Hi and request for advice

Hi,

My name is Yvonne and last year I adopted a 2 year old cavalier mix dog called Heidi. She came from a very bad situation and has made huge strides since I've had her through dog training and obedience. While she is a super little dog she still has a few little 'issues'. Namely, she is over-attached and protective of me (can growl at people who point at me or come into my personal space, gets very anxious when I am away). She is also dog aggressive with strange dogs. She loves playing with dogs she knows well but it takes quite a while for her to accept another dog.

I am thinking that it might be a good idea to get a second dog (I'm thinking a cavalier or cavalier mix). I think she would benefit from having pal to play with and have some questions regarding this:

• Would another dog help her feel more confident and be a good idea? (she gets plenty of exercise and company etc so it's not to substitute for that).
• Would I be better to go with a placid adult dog or a young puppy? (I would prefer a rescue dog but know I would have to purchase a puppy which I would do only if it was the best thing for Heidi).
• I think she might accept a puppy better than an adult dog but would she be more likely to teach her bad habits which might be less likely with an adult dog?

any advice appreciated!!

many thanks

Yvonne and Heidi

Ps: I've attached a photo and while she looks like a JRT, I had her DNA tested and she's a cavalier mix

Hello Yvonne and Heidi. Welcome to Cavaliertalk:grin:

I am not sure on what to advise you but getting another dog for her at this point isn't a very good option. If there are dog training centres/courses on offer maybe you should try that? Cavaliers (and their mixes) are very intelligent and receptive to training and it might help you and herself with some of the issues you're dealing with, it will get her used to strangers/strange dogs as well. Also since she came from a bad situation, it's going to take a long time for her to feel secure... it's so good of you to give her a forever home! Good Luck and let us know how it all goes!

Thanks Desrae, I appreciate the advice. I suppose I should have also mentioned that I have worked with two dog trainers and she has also completed two obedience courses and an agility course (which she excelled at). We continue to work on her 'issues' on an ongoing basis but the I feel the reality is, she will always have them to some extent.

She was living with 3 dogs when she was fostered with no problems and we also had a roommate who had a dog and after an initial week or so of barking they became firm friends.

My latest dog trainer thinks she is too over reliant on me (which she is) and would benefit from working on this.

So I know she has issues that we continue to work on, she loves dogs she knows but is too fearful to be happy around strange dogs and she has shown she enjoys living with other dogs. So that's what was leading me to consider another dog. I am happy with one dog and am going to give it a lot of consideration and maybe she is better off as an only dog (and I know I make her sound terrible but 99.9% of the time she's just brilliant and I would never swap her for any other dog),

I will continue to think about it and thanks for the advice - much appreciated,

Yvonne

Sounds like she is resourcing guarding you. It isn't an uncommon problem. If you have someone else living at your home, one approach is to start having other household members feed her and walk her so that all the good stuff isn't always associated with just you but with a range of people. Also you want to make sure as far as you can that you aren;t accidentally and unintentionally *rewarding* her possessiveness and anxiety about you. eg if you soothe her, talk to her, make eye contact, fuss over her when she is demanding of your time or is possessive, this is a reward -- she gets your attention and thus she repeats this rewarding behaviour again and again. So one key thing to do is not respond to demands and actually let her figure out how to use her time herself rather than demanding you interact with her. Simply go on about your work as if she isn;t her, even if she barks and whines for attention. Eventually she will realise she no longer gets a reward for such behaviour and instead gets a reward for good calm independent behaviour. If she growls and guards, calmly say 'too bad' and set her on the floor if she is guarding you on a couch, or lead her to a room and close the door if on the ground. Let her out after 5 minutes or so. This is very similar to a time out for kids.

Also: get her some busy toys to keep her active and focused on something other than you, to learn to be calm and self-confident:\\http://dogstardaily.com/training/separation-anxiety

I would also strongly recommend the book Mine by trainer Jean Donaldson.

Agility and daily obedience practice are great for a dog like this, too.

On another dog -- if she is friendly with some and reactive to others only sometimes, she doesn't sound overly dog aggressive. Does she mostly have issues when she is on a lead? This is lead aggression, a different subcategory:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/leash-aggression

Actually having another dog around could be very good for a dog like this -- what do your trainers say? A friendly adult might actually suit better than a puppy.

Thanks Karlin - the book is now ordered! I live alone with her which was another reason why I thought another dog might be good to reduce her reliance on me.

She is crate trained and is great at going into that (as she knows if she goes in there, it will be me who will come back - she gets more anxious when left with other people as I might stay away longer). We have time out and I do work hard on rewarding calm behavior, I have found a thundershirt works well and she thrives on routine. I have also started paying a dog walker to walk her once a week again to reduce her reliance on me.

We have completed two obedience courses and I have just signed up for more agility classes. Regarding the dog issues - it is very variable and unpredictable. She can get on great with other dogs and then turn suddenly and she definitely prefers some types to others (white fluffy dogs and huskies are the root of all evil in her eyes). Strangely she is also much better when on the lead meeting a dog and they are off leash (she has a big aggressive show when they are on lead and can't touch her). Basically I think she wants to play with them but doesn't know how to and gets overwhelmed. I think she would enjoy the company of another dog in the house.

I haven't asked the new trainer about getting a second dog yet as she is still getting to know her but I agree, my hunch would be she would benefit from having an older placid dog around (and I think probably male).

Thanks for all the advice and it's nice to get reassurance I'm doing a lot of the right things. My plan is to really take my time with making the decision and if I do get another dog - I will be looking for the right dog for us (and am thinking a stable cavalier would be ideal),

thanks again

Yvonne