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In this episode, we cover a case study where a newly-adopted female Yorkshire Terrier chased and barked at the cat, Checkers in the home. Her behavior was starting to cause Cooper, the other Yorkie in the home, to also bark at the poor cat!
Bella, the Yorkie, was also terrified of all strangers in the home. Kayla and Ursa dissect the case and share the final outcome.
Main Takeaways:
- Bella was a newly rescued Yorkie with some serious fear issues. She was put on behavioral medication at the advice of her vet.
- Bella came to Kayla after a local group class trainer recognized how much help she needed.
- Kayla worked with Bella initially in person, then transitioned to remote help.
- Bella and Checkers were slowly introduced using protective contact, the Look at That Game, and lots of counterconditioning.
- The owners also started doing more clicker training with Checkers, the cat, to keep him happy.
- Checkers the cat and Cooper (the other Yorkie in the home) spent time together during training to help keep their bond healthy.
For Further Reading:
- Treat and Retreat
- Walking a Reactive Dog
- How to Help Shy Dogs Trust You
- Body Language for Calming Fearful Dogs
- Introducing Cats and Dogs
- Management
- Look at That
- Click to Calm
- Clicker Training Cats
- Parallel Walks
- Behavioral Medication
Kayla founded Journey Dog Training in 2013 to provide high-quality and affordable dog behavior advice. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who’s worked with hundreds of private clients, thousands of shelter dogs, and dozens of working detection dogs. Kayla’s dog and cat behavior advice has been featured in NPR, the Chicago Tribune, and Pet MD. She’s an avid adventurer who is currently doing #vanlife on the Pan-American Highway with her two border collies and a cat. Aside from running Journey Dog Training, Kayla also runs the nonprofit K9 Conservationists, where she and the dogs work as conservation detection dog teams. You can get 1:1 advice with a Journey Dog Training team member here.
