Wesley the Miniature Dachshund

We were given a brilliant opportunity to take on a miniature dachshund puppy, and we hoped he would fit seamlessly into our large family. He arrived the night before lockdown began at nearly 8 weeks old and so we have spent lockdown trying all sorts of training with him.

At some point along the way he became fearful of people, fearful of other dogs and then became aggressive towards them and us. We have five young children and we didn’t trust him not to bite them. His toilet training was going from bad to worse and we felt like we had absolutely no control over him. Due to his excessive barking we didn’t even feel we could have him out in the garden very long either let alone take him out for a walk. He pulled on a lead continually and then he bit another dog.

None of the usual training techniques worked, he likes food but it didn’t motivate him to listen to us. We were desperate for some help and came across Sally’s website. We had a two hour session with her and in those two hours Wesley changed from being aggressive and very anxious to completely calm and trusting.

We’ve started from scratch with him and under guidance from Sally, we have a quiet, confident, loving dog who has had a new lease of life. Her methods are so logical and obvious that it is hard to believe that we didn’t realise what she has taught us! None of it is difficult or magical it’s just that we hadn’t been giving him clear boundaries. She showed us how to walk him nicely too. There is nothing cruel or upsetting about Sally’s methods, and we are so glad that we went ahead with it, because now we won’t have to rehome Wesley.

We can enjoy having him knowing we have full control of him when we are out and about, and the family are thrilled that he isn’t biting them anymore! We are definitely well on the way to rehabilitating him and we are excited for the future.

Thank you Sally!

Hannah