Balanced Being

Mac is a two and a half year old West Highland White Terrier. Mac comes to our practice for grooming but his aggression towards anyone that tried to get near him was becoming steadily worse. The practice groom, could only bath and groom Mac once his feisty canines were safely tucked inside a Mikki muzzle to prevent any unnecessary attacks. However as weeks passed Mac’s attempts to sink his teeth into us became worse and we were no longer able to get close enough to him to even muzzle him! His owner, Dawn was called to collect her un-groomed dog from the surgery and was so concerned by his behaviour that she agreed to a home consultation in K9 communication.

Amichien bonding is all about displaying an alpha status to show the dog who is pack leader, so by using Amichien techniques to show Mac that there was no a threat he could quickly understand that he is not the leader.

Dawn said that members of her family were threatened by Mac if they so much as went near her. A simple movement like passing an item from the coffee table could result in snaps and snarls. Mac liked to jump up and sit on Dawn’s Knee, but he would always do it on his terms and not when invited. This had to stop, so Dawn was shown a method she could use to address this, Mac soon got the message and lay down beside her feet.

Dawn’s daughter Sam was one member of the family Mac would try to attack even if she came into the room where Dawn was. Sure enough as soon as Sam tried to enter the room Mac leapt to his feet barking and snapping at her. A further technique helped Mac to understand that this was not acceptable.

When Sam was called into the room once more Mac just gave her a quick glance but had learnt that if his actions were the same as before then this new leader would not tolerate his behaviour so he remained quiet instead! Dawn and Sam were amazed at how quick Mac was learning this new communication.

Dawn consistently followed the rest of the four key elements to the technique and every day for the rest of that week brought Mac along to the surgery for 5 or 10 minutes to get him used to coming back to the practice and not feeling threatened by us.

The following Monday was judgement day to see if Mac could be bathed, dried and clipped without showing aggression. Mac was lead through to our grooming centre where he was left alone for a few minutes. By entering and leaving the room a few times and ignoring him so that he wouldn’t feel immediately threatened or scared. It was then easy to call him, lift him up and place him into the bath without so much as a growl from or the need for a muzzle. We actually managed the full works, even clipping him, mac behaved himself and was a joy to be with!

Dawn was amazed when she came to collect Mac who was clean, fresh and trimmed. She had been unhappy that his coat had grown so long and unmanageable but she couldn’t do anything about it because of his aggression. Now due to the Amichien technique this was no longer a problem! Since Dawn has been following this technique her friends and family have all seen a huge difference in him. Dawn said everyone had noticed 'that Mac is like a different dog, he‘s much happier and definitely more relaxed'!