History: Two previous owners. Mistreated as a puppy. Adopted by Jess and Tobi.

Age: 2 Years

Difficulties: Trust issues. Separation Anxiety. Dominant Behavior.

Story: Nikka was adopted at two years of age. When he first arrived, his behavior was not acceptable. He barked, jumped up and would even bite at hands and bottoms to demand treats or attention. He would help himself to whichever item of furniture he preferred most and growl if we tried to move him. If we left the house, we would come home to all the doors having been opened and he would instantly try to push his way out of the door. He pulled so hard on walks and had no recall. We realized he had both trust and dominance issues.

No matter what the size of a dog, dominance issues can be potentially dangerous. We knew this had to be the first issue to address. This meant we had to establish ourselves as the pack leaders or alphas.

1. Ignore unwanted behavior. The first time I turned my back on Nikka was tough. He had jumped at my face and was barking for attention. As I turned my back, he jumped at and nipped my bottom. But I stood my ground. Folding my arms, I stood up straight and refused to acknowledge Nikka's attempts to get my attention. I looked away and refused eye contact, kept silent and remained calm. To my delight, he gave one last little bark and walked away. He attempted this little sequence only two more times before he realized that it got him absolutely nowhere.

2. Reward good behavior. Just 10 minutes after Nikka gave up his demanding behavior, I called him to me. This time, he approached with his ears back and sat down in front of me. Giving him a fuss on his head/neck, I told him he was a good boy and rewarded him with a treat. From then on, his approach was much calmer and my bottom had time to recover.

3. Reapplying the same techniques. We applied the same techniques with several of Nikka's bad habits. If he ignored any command such as "get down", or "come", we would simply ignore him and turn our back the next time he came to us for attention. Nikka soon learned that following commands immediately gets rewards, but ignoring us gets him nowhere. This also improved his recall.

4. Trust issues. Having been passed on too many times, Nikka had difficulty believing we were the real deal. We had to prove that this was the pack he belonged to and we were not going to abandon him. The way to prove this was by routine. We established a routine of walk time, food times and play times. We had to stick to this routine. Eventually Nikka realized that he had nothing to worry about. He stopped pacing and learned to go off and sleep/play or relax. Instead of standing constantly by the door, he would settle at our feet.

Results: After combining multiple principles relating to natural "pack life", we have enabled Nikka to relax, trust us and enjoy walks. Although some issues still need time to work 100%, the changes we have seen are phenomenal. We can honestly say, he is a happy dog and a truly loved member of our pack.