Taking the bite out of your dog's bark

Princess Anne's bull terrier is to undergo behavioral training after savaging one of the Queen's corgis. Here, a canine behaviorist tells SONIA SHARMA how to
deal with aggressive dogs.

A FIERCE-LOOKING German Shepherd pounced on Jacquie Hall and ripped off the
front of her jeans.

Jacquie managed to move out of the way in time to prevent the animal from biting
her leg.

I reacted very quickly and moved," she said. "When I saw her for the first time, I knew she would bite me. Most dogs are alot noise and threats but this one meant business."

"While I was talking to her owner, she just ran forward and tried to get hold of my leg. I was wearing baggy jeans and she tore them off right up my thigh. Anyone else would have been seriously injured."

Jacquie 48, has been a canine behaviorist for 15 years and a dog trainer for 25. She says hounds become hostile for various reasons.

In the majority of cases dogs do not aim to do any harm. They become aggressive through fear. The nine month German shepherd was brought to her after it started to bite
others.

She believed it had been a nervous dog from very early on and had not been taught how to be sociable.

This is one of 1,500 dogs Jacquie deals with at the Northumberland Canine Centre, near Alnwick, every year. Around 150 have aggression problems.

She has been following cases of Princess Anne and her dog Florence which badly
mauled Pharos, one of the Queen's oldest corgis.

The corgi had to be put down. Florence was later reported to have bitten a maid at the Queen's Sandringham residence in Norfolk.

Jacquie said: "We are heavily into prevention of aggression and do a lot of work assessing puppies to make sure we prevent problems from arising.

"Unfortunately, people come to us when damage has been done, when the animal has
bitten someone."

"In Princess Anne's case she should have been aware that there were problems with her pet."

"In my opinion this may not be a one-off. It will not have been the first time the animal has shown aggression. For dogs to do something like this, there has to be a history or sign that the potential of an attack is present."

If the Princess was to go to Jacquie for help, the first step would be for her to find out the extent of the harm to the corgi. She added: "If the animal has attacked a few times and done a lot of damage, it is down the road of no return. There is no going back from that.

"It is a case of just making sure it does not get into situations where it can attack again. But I am sure the Princess can contain it by keeping it on a lead or possibly muzzled. It's a case of management."

Jacquie who has three dogs of her own, said: "It's all about management and spotting problems before they develop."

"In many cases, dogs play very aggressively and owners don't realise what is happening. They go on to practice this behavior and problems arise."

"You can come across animals that are out of control. They rampage in and out of the house, pinch food demand to sleep in your bed or just very manipulative. That is when owners have lost control."

Among techniques used to help unruly pets is aversion therapy where the owners dissociate the dog if it behaves badly. Pets can also be taught how to meet and greet other dogs and interact politely.

Jacquie specialises in puppy socialising, training, agility and flyball activities.