All Six Legs

Denise Mcleod

Description

Following the success of her debut book, A Dog Behaviourist's Diary, Denise McLeod returns with All Six Legs, a collection of real life stories with puppies, dogs, laughter and education all rolled into one.Based on real events and case studies,All Six Legsis as diverse as it is educational. Each chapter is written in a 'storybook' style with a key learning point for all dog owners to benefit from. It is not solely about the dogs, but also the humans that live and work with them.Capturing a whole host of emotions, from joy to terror and from sadness to hope, some stories are laugh-out-loud humorous, whilst others deal with life-threatening situations. Containing an update on Denise's own 'Turn and Face' technique and with life-saving information for both humans and dogs in one of the chapters,All Six Legsdraws on Denise's 40 years of experiences to share her wide breadth of expertise.

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 août 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781838599973
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2019 Denise McLeod

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

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ISBN 9781838599973

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

This book is dedicated to the memory of the most extraordinary dog I have ever known.

My best friend, my teacher, my inspiration and my protector.

Cloud.

My heart still aches for you.
Contents
Introduction

Sally: The Miracle of Dogs
Simba: The Perfect Dog
Luna: Don’t Leave Me!
“I’m a dog trainer”
Holly’s Legacy
The Dog’s Nose Knows, You Know
Attack!
It’s Not My Dog!
My Lucky Day!
Connor’s Magic Oil
Mowgli
Cooper: A Perfect Day
Gladys
Tiny Tink
Cloud: Be Careful What You Wish For
Fritz: The Dog Who Lost His Sit
When the Student Is Ready, the Teacher Will Appear
Turn and Face Marches On
Love Is Blind
When you get a dog…

