Zeus the American Bulldog Cross

Zeus's owners contacted us as Zeus was a young puppy but was showing a lot of anxiety around the home and on walks. This focused mostly with new people and being alone in the house.

The Assessment

We could see that Zeus had low confidence and would rely heavy on his owner for support. This would mean that when she was gone, he found it even harder, so seperation was stressful for him. This is normal puppy behaviour to rely on owners for support and resources. However, as they start to grown up this needed support becomes less and less, but for Zeus he was struggling to gain his own confidence to move away from this support. This was also fueled by having a difficult start in life before he was 8 weeks old, so likely to having a tendancy to being fearful.

Treatment

We have indroduced some choice exercises and self directed activities. This means that Zeus can start to make his own choices and start to do tasks alone with support only when needed. This means that Zeus can start to find some self-confidence with his own achievements, while preparing for seperation later on. We have also indroduced some fun games to play with his owner to get him to decompress. Lastly we have indrocuded a settle place for Zeus when visitors arrive, so he can feel safe and secure.

Outcome

We are still working with Zeus and his owner and he is growning in confidence each day! He has already managed seperation within the home and has been loving his choice game activities. Each time I visit he has be able to settle quicker each time and his owner has been great in allowing Zeus to grow his independance. We look forward to seeing Zeus grow up to be an adult dog, hopefully with confidence following closely with him!