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Dr Ant and Dr James

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dog behaviour 

we have a lovely labrador called molly who is very scared of lots of things . i bought her at a pet shop almost 3 years ago and she has always been a very nervous dog. if i take her for a walk she goes alright until she sees a person or a car or hears something and then she bolts for home with or without me. the only way i can give her a decent walk is to put her in the car and take her to where she can run off lead.she is also quite overweight as i fed her too much as a pup because food was a comfort to her. i would love to find a way to teach molly that she doesnt need to be so scared all the time .can you please help.we have also recently rescued a boxer cross mastiff called rosie who has been badly treated. we would like to do some obedience training with her as she is a big girl but she has started showing aggression to some other dogs. what can we do about this?i hope you can help us with our dogs as we love them very much and want them to be happy and healthy

Answered Wednesday 11 March 2015

Hi Dianed,

 

 it sounds like you have your hands full with both of those cases. There is a lot that can be done to help anxious dogs and dog-dog aggressive dogs. The problem is too large to address via email so I would suggest that you have a chat with your local vet. It might be worth asking for a referral to a behavioural specialist for a more in-depth consultation. There are great behavioural vets in Sydney and Melbourne and you can even do a full phone consultation with the vet in Melbourne. 

I hope this has helped,

 

regards,

 

 Anthony and James

Pet Experts

Dr Ant and Dr James

These two best mates share a love of animals and are the stars of Village Vets Australia.

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