My help was requested for Thibaud, a 7-month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, because he was very boisterous, barely house-trained, and extremely clumsy. A home visit was scheduled, as this is always the first and most efficient step.
Upon arriving at the house where Thibaud and his “brother” Benoît also a Ridgeback, but 2.5 years old lived, I started a conversation with the owner. Benoît was an incredibly sweet Ridgeback: very calm, peaceful, and social. Slightly insecure, but not to the extent that it affected his daily life or caused problems for the family.
Because Benoît was so calm and sweet, the owners thought it would be nice to get another dog and it would be another Ridgeback! So they began searching for a puppy, and eventually Thibaud came along. A cheeky puppy that even his mother already had her paws well… mouth full with.
Once home, Thibaud immediately showed he wasn’t easily impressed. He barely reacted during his introduction in the garden with Benoît and, after a few minutes, confidently walked into the house on his own without hesitation. A self-assured little guy with a strong will that became clear quickly.
Although having a confident dog can be a lot of fun, it requires a completely different approach than an insecure dog. And the owners definitely found that out… Despite attending dog training classes and trying everything at home, Thibaud became more difficult each month. Benoît, for whom this companion was actually intended, barely had a life anymore; at the slightest movement, Thibaud would latch onto his cheeks, ears, or legs. He didn’t bite hard (yet), but it was certainly unpleasant. And because Benoît isn’t a very confident dog, he didn’t dare to correct him. With two children and jobs outside the home, the owners were too busy to monitor the dogs 24/7, so it often went unnoticed until Thibaud had once again crossed everyone’s boundaries including his own.
Walks were also a disaster. The owner, who suffers from a pelvic issue, couldn’t walk both dogs at the same time. At training school, they used a clicker. This worked reasonably well for Thibaud when there was lots of clicking, followed by a treat, and no distractions. But finding a place without distractions in a busy country like the Netherlands is difficult. As soon as another dog appeared or even a cyclist, scooter, or mobility scooter. The clicker became irrelevant, and Thibaud would do his own thing. At times, he pulled heavily on the leash and barely responded to anything.
Walking together with Benoît was completely unmanageable. The clicker didn’t work because there weren’t enough hands: Thibaud in one hand, Benoît in the other, leaving no hand for a clicker, let alone treats. On top of that, Thibaud was constantly jumping on Benoît at random moments, causing sudden jerks on the leash and resulting in painful hands, arms, and shoulders. Walks had become unpleasant for both the owners and the dogs.
Understandably, the owners chose to walk the dogs separately. But with a family, work, and household responsibilities, this was hard to schedule, and because it was physically demanding, the walks became shorter and shorter.
By the time I arrived, Thibaud was only getting about 20 minutes of walking per day and had to make do with games in the garden.
The owners realized this wasn’t enough but felt completely overwhelmed. Fortunately, they were willing to seek more help than what they received at the training school and reached out to us.
After assessing the situation at home, it became clear that the problem was bigger than expected. This couldn’t be resolved in just one home visit… Internal rehabilitation was the most effective and suitable solution. A moment of rest for the family and for Benoît, and full attention for Thibaud to build a solid foundation.
Together with my therapy dogs, I got to work with this “big little guy” and he had a lot to learn! Because he had seen so little of the world and the chosen training approach didn’t match his needs, he was significantly behind in his development. He functioned more like a 5-month-old puppy rather than the 7 months he actually was. So, there was plenty of work to do!
Thibaud came along on visits and, with some guidance, behaved very well.
First, I taught Thibaud to walk better on the leash, because learning is impossible when you’re constantly pulling with tension on the line. He also needed to become less impulsive. Exploring and discovering things is perfectly fine essential even at this age, but it should be done with some control and calmness. Better for himself and for whoever he interacts with.
Additionally, he needed to become more social with other dogs. Because Benoît always let him get away with everything, Thibaud had become completely boundary-less in social interactions. His paws went everywhere, he overstimulated himself and others in no time, and he had no pause or stop button. Fortunately, my therapy dogs were extremely helpful here. In short, supervised free moments, they taught Thibaud gently but clearly. When he was going too far and how to calm down. Once he was calmer, Thibaud showed great learning ability and quickly started picking up on their signals, allowing communication to become more subtle over time.
In the final week of Thibaud’s internal stay, Benoît also came to stay. This was convenient, as we could reintroduce the two and observe how Benoît responded to the calmer, more mature version of Thibaud.
Unfortunately, at the very first sight of Thibaud, Benoît clearly showed he was not happy to see him again and immediately withdrew into himself. Even with the help of one of my therapy dogs, he avoided interaction with Thibaud… How were we ever going to fix this?
After consulting with the owners, we decided to also place Benoît in internal rehabilitation. This way, they were both with me at home, allowing more joint training while also working on Benoît’s confidence so he could learn to set his own boundaries.
And that turned out to be very necessary. While Benoît could mask his insecurity in his familiar environment, it fully surfaced in a new one. He became restless, either avoided contact completely or constantly sought reassurance, flinched at every sound and movement, and avoided all other dogs.
Where confident dogs usually learn quickly because they adapt easily, insecure dogs are the opposite. They need a lot of time to build trust in every new situation, making their learning process significantly slower. Benoît was no exception. Every new exercise had to be built up very gradually and repeated many times just beyond his comfort zone, before returning to that safe zone. We practiced small new things daily, such as balance and trust exercises. Fortunately, his confidence grew with every successful attempt, and slowly he began to open up. First with my dogs, and eventually very cautiously with Thibaud.
New environments were still often challenging for Benoît, though an untrained eye might not notice. He would emotionally shut down, appearing calm and well-behaved, but his energy clearly showed he was overwhelmed and coping by withdrawing. Thibaud, however, noticed this, and with his newly learned social skills, he often tried to draw Benoît out of his bubble with surprising success more than once!
As the owners’ holiday came to an end, it was time for the dogs to return home. However, Benoît wasn’t quite where he needed to be yet, and the owners also needed to learn the new handling techniques. So it was decided to first bring Thibaud home, allowing him to settle and practice at home. Benoît stayed one more week to continue building confidence, which visibly benefited him.
After a week, Benoît also returned home, and the owners were given plenty of “homework.” After doing a joint walk to practice together, I left the dogs behind with peace of mind. It was clear the owners especially the lady of the house, who handled the dogs most fully understood what the dogs needed and what had gone wrong in the past. They got to work with great dedication, and it is clearly paying off!
The two dogs now walk nicely together, there is peace and harmony in the house, and they can even sniff and play together in the garden under supervision!
It will still be a long journey, as Thibaud is of course still very young and will go through many adolescent phases. But with this level of commitment from the owners, everything will turn out just fine for these two. And who knows maybe they’ll even become best friends someday.