Most behaviourists and trainers have a dog in their past that started them on their journey. Mine is this bundle of cuteness right here...Keith the Clumber x Cocker Spaniel.
It was 18 years ago and the first mistake I made was bringing him home in the first place! I worked in a Dog's Home at the time and I wanted him because he was cute. I already had a dog at the time but my parents were about to move to America and I was to be living alone with my boyfriend (now husband), for the first time in my life. Looking back now, getting a second dog at that point in my life was a terrible idea. I didn't have the finances or the time for it, I thought I had the knowledge because I worked with dogs but I didn't have that either!
Keith was 6 months old at the time and he had already had 2 homes, he was found as a stray but from his microchip we discovered that he had been bred to work, was unsuitable and re-homed as a pet. His second home didn't want him back and we soon found out why...
There were resource guarding issues present from the start and if dealt with incorrectly he would bite. This was the tip of the iceberg and in the 12 years we had him, these are some of the things he got up to:
Chewed through a wall and thermostat cable
Chewed up countless shoes (always the expensive ones)
Never fully house trained
Raided the bin - we couldn't have a bin in the house the entire time he was alive!
Dug up the floor
Ate anything and everything, edible or not and was NEVER ill! To name but a few:
Blocks of soap
Banana skins (a particular favourite on walks)
Dummies
The entire contents of a bin - including a block of butter, raw sausages and a tube of mustard
12 Krispy Kreme donuts (he looked like he was going to explode)
An almost full 7Kg bag of dry dog food
Nappies
Bird seed - used to break into people's gardens to get to it!
Half a fruit engagement cake made for us as a surprise by my mother-in-law.
Socks
Glass
A frozen, raw potato
Bobble
Popped balloons
Carrier bags
Killed a rabbit
Killed a hedgehog
Stole the Vet's lunch I was on shift with (more than once)
He was also the most affectionate and happy boy, his whole bum wiggled with excitement when he saw people. He trusted me and I could handle him safely. Over the years I worked with him as best I could at the time, mainly through management and adapting our lives around him. His problem behaviours did improve but the struggles were always there. He was a challenging dog to live with but I am happy we found him because we never gave up and, despite everything, he always made us laugh (and he still does when we share his stories). Had I known what I know now, I am sure I could have done more for him, and this is what inspires me to help others with their "Keiths". Knowledge is power!
Because of Keith, I know what it is like to live with a dog that drives you insane. I know what it is like to make mistakes and I also understand how devastating and hard it is to get to a point where you are out of options. At almost 13 years of age, Keith was losing his sight and hearing and was arthritic, he had periods of being disorientated and this caused him to become aggressive. One day he bit me because I startled him by just walking past him. At this point we also had a 1 year old toddler in the house and we couldn't trust him to be in the same room, even when supervised. Re-homing was not an option due to his deteriorating health, behaviour issues and bite history so we had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanise him. To this day I still ask myself "what if?".
Because of Keith, I have this drive to help people and their dogs. Because of Keith, I have empathy for those living with dogs' that struggle and because of Keith, I have grown as a person and a professional.
Thank you my gorgeous boy!
Comments