It’s not always about training. And working with a dog this flighty isn’t easy. I don’t use any tools like treats or clickers, no e-collars or prongs etc – and I don’t use protective gear when meeting and assessing dogs for any behaviour.
Beau is 120 pounds of Poodle and Pyranees, and really insecure. He bit a friend of the family a couple of days ago, but I’ll tell you, he’s not aggressive, just has a big bark.
I suspect Beau has issues with coritsol, the fight or flight hormone that all animals produce. He just can’t shut down and go calm. His brain is always on high alert. To that end, I recommended using CBD for a few days, see if it takes him down a few notches. If the CBD works, then we can work on what is left over.
This is just the assessment, to find out what the real diagnosis is. I invade the back yard without the owners present, need to know how he will react – and he ran from me instead of attacking, fully expected. Introduce Monty to see how he will react to a strange dog in the back yard, they did fine. Beau didn’t attack, but he did try to dominate to no avail, Monty ignored his behaviour.
Update – the CBD has kicked in and taken the edge off. Owners are noticing more calm behaviours. Going to meet next weekend, and take care of the rest of the problems.