Reactive Dogs Welcome!
This is my Romanian rescue dog, Vera. Let me tell you a bit about her.
Vera is a very sensitive, loving girl. She will happily lie on the sofa all day whilst getting those sweet sweet belly rubs.
But, me and my husband are the only ones that she feels comfortable doing this with, plus a couple of family members which took a very long time!
We are not sure what happened to Vera before she came to the UK but it shows.Â
Once outside, she is a different dog. She is extremely fearful of strangers, no one is welcome to stroke her which we have respected from day one of having her. She does not like people in her space, she will shake or she will feel the need to growl, lunge or nip, that being the most extreme of her behaviours. She is also not the best with socialising with other dogs. She does accept them after a couple of interactions but she will always let them know she is not happy with their presence.
That being said, after a lot of work and training, she is a much better dog! When we would walk into Hertford town, Vera would just shake and completely shut down. Now, we can happily walk together through the town without any shaking or shutting down. We wasn't able to bring her to other peoples house's as she would be extremely scared and unable to relax. Now, she is more than happy to enter a new house and though it will take her a little while to settle (like most dogs!) she is much more comfortable! We are constantly on the ball with her and reading her body language, all we want for her is to be happy and comfortable.
We have embraced all of her as she is a wonderful dog and we love her dearly!
Why welcome?
Why I accept reactive dogs.
I feel all dogs deserve a chance, its not their fault that they're fearful, its a big world out there that they're not used to!
I have walked several dogs that are reactive to people or other dogs. I will always ask for all triggers and will respect all of the training the owner is doing to make the pups life just that little bit easier. I will be open and honest with every owner as honesty is the best policy especially regarding their own dog. If I feel the dog is not comfortable with me and the walks, I will make this very clear to the owner. Reactive dogs are more special and need that little bit more patience and time which I am willing to work with. So please don't hesitate to contact me if you do have a reactive dog.