“I have a rescue (ex racing) greyhound, and he was very nervous about new things and people from the day that I brought him home, having not been properly socialised as a puppy. The Rescue Centre who took him and 7 other greyhounds into their care began his socialisation immediately, but after nearly a year with me (including 2 Lockdowns) he had progressed very slowly, so I decided that we needed the professional help of a qualified Animal Behaviourist to help him become more confident with life as he had regressed during the 2nd Lockdown, and for the past 3 months had been refusing to set foot outside the boundaries of my garden. He “froze” at any of the gates out onto the quiet country lane on which my house stands, and also absolutely refused to get into the car so I could take him to walk somewhere that did not have negative vibes for him. He just wanted to stay inside the fenced garden and had become nervous of everything and everybody.
Having thoroughly assessed him and his behaviour when he was in the house and garden, the Animal Behaviourist immediately suggested changing his food to Breakthrough and also putting diffusers containing Valerian into the main rooms of the house to help him calm down and relax.
Within 2 weeks I noticed a distinct improvement in his general behaviour. He was much more confident in all aspects of his life, and now was happy to go out for walks every day along the lane, and not immediately panic at seeing cars, horses, lorries and farm vehicles although he was still not totally relaxed for a few months.
Now, one year on, I can take him out for walks every day in the car to nearby moorland with ponies, sheep, cattle, dogs, people with bright coloured jackets, all seen on a regular basis, and he doesn’t rush away in sheer panic but stands by my side watching them go past and we carry on with our walk with some residual signs of nervousness if they come too close for his comfort, but this is improving as he continues to gain confidence in himself.
It will be an ongoing journey, helped by continuing to give him Breakthrough as his daily meals. He is thriving on it (eating every morsel in his dish) and continuing to improve in confidence and relaxation week by week.
I feel that he is now living the happy life he deserves, and that I wanted to give him when I adopted him. He is relaxed, happy, playful and more and more loving and confident every day, and it all began when his diet was changed to Breakthrough dog food. I cannot praise it highly enough.
On behalf of Morgan and myself – Thank You!!”
Testimonial from Morgan’s owner Marjorie, Morgan and Marjorie are working with Pet Behaviour Consultant, Trainer and Breakthrough Ambassador, Jacqui Jones from Alpha Dog Training.