From Great Pain to Great Dane in one easy lesson

Nicola Lee, of Radcliffe-on Trent (Borough of Rushcliffe) has finally, after two years of hell, tamed her Great Dane, Megan. The oversized and beloved pet trashed her home, stole food, barked her way around the country and dragged her helpless owner across roads and through fields at her whim.

Megan, now 2, hated being separated from her owner and would set about destroying the house whenever left alone.

‘She shredded a leather suite and I literally came home to find the sofa ripped to pieces with the stuffing pulled out; she also had my curtains down several times and on one occasion the pole too’ explains Nicola.

It wasn’t only separation that caused problems, Megan’s behaviour was no better when out of the house.

‘At first we tried using a check chain to stop her pulling, but she gave me very bad whip lash and even when we used a Halti she dragged me across a road to get to another dog’.

Nicola and partner Trevor often take breaks in their mobile home and Megan goes too.  All their problems were exacerbated when camping and the worst thing was that whenever Megan was tied up outside, she would hurl herself at both people and dogs which was extremely intimidating to passers-by.

Car Journeys were no better with Megan throwing herself around the car, barking madly and taking no notice of her despondent owners.

Megan regularly knocked one of Nicola’s two younger children aged 10 and 7 over and took Nicola down too on a couple of occasions.

The final straw came when Megan pounced on a smaller dog and Nicola feared that it was the beginning of aggression.

‘It was bad enough not being in control, but add to that not knowing whether she would be aggressive and that really was too much for me to handle’ says Nicola.

It was at this point that Nicola feared Megan would have to go, something she had never considered with any of her dogs and had never imagined being a possibility.

Fortunately Dr Tabi Luddem, of Long Eaton, who is a Canine Behaviourist with Bark Busters came to the rescue and unbelievably, after just one session Megan was a reformed character.

‘My partner Trevor was extremely sceptical but even he was wowed by the results that Tabi got and now says it was the best money he has ever spent’ laughs Nicola.

In one session Tabi had shown the couple how to regain control; Megan is now walking to heel on the lead, passing dogs and strangers without so much as a woof, behaving in the house and has even gave up on the nuisance barking.  She would certainly no longer dream of destroying furniture and the replacement sofas are still in pristine condition in the lounge.

‘The change was absolutely amazing, really quite incredible’ says Nicola.

Since the training she never steals food and won’t even pick it up off the floor unless she is invited to do so. Trevor was totally stunned when he left Megan alone in the car for a few minutes and accidentally left some food in the footwell that she could get at.  When he returned she hadn’t touched it. 

The icing on the cake came about a week after Tabi’s visit when the family went over to Ashbourne and Trevor decided to pop into a couple of shops, leaving Nicola sitting on a bench in the high street for half an hour or so.  During this time lots of people and dogs passed and Megan behaved impeccably. 

‘As I sat in the high street a man came over and said that he had been watching Megan and that he had to tell me how well behaved she was.  I really could have cried with gratitude’ says Nicola. ‘I never dreamt anyone would ever say that Megan was beautifully behaved’.

So what did Tabi, the mystery Bark Buster Dog Trainer do to tame Megan?  The answer - she taught the family to think like a dog.

‘Megan is basically a lovely dog, however she couldn’t see a strong leader in her family, which she views as her pack, so decided to take the job on herself’ explains Tabi.

‘I helped Nicola and Trevor to show Megan that they were good pack leaders and once they did this, all that was needed was to communicate how they wanted her to behave. Many people have problems with their dogs simply because they forget that dogs speak a different language to us. Dogs interpret the way we behave differently to how we expect them to, and that’s where we come in and help translate’ says Tabi.

So Tabi proved a quick recipe for a happy dog and happy owners.

Bark Busters, the world’s largest, most trusted dog training company, started in Australia in 1989 and came to the United Kingdom in 1999. Since inception, over 400,000 dogs have been trained worldwide. With more than 230 offices in eight countries, Bark Busters is continuing its mission to build a global network of dog behavioural therapists to enhance responsible dog ownership and reduce the possibility of maltreatment, abandonment, and euthanasia of companion dogs. Bark Busters is the only international dog training company that offers a lifetime guarantee. Therapists will provide future sessions free of charge if problem behaviours recur, or if any new problems develop. For more information, call 0808 100 4071 or visit www.barkbusters.co.uk, where dog owners can complete a Dog Behavioural Quiz to rate their dogs’ behaviour.