EARLY AGGRESSION

You may recall Little Ellie the one-eared Labrador pup we rescued.

Ellie was the runt of the litter, rejected by her mother and bullied by her littermates. Pups such as Ellie usually die within the first 2/3 weeks but Ellie didn't.
Miraculously she clung on to life but at 10 weeks old when we met her she was backed up in a dark corner hiding from the other pups who had already ripped off one of her ears. 

We had gone to collect a male pup who weighed in at 12 lbs on the day we picked him up. Ellie weighed 2lbs and probably had no more than 48 hours of life left in her.

We figured she had more chance with us than cowering in that dark kennel and took her home. We fed her around the clock and slowly she began to put on weight BUT she was impossible to handle.

In her short life Ellie had learned only one lesson -BITING.

It was biting that saved her life and prevented her litter mates ripping her apart. She only fed by biting any pup in her way. Biting was all she knew. Ellie was exceedingly ‘cute’ and that combined with aggression meant that any pet owner would be certain to shower her with affection re-enforcing her aggressive behaviour. Fortunately Ellie didn’t get an unsuspecting pet owner…she got us!

Picking Ellie up always guaranteed half a dozen bite marks. She was extremely feisty and other pups/dogs were for fighting. The situation called for total reconditioning. We monitored, supervised and corrected every move she made

Ellie is now approaching eight months old and totally rehabilitated. She weighs a healthy 28lbs and accepts other dogs around her quite happily. Her biting days are over and she's happy to be handled by anyone.

She's walking to heel on her lead sitting, staying coming when called and retrieving gently to hand.

Of course she's still a work in progress but if we can rehabilitate a wild animal like Ellie there's no need for anyone to have a badly behaved dog.

It's all down to Leadership, Lifestyle and Training. 

You CANNOT rehabilitate a dog with affection.