Meet Cyrus the Border Collie

Cyrus's owners contacted us to help Cyrus as he was struggling with dog reactivity on his walks and visits to the vet.

Assessment

During his assessment, it was found that Cyrus did not have value in other entire males around him. Cyrus also had big expectations of his personal space around handling. This meant that he didn't enjoy physical touch which was not general stroking. We also had a concern that there could be a pain element to his behaviour of not wanting to be handled.

Treatment plan

As with any possible pain assessments, Cyrus was referred back to his vets for an assessment of the areas of concern. Once he was assessed and placed on pain relief we introduced some self-control tasks to help him with his impulse control. This worked in conjunction with redirection training with other dogs being around him. Lastly, we started some handling work and muzzle training to enable more safe and confident veterinary handling.

Ongoing

Cyrus has made improvements with both his dog and handling work. We are still working with his handling alongside his pain trail, but he is happy to wear his muzzle and consent to training. With his dog work, he has been more accepting of entire male dogs being around him, but we still keep plenty of distance to keep him safe.