good start not to let them have access to the sofa or bed if they start guarding those spaces! Normally, I have no problem with people and dogs sharing this space (both my dogs sleep on the bed), BUT when they start guarding that — it’s a big no no!
Resource guarding with food is a different problem and can have multiple reasons. The most important advice I give here is to NEVER take food away from your dog (unless extremely harmful) as this can cause them to feel a need to guard it.
What to do with an anxious dog who can’t be left alone?
This is an issue that can have different reasons as well. The key is to leave your dog for very short periods of time starting with about 30 seconds and working up from that. It’s best to start teaching your dog from an early age that it is ok to be alone.
Leaving them with something to do can also be helpful chewing relieves stress so a stuffed Kong, BECO Bone or similar can be very helpful, but please be careful to not leave your dog with a toy they might destroy so it can become potentially harmful.
Not allowing your pup to follow you into every room (especially the bathroom) teaches them to be less dependent.
If you are concerned, getting advice from a professional can be very helpful for you and your dog.
How to handle your reactive dog on the lead, would they ever be able to be off lead walking around others?
Yes — with a lot of work and effort on the owners part. A reactive dog can be able to be walked off leach and some will find friends to play with as well.
This is the one thing, where I will shout “Get a trainer to help”, simply because it’s too complicated to explain here. Until you get help, find yourself quiet spots with little to no off leash dogs. Advocate for your dog, when another dog or human approaches. Try to walk away if necessary, in case you see problems while they are walking towards you. I own a reactive dog myself and know how hard this journey is. This is also why I became a trainer. If there are people reading this owning happy off leash dogs — please help us out and put them on leads. While your dogs don’t mean any harm, their happy energy can frighten dogs that have had bad experiences.
What is you most and least favourite breed to work with?
Oh — I can’t pick a favourite. I like having loads of different breeds and different personalities in training, since they all have different needs and motivators that challenge me. My least favourite are probably breeds made popular through films, not because of the breed, but rather the expectations owners have thanks to films and media. They don’t realise how much work goes into training a dog. Once owners are aware of that, I love working with those breeds as well.
Best potty training tips for puppies?
Make a schedule! A really simple excel sheet that helps you to remember to bring your pup out every 1 to 2 hours. This is especially important if several people share the responsibility. Also bring them out after every meal time, every nap and every play session.
Crate training will also be a life saver in trying to get your pup potty trained.
What is the biggest mistake you see with owners and training puppies?
Taking too long to start training. Start the second you come home with your puppy. Focus on the most important house rules: on the couch or not, upstairs or not, etc. Start like you want to continue. If you don’t want your 40kg dog to jump up on your white dress don’t allow your cute little puppy to jump up! What they learn at the start is what they will know for the rest of their life. Also waiting too long to get help. It’s much easier to help with a behaviour that just developed than one that the dog is showing for a year.
What are your views on crate training?
LOVE IT! It’s an absolute life saver when raising a puppy. We can’t always have our eyes everywhere when raising a puppy so giving ourselves and our puppies some quiet time makes a huge difference. Dogs living feral would sleep in dens. Simulating one by putting up a crate and making it super cosy, can help your pup to settle. What our puppies don’t learn to do (doing business in the house, eating sofas, shoes, etc…) they are less likely to learn as an adult.
What is best for walking big dogs: haltis, collars or harness, slip lead?
No piece of equipment you buy in a shop will stop your dog from pulling. Some of them might just make it uncomfortable and lure you in a false sense of security.
I love a front clip harness combined with a double clip lead — not just for big dogs but every dog that pulls. The reason is that it gives me a huge amount of control even when the dog is quite big. My favourite client where this worked is about 50kg herself and she owns a 60kg Mastiff. Her dog used to be very afraid and often tried to run away when he saw cars or leaves. Once I know, I have that control and I’m not hurting my dog, I can start the training process.
Which celebrity dog trainer training style do you agree with the most? Cesar Millan, Victoria Stillwell, Jas Leverette?
Most definitely Victoria Stillwell! Her work is based on a scientific understanding of dogs. She explains well and uses easy to follow methods.
Jas Leverette uses good training methods as well, but they are sometimes not very practical. Also he likes the use of additional equipment that can be hard to set up in certain situations. What I don’t agree with is taking the dog away from the owner for the majority of the initial training process. This way it can be hard for owners to follow through later on.
Cesar Milan — I have very strong negative feelings about this training style. He does not have formal qualifications and completely disregards the dogs way of thinking, communicating, learning and just continues to bully them until they give up. I could go on and on about this but won’t for this Q&A.
About Alena:
Alena grew up in Germany and have loved dogs ever since she can remember. While never allowed her own dog — She grew up around her mum’s friends breeding business (Dalmatians).
She has always been interested in the way dogs think and learn and from about 10 years old started following a dog trainer that became very popular through his tv show.
When she came to Ireland and started to volunteer in a shelter, she could finally use some of the advice she heard on the program to help find more of the dogs a loving home.
This is where she met her first dog Jack who quickly showed her that she knew very little! So she began to study everything she could find about canine behaviour to help him work through some of the trauma he experienced before meeting her.
He passion is to help more dogs and people in similar situations, but also to teach puppy owners how to give them the best start in life.
Your can contact Alena via the below:
Contact:
0894848209
through Facebook and Instagram Alena’s PAWsitive Dog School
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