THURSDAY THINKING-DOG

This sweet wee boy is Teddy. He can be very uncertain of unfamiliar people and tends to react with lunging and barking to keep them away.

He's a soft-natured boy who loves cuddles from his family and they would love him to feel more trusting of people he doesn't know.

I think this is something so many of us feel when we live with sensitive dogs who react towards people. And on top of that, we often feel acutely embarrassed, because we don't want anyone to think badly of the dog we love and know to be sweet tempered at home.

HEALTH CONDITIONS CAN EXACERBATE REACTIVITY Teddy has some health issues which can make him feel a bit hypersensitive in some areas and can reduce his tolerance levels. For those of us who have fluctuating pain levels, we know how sensitive chronic pain/discomfort can make us feel and our dogs are often the same.

When our dogs are coping with health conditions they are often more reactive towards triggers - most of the reactive dogs we work with have some kind of underlying pain or health issue. The body is under chronic stress with the health condition which means that raised levels of cortisol and adrenaline (stress hormones) can result in intensified reactions.

MANAGEMENT Teddy's medical conditions are being very well managed by his family, in fact he has lived much longer than he was diagnosed a few years ago. All testament to his family's love and care!

He's a lovely wee lad and did very well during our session. Because we set up our environment carefully, he didn't react to me at all and even came over for several sniffs.

By keeping things safe, secure and keeping triggers at a safe distance while we're working to support their issues, we can help dogs like Teddy feel confident in every situation. He's a little gem and his family handled him very nicely. They were gentle and calm with him and picked up our training methods very quickly.

Lovely work from them all!