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my second book, All Six Legs. I do hope that you enjoy it!
When I released my first book, A Dog Behaviourist’s Diary, I was a mixture of angst and worry, excitement and hope. I had no idea how it would be received by readers or how the technique released within it, Turn and Face, would be accepted by the dog training world. I had so many sleepless nights I could hardly function the days before and just after, the release. I worried myself nearly to death.
But, as it turns out, I need not have worried at all. I have been simply overwhelmed by the positive response from readers of the book, so many kind and supportive messages have been received and so many positive reviews left. As for the worlds ‘acceptance of’ Turn and Face, well I will leave that explanation to the chapter about it, later in this book!
I could not have ever dreamed that the book would make such a wonderful impact and I have been truly humbled and honored to have received great feed-back from so many people and even some of the world’s most well known dog trainers.
I would like to thank each and every one of the readers of that book, who wrote to me, left positive reviews, sent me videos of their dogs transformation and who continue to give me feedback about the beneficial effects that the book still has, on dogs worldwide. And I’d like to sincerely thank all of those who encouraged me to write this, my second book.
So here it is! All Six Legs continues in the same vein as A Dog Behaviourist’s Diary. Once again, based on real cases, this book takes us on a journey into the lives of some very special dogs and their equally special owners. It explores the cases that became great learning points for me. Cases which changed the way I think about dogs and people. It also reveals some amazing and sometimes weird ways which people and dogs are connected, for the better of all.
Once again there is laughter and sadness, highs and lows. But overall the book is a celebration of what it is to be a human, that loves a dog. Or indeed a dog, that loves a human. This book even contains life saving information that might one day save the life of your dog! Or you!
Wherever possible, permission has been gained to share the details of the cases, but where it has not been possible, the names and some of the identifying details have been changed to preserve client confidentiality. But all of the behaviour specific information in this book, is real.
So it’s time to grab yourself a cuppa, or a beer and find a comfy seat to sit down on and discover what makes the bonding of two legs, with four, so very, very special. I welcome you back into the world of All Six Legs.
May the love of a dog be with you, always.
Sally: The Miracle of Dogs
When I answered the phone it was immediately clear that this was one very worried dog owner. Her voice was cautious, tentative, as if she were about to reveal a long-hidden secret that she had no wish to speak of. There was deep sadness, tinged with helplessness.
“Hello, I need your help with our dog. Our neighbour recommended you.” There was a long pause before she continued, so I waited. She continued warily. “Our dog has started being aggressive to my daughter and it is breaking my daughter’s heart and frightening me. It’s making us both ill with worry.” She sounded so desperate, almost haunted.
“Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this,” I replied. “Tell me, when did this begin, and what do you mean by aggression?”
“A few weeks back. They are, or were, the best of friends and Sally is a lovely dog in every way, but there seems no reason for this sudden aggression and I can’t have her being aggressive to my daughter. She just started growling one day and she now growls every time she sees Jane. I am afraid that she will bite her and Jane is so upset, and she keeps crying, and…” she tailed off as she took a deep breath, “… and we just can’t go on like this. Please can you help us?” The pain in her voice cut right through me; it was palpable and, it seems, contagious. I felt it in my own heart. Little Karma, who had been sitting at my side having a cuddle, got up and crept off the sofa. Maybe she could feel it too?
Personally I don’t consider growling to be aggression, more an attempt to avoid aggression . It is a signal that what a person is doing or about to do is making a dog uncomfortable. Sometimes a growl is justified; sometimes it is not. But this was not the time to share my viewpoint; I needed to listen to the worried lady and find out more details of the case.
*
Dogs that growl at children can do so for a variety of reasons, but because of the potentially serious consequences of such an action it is important that I see the dog and the child before jumping to any conclusions. As the lady continued I got nothing more in the way of clues, other than how desperate they were to understand and resolve the situation.
So I arranged to go to their home to met Sally and Jane for myself. As I set out that day I felt unsettled and worried. I had found out little from the phone conversation other than Sally the dog growled at Jane and that prior to this new behaviour, Sally and Jane had been the best of friends.
As I drove toward their home, I felt as gloomy as the weather that surrounded me. I very much hoped that I could get to the bottom of this case and help this lady, by encouraging what sounded like a very troubled daughter and otherwise lovely dog to find peace with one another again.
When I arrived at their door, I was greeted by a lot of barking. Once the door was opened a very friendly, lively little dog was jumping up at me in a very excited but amiable fashion. She wagged her tail madly and looked like a very sweet little thing, not at all like the snarling dog that I had imagined. The lady who met me at the door seemed as worried and anxious as she had sounded on the phone, as well as looking very tired indeed.
She beckoned for me to come in and as I did my best to fend off the over-exuberance of the little dog, a Spaniel cross, I observed that I felt no threat at all from this bundle of happy furriness. I found it hard to imagine such a friendly dog growling at anyone – she certainly wasn’t growling at me.
I was ushered into a living room. Once I had sat down the lady went off to make a cup of tea and I was left alone with Sally. Sally continued to wag her tail and tried to jump up on my knee for some more close attention. It seemed she was used to being on someone’s knee. Gently, I tried to push her back onto the floor.
I glanced around the living room in search of clues while I waited. I observed on the mantelpiece above the fire a number of trophies and red rosettes. The lady owner returned with a cup of tea and as she did, Sally left my side and went to sit with her. The lady reached out and without thinking began to stroke Sally gently around her neck and ears. Sally pushed in toward the contact, her eyes half-closed, seemingly in pleasure at the lady’s touch. What a delightful dog she seemed! This was a dog used to affection and an owner used to giving it.
We began to discuss the facts of the case. Sally had been bought by the lady for her daughter some eight years previously when the young girl’s father had been tragically killed in a car crash whilst driving home from work one day. The child had sunk into a deep sadness when her father had been taken so unexpectedly and so the lady had decided to buy her a puppy, the puppy she had always longed for, to try to bring some happiness and focus back into her sad daughter’s life.
The dog’s arrival had had a transformative effect on the then five-year-old daughter who had thrown all her energy into playing with and training the little pup. She had taught Sally many tricks and played hide and seek with her. Later she had taken up agility and had gone to classes and then competitions with her. The woman pointed at the glass tro phies and red rosettes, proudly displayed centre stage on the