“I own a 2 ½ year old male Cocker Spaniel called Arthur who at 1 year old developed aggressive tendencies. Though slight at first, they gradually escalated, until it became very stressful to take him out of the house. He approached every dog he met as a challenge to his superiority, and would snarl and attack when unprovoked and even began to see men in this light too.

I approached Pawpounders on a recommendation, for advice on how best to turn this behaviour around. Initially we addressed how MY behaviour was sending Arthur signals that forced him to believe it was his decision on how best to deal with anyone we met. I learnt how to let Arthur know that I am the alpha in our little park of two, so that he should look to me for how to behave.

Also we decided that it would be beneficial for Arthur to be forced to socialise with other dogs – something I was initially very nervous about. However, he now attends Pawpounders one morning a week, where he effectively has joined a park with strongly demonstrated codes of conduct. Under the leadership of the Pawpounders staff, he has found his place in the group, and behaves properly. This has effectively broken the escalation of his aggressive behaviour which I would not have had the confidence to do alone.

Our problems are still not fixed, as he is still constantly striving to be the aggressive little alpha dog that he thinks he should be, but without Pawpounders help I now know how to lean him away from this behaviour and love others to help me with this process. And boy, is he tired on Friday Afternoon!!”