Behaviour consultation at your home
€ 150
IVA included, allow an hour and a half
You want to know what is really going on and what to do about it.
Request thisHome → What you are dealing with → Aggression and lunging
Aggression and lunging
Does this sound familiar?
- Lunging at dogs or people on the lead
- Growling or warning at children in the house
- Growling or snapping at visitors, so you no longer dare invite anyone
- Growling over food, over toys or on the sofa
- Biting or snapping when touched or picked up
- Warning when visitors are at the door
The message is ready. All you have to do is press send.
I would not leave this as it is
A dog who growls or snaps at people is giving a warning. In itself that is good news, because the warning is still there. What happens over the coming weeks decides whether it stays.
Until I am there: never leave a child alone with your dog, not even in the same room, not even for a moment. Give your dog a place where nobody comes and leave them there in peace. Do not take your dog out of that place to show them to visitors. Receive visitors with your dog behind a closed door. Do not practise the situation that went wrong on your own.
Do not punish the growling. No shouting, no pushing away, no pulling on the collar, no telling off. A dog who is punished for the warning learns to leave out the warning, not to stop biting. Walk away yourself, take the children out of the room, and write down what happened in the ten seconds before it.
What is really going on
Aggression is almost never simply aggression. It is a response to fear, frustration, pain, or to the absence of somebody who makes the decisions. A dog who growls is communicating. That is not the problem. That nobody listens is.
Taking the warning away is the most dangerous thing you can do. A dog who has been trained out of growling bites with no announcement at all.
How we go about it
- First rule out pain behind it. With a sudden change the vet comes first.
- We map out when it happens and what happened in the seconds before. That is where the answer lies, not in the lunge itself.
- We increase the distance to the trigger so your dog can think again, then reduce it step by step.
- We build up an alternative behaviour that pays off better than lunging, and we make the situation predictable, so your dog does not have to decide for themselves what needs to happen.
How long does it take? This is months of work, not weeks. Safety first, then calm, then freedom. In that order.
When it works, you see the other dog before your own dog does, and you have something to do. Not every encounter goes well. But you know what to do when it does not.
What is going on with your dog?
Three questions, then you will know what is probably underneath it and where I would start. You do not have to fill anything in or leave anything behind.
1How old is your dog?question 1 of 3
2How did they come to you?question 2 of 3
3What do you see when another dog comes along?question 3 of 3
What is probably going on
Where I would start
This is what I can say from a distance. What is really going on I will only see when I see your dog. Send the message below and we will look together at whether a visit is worth it.
A hundred dogs, no two the same
100+dogs helped since 2020
In six years I have worked with well over a hundred dogs. Some of those cases produced assistance dogs, dogs who ended up doing work for their owner.
There are dogs I follow for months because a lot has to change, and families from the village who have me over three times and manage on their own after that.
The approach is the same in every case. Look at what is really happening, then teach the owner what they need to do differently.
Frequently asked questions
Is my dog dominant?
That word rarely helps. This is about a lack of clarity. A dog that does not know who decides will decide for themselves.
Can aggression go away completely?
Often manageable, sometimes completely. I never promise that a dog will never lunge again. Anybody who does promise that is not telling you everything.
Does my dog need a muzzle?
After a biting incident a muzzle is not a punishment but freedom. A dog that is used to one can go out again.
What fits your situation?
Four questions. You will not get a price list back, you will get what I would do if you rang me now, and what the first step costs.
What makes it shorter
- It has not been going on for months
- You can practise ten minutes a day
- Everyone in the house does the same
- Your dog is young and nothing is stuck yet
What makes it longer
- It has been there for years
- There has already been a bite
- At home everyone does it slightly differently
- Your dog came off the street and the history is unknown
- Pain or illness plays a part
Why I do not quote a total price
I do not know how many appointments your dog needs before I have seen them. That depends on how long it has been going on, on what has already been tried, on who at home takes part, and on what your dog has been through.
Anybody who gives you a number up front is selling you a figure, not an approach. What I can do: tell you exactly what one appointment costs, and after that appointment tell you honestly what else is needed. Even if that means you do not need to buy anything more from me.
Travel costs per visit, from Jávea to you
This is how it is worked out. The starting point is the centre of Jávea. Of the total travel time there and back, the first hour is included in the fee. Anything beyond that costs € 75 per hour, pro rata per minute. For example: Valencia is an 80 minute drive, so 160 minutes there and back. Of that, 60 minutes are included in the fee, and the remaining 100 minutes come to € 125. That amount is fixed in advance, so you know it before I get in the car.
| Town | Driving time | Surcharge per visit |
|---|---|---|
| Dénia | 25 min | geen |
| Moraira and Teulada | 25 min | geen |
| Benitachell and Cumbre del Sol | 12 min | geen |
| Benissa | 25 min | geen |
| Gata de Gorgos | 12 min | geen |
| Pedreguer | 20 min | geen |
| Calpe | 35 min | € 12.50 |
| Oliva | 40 min | € 25.00 |
| Altea | 45 min | € 37.50 |
| Gandía | 50 min | € 50.00 |
| Benidorm | 55 min | € 62.50 |
| Alicante | 75 min | € 112.50 |
| Valencia | 80 min | € 125.00 |
Where you start
All rates
What the other way of working costs and when it fits is on the page about rates.
What it costsIs there more going on?
Pulling on the lead
Your arm aches after a walk
Read →Socialisation
Lunging or shrinking away from other dogs
Read →Barking at the door and the gate
Your dog barks all day at everything that passes the gate
Read →Not coming back when you call
Your dog never goes off lead any more, because you do not know if recall will work
Read →Do not wait with this
Every lunge that works makes the next one more likely. After a biting incident the rules are different, legally as well.
Usually within a day, with no obligation.
Of kijk eerst hoe ik werk op Instagram.
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