Dog Training for Anxious Pets by the RSPCA

Sian, a one-year-old Spaniel, was handed over to Deputy Chief Inspector Matt Goff. Boisterous Sian rarely left the house because her elderly owner couldn't cope with such an energetic dog. I know this is the best thing for the dog and for its owner. Now Sian has plenty of room to roam at Woodview Kennels in Essex but she's still got a little bit too much energy to be rehomed. Look at her go, she's like a little rocket. So today specialist dog trainer Kathy Butler is working with her to help Sian take her paw off the pedal. We think that there is 100 miles an hour so she finds it very hard to slow down, focus, cooperate. And Kathy has a novel approach to help her calm down. It's a very light touch, we don't use a huge amount of pressure. I'm just going to work around her shoulders. This might look like a gentle massage but it's actually part of a technique called Tellington touch and this stroking is the first stage of the process. I'm just introducing the work with the back of my hand, it's much less threatening. Some animals think you might grab. It helps a lot of animals feel safer about what you're doing. We're literally just moving the skin. The skin is the largest organ on the body and if we can influence her behavior by relieving the tension that's really beneficial for her general well-being. But it can be stimulation overload for Sian who isn't used to so much close quarter attention. Kathy knows when to back off and allow Sian to come back for more of the good stuff. My shoulder's still a bit tight. That's a good sign that she's feeling more relaxed so I'll continue. Oh that's better. If you can show that she has another side to her that she can focus and that she can be calm then that makes her more adoptable. Well what you're doing seems to be working a treat. Cheeky. Looks like Sian's warm into all this touchy-feely stuff. Good girl. There we go. But not that much. She's off. Must have seen a rabbit. Now that Sian is in the zone the next stage of talent and touch is groundwork. Being a dog in today's world can be quite challenging. There's lots of different things to worry about and Sian hasn't had the opportunity to express all those natural instincts that she's showing when she's out here in the field. Kathy is using a special lead that lets Sian move more naturally. Getting used to this is the easy bit. Good girl. Well done. Because Kathy's prepared an Indiana Jones style surface assault course. It's designed to help calm Sian down but it also helps with spatial awareness, posture and balance. But will it all be too much for this over-excited spaniel? This is called pick up sticks and she's just going to negotiate her way through them. This might look like child's play but because Sian didn't get out much before she may have never experienced obstacles like these. For all she knows she could be on the moon. When she's out and about in the big wide world and she does come across novel surfaces etc she's likely to be able to cope with it a lot better. Now for the ladder of doom. She finds the ladder quite challenging. She rushes over it. Don't blame me Sian. We've all had nasty experiences with ladders. Very hard work for the dog. They're processing a lot of information. They're having to focus. Slow down. That's one of the most important things is slowing down. So it's quite nice that she's actually standing in her own balance now. Just taking everything in. Quite calm. Just observing. Nice to see you jump that high Indy. So Sian still has spring in her step but she's on her way to becoming a well-adjusted, more chilled out dog. She's amazing. She's beautiful. She's affectionate. You know she's just going to be stunning. And the good news is once Sian completed her training she was successfully rehomed.