Success Story — Carol & Kobe

I can’t remember the initial point of contact, but Carol reached out for some 1 to 1 training for her anxious cavapoo Kobe. She was struggling to walk him outside - being pulled everywhere, fear based reactivity at people and dogs, and things didn’t get better, they were getting worse.

I visited her home to meet this little man, who barked and barked and barked at me while I had a cup of tea and we talked about his wellbeing, what he’s fed and when, how much he was walked, and where and how, and most importantly, how they’d like him to be.

He wasn’t food orientated so he wouldn’t take treats, he barely ate. He was very fussy, and ate grass a lot of the time.

All of this information added up to a chronically stressed, desperately uncomfortable little man, who wasn’t happy with life, needed his Mummy and didn’t like outsiders.

I started with a food and life audit and taught a quick trick to to help them connect. I’d be walking Kobe and training his Mum how to be a team mate to him and communicate better. How to understand who he is and what his experience is of life.

Carol was amazing, she took everything on board. She got a Gliadin Test from Laboklin to test for gluten sensitivity which came back positive - so now he needed a grain and gluten free food and treats as standard.

I introduced them to a great new, affordable food that we really started to enjoy for the first time ever.

Carol got very enthusiastic about finding the best treats for him. After a blood allergy test, we used the results to find safe foods for him and continue to find new novel goodies to keep him engaged.

I started walking Kobe, teaching him using positive reinforcement methods, even though he wasn’t taking treats.

Very soon, he began to feel better once his diet was under control. He started enjoying his safe treats and learnt the ‘How to walk your dog’ blueprint of knowing left and right, listening to road safety cues, and starting to be much more comfortable with me.

Fast forward a few months, there’s always tweaks, but Kobe now walks beautifully on the lead. He is calmer and quieter at home. He recovers almost instantly when he experiences his big emotions on a walk.

Mum knows how to feed him, treat him, and train him kindly. He responds so well to it.

He is now the sweetest, kindest, happiest boy. And I can tell just by looking at his handsome little eyes how much better he now feels now his Mum, Auntie and Grandma is fully versed in understanding who he is, what he needs and how to look after him.