Kennel behaviour

Betsy was happy to have the lead on and was keen to leave the stable. She pulled strongly on exiting the kennel block but there was no reaction at all to other dogs in adjacent stables. She seemed worried, looking round and not really taking any notice of us.

Handling

We firstly walked Betsy down the lane on her lead. She pulled strongly but did not show any reaction to traffic or horses passing by. She also passed other dogs in an adjacent paddock but, although she was curious, she showed no negative reaction at all. She was jumpy but was happy to be handled and I was able to touch her all over without any reaction. I touched her feet, hindquarters, head, ears, tummy, tail. I knocked into her to test for any reaction but there was none. I did some leadwork with her, but she appeared not to know how to walk on a lead and appeared to be in flight mode. She did not focus on me at all. She did take some treats but did not seem particularly motivated by them at that time. After a while, she calmed a little on the lead and started to show a little more interest. Once off the lead in the paddock, she sniffed around and eventually was interested in us. She was receptive to cues offering Sit and Wait and showed excellent impulse control. On her way back to the kennel block, she walked calmly on the lead.

Sociability

Betsy was not concerned by my presence and there was no negative reaction from her. She was curious about what was going on around her but not reactive.

Arousal/reactivity

Please give details of reactivity on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = low & 5 = high)

Reactivity – Low 1

Betsy became increasingly motivated by treats but seemed to prefer a tennis ball. She was very keen to play with that but did not snatch and showed excellent impulse control. She showed no interest in a tug toy. She did not get over excited and was soft mouthed at all times. She did not show any reaction to anything in his environment, including people, dogs, traffic, noise, objects etc.

Possession

Betsy showed no evidence of resource guarding and would happily relinquish toys. She had a good retrieve, fetching the ball right back to me and dropping it at my feet. She swapped readily for a treat. I feel that the ball would be a great tool in teaching a reliable recall.

General comments

Betsy seemed worried about where she was at first and was in flight mode. After she had settled, she became more interested in us and calmed. She did not show any negative or aggressive reactions at all. She showed herself to be of good temperament and has good manners and impulse control. I think that Betsy has been used as a breeding bitch and no training has been done with her other than a basic Sit. She appears not to know how to walk on a lead and her recall is dependent on the use of the tennis ball. With some work and once comfortable in a home environment, I feel that she would be responsive and would be a well-mannered dog.