Not just a bite .. the start of a journey

It was around 1 am. The narrow cobble-stoned streets of the Albaicin, the historic part of Granada, were quiet. The Alhambra, lit by soft moonlight, stood majestically on the other side of the valley.

A last quick walk around the block with 11-month-old Leo.

There was nobody around so I let him off the leash to sniff and explore the neighborhood.

My thoughts were drifting off when I suddenly saw a big dog running towards Leo out of nowhere. Leo initially approached the dog to play but we both quickly realized that he/she wasn’t out to make friends.

No owner in sight.

It happens quite often, as I got to learn that day, that people would just open the door for their dogs to go out at night. Nobody was there to call the dog back, no harness to grab hold of.

I remember myself screaming and going in to pull Leo out. I didn’t worry at that moment that I might get bitten, just didn’t want Leo to get hurt.

But the other dog had already bitten him.

Leo in my arms, both hysterical, we rushed home.

Turns out he wasn’t seriously hurt but he did need stitches. And he walked out with his first cone.

The vets kept telling me that they’d seen many dogs who hated the cone, some who tolerated it but none ever who loved it like Leo did.

The thing is, Leo was never the same after that incident.

He’d been castrated while under the knife but, contrary to what you read and hear everywhere, he wasn’t less reactive to other males .. he started to be. He got massively stressed, and used attack as his defense mechanism, anytime a large male dog would come towards us.

Walks became difficult.

In the Albaicin, roads are narrow and windy, so often, you can’t see another dog coming until they’re way too close for comfort ..

It’s when I started to research for ways to help him. We couldn’t move to a quieter area (yet :-) so I was desperately looking for training advice to solve the issue.

“I’m the boss here”- alpha dog approaches made no sense to me. The clicker was more annoying than helpful for both of us. Local dog trainers really only knew the alpha dog way.

But I wasn’t going to give up.

Turns out, there are gentle ways to get results ..

.. which brings me to today’s ..

Pawsome Humans Interview: Julie Cluley

Would you love a gentle, calm way of communicating with your dog so that your dog knows what's up in your house, and both of you can relax and have a fabulous time together?

Well ..

Julie Cluley helps with that - working on both ends of the leash.

In fact, when people come to her, she doesn't actually need to meet the dog to help the owner see big changes ..

Grab a cuppa and listen to our 14-minute conversation. It’ll change the way you listen to your dog: https://share.descript.com/view/E3U0okMe55Z

To join Julie’s upcoming challenge: https://www.juliehelpsyouhelpyourdog.co.uk/opt-in-page-for-sep-23

To find out more about Julie and her work: https://www.juliehelpsyouhelpyourdog.co.uk

PS: If you know a Pawsome Human you think I should interview, please make an introduction

A Book Recommendation

A Dog’s Purpose .. I loved this book .. it made me laugh and cry at the same time. I know for sure you’ll love it too

Find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Purpose-Novel-Humans/dp/0765388111/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RYH5X8DWN4VV&keywords=a+dog%27s+purpose+book&qid=1693122298&sprefix=a+dog%27s+purpose+book%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1

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Until next week,

Anke