Vegas went to see the behaviourist today. Her conclusion was the same as mine - he is one confused and stressed out little dog
Obviously it wasn't just me who fell to pieces when Brook died - it has had a similar effect on Vegas. He is not comfortable being leader and he is not doing a very good job of it as a result. So he is stressed and all the other dogs are stressed because of this. First thing I have to do is get his eyes checked as he has been showing a lot of anxious behaviour when its a bit darker so this will be to rule out any eye problems. I have to carry on with the DAP and the scullcap & valerian tablets. I have to introduce training discs to interrupt any of his grumbling behaviour in the house as the verbal commands only work about 90% of the time. I have to teach them all the relax command with the intention of reducing any stress as it occurs. The one major step is that I have to promote Dallas to number one position
This would have been the last thing I would have thought of doing as I have always thought of Dallas as a very submissive dog by nature. However, the other day Dallas was having a drink and Vegas growled at him as he wanted a drink
Dallas just growled back at him and Vegas backed off with no problem at all. This incident has led her to believe that Dallas would be more than capable of being above Vegas and that Vegas would be a lot happier being further down the pecking line. She also wants me to alter the way I do my time outs whenever a squabble ensues. Normally I would remove Vegas from the room for 5 minutes then let him back in. But apparently that confuses him even further so I have to put him out but also put the others out too away from Vegas. Then I have to bring them in one by one starting with Dallas. I have to carry these steps out for a couple of weeks and see how we get on. Apparently, when promoting another dog, it can be quite common for squabbles to take place between dogs 2 and 3 so I need to keep a close eye on how Disney reacts to the situation. I am quite nervous about messing with the hierarchy but it does seem to be the only way to make Vegas a bit happier.
Wish us luck