Welcome to
Blackwell's Naughty Dog School
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Bear's Journey: From Lunging and Frustration to Calm Choices
Bear is a friendly young Boxer that was unable to regulate his emotions ...
In the beginning ...
When Bear joined Naughty Dog School, life wasn't much fun for anyone.
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Walks had become stressful. Bear was constantly lunging at other dogs, pulling on the lead, ignoring his owners and making every outing feel like hard work. His mum and dad found themselves walking him less and less because what should have been an enjoyable experience had become exhausting.
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To many people, Bear looked like a badly behaved dog.
But Diego saw something different.
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From the very first assessment, Diego identified that Bear's behaviour wasn't driven by aggression or malice. Instead, Bear was struggling with a combination of anxiety and frustration. He desperately wanted to engage with the world around him but didn't have the emotional skills to cope when things became exciting or overwhelming.
After a few weeks ...
At Naughty Dog School, we believe that behaviour is simply a reflection of how a dog is feeling. Rather than focusing on stopping the behaviour, we focused on helping Bear change his emotional response.
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We introduced a programme of de-stressing games, disengagement exercises and focus games designed to help Bear feel calmer and make better choices. We worked on his ability to switch attention away from distractions, regulate his emotions and choose behaviours that would help him succeed.
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The first week wasn't easy.
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Bear was what we affectionately call "leaping loon" mode! He found it difficult to disengage from other dogs, struggled to focus and was constantly reacting to everything happening around him.
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But his owners stuck with the programme and the changes came quickly.
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Just four weeks later, Bear was already showing remarkable progress. He was beginning to disengage from dogs in the park, his walking had improved significantly and his listening skills were developing every week. For the first time in a long time, his mum and dad were starting to enjoy spending time out and about with him again.
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Fast forward to seven weeks and the transformation was even more impressive.
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The dog who once lunged and reacted was now calmly taking part in our sharing games alongside other dogs during group sessions. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by their presence, Bear was making thoughtful choices, staying engaged with his owners and demonstrating the emotional control he had been learning through his games.
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Bear's journey is a wonderful example of what can happen when we stop labelling dogs as "naughty" and start understanding the emotions driving their behaviour.
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By helping Bear feel calmer, more confident and less frustrated, the behaviours that had once caused so much stress began to fade naturally.
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We are incredibly proud of Bear and his owners. Their commitment to the process has helped turn stressful walks into enjoyable adventures once again.