My year living with Harry!

Within the last year, my sister gave birth to her first child which put Harry's nose out of joint as he was no longer "number one son". Not long after my nephew came along my sister and her husband then moved house which left Harry feeling even more confused. The change of house also meant Harry had to change dog walker which altered his entire routine. This new routine left Harry feeling even more anxious and unaware of his surroundings.

With my sister being off on maternity leave, Harry got used to having her around and therefore would no longer wait by himself in the house any more. This meant that my sister could not even make short trips to the shops down the street without sending Harry into a frenzy. This also meant that Harry had to go everywhere with her in the car which was very difficult at peak times during summer and winter months with the high and low temperatures.

Harry has become very protective over his new home and now barks at every little hint of movement or noise from the neighbours (including every time they walk past the door!!) He was initially scared of my nephew but now absolutely loves when my nephew feeds him titbits from his high-chair when my sister and her husband aren't looking!

His new anxious state led to my sister and her husband getting in touch with a new behaviourist who suggested using food toys, amongst other things, to mentally stimulate Harry. The behaviourist had said that Harry would take a few weeks to work out how to use these new toys, however worked them out in only a matter of minutes!

My sister and her husband are now currently waiting to see yet another behaviourist at a top veterinary school which will hopefully shed some light on what has caused Harry to become so anxious in multiple situations. They have recently discovered that Harry has arthritis in his hips which means his day care trips with his new dog walker are going to come to an end because he is too tired and sore. We all have our fingers crossed that this new behaviourist will hopefully help Harry, but I guess we will have to wait and see!

My one year old nephew giving poor wee Harry a hug!

The first of the behavioural issues..

So after his trip to Campbeltown, Harry was never the same dog again. It became very evident that his personality and behaviour had changed as he would no longer stay in the house or even a room by himself. He was generally very anxious and would follow my sister and her husband around everywhere just in case they left again.

Harry already had a dog walker, but this then lead to the dog walker taking him all day, every working day for four years. Harry went everywhere with his dog walker and he began to get used to his new routine. His dog walker loved him and she even got him his own personal doggy seatbelt for riding shotgun in her car which he absolutely loved! She was a great help and often only wanted paid for just one walk because she loved Harry so much!

Harry recognised the noise from her car engine and would start to pace around the kitchen before she had even got out of her car. The dog walker would jingle her keys and Harry would sit at the window watching for her walking to the door.

Harry grew to tolerate his weekday routine whilst my sister and her husband were at work, but still wouldn't stay in the house alone at nights or at weekends which meant he either had to go everywhere with my sister and her husband in their car or be babysat by another member of the family he was familiar with. This triggered the first dog trainer/behaviour consultant for help but I will touch on more of Harry’s behaviour in a later blog.