Helping Odin the flat-coated retriever to calm down

Odin the flat-coated retriever was referred to us by a fab vet in Gateshead after he got into a fight with another dog in the house and put the other dog into the vets.

It was clear as soon as we met him that he was constantly on the go and completely unable to switch off at all.

His saliva was also like wallpaper paste, which is a clear sign of stress - so bad that I had to ask for a towel to dry myself after greeting him

Odin is a very stressed dog, clearly isn’t sleeping enough, and is able to deal with the things going on around him.

Long term, this could cause disease and illness and eventually an early death if he doesn’t calm down.

We have started teaching him to relax more and making sure he has downtime and recommended a tracker so that we can see how his sleeping improves.

This frustration led to him switching to a “RAGE” circuit in the brain when the fight broke out with the other dog.

We taught a settle and rewarded calmly whenever he was relaxing but managed him so that he couldn’t do attention-seeking behaviors.

Odin is going to be a tricky dog in a busy household, but with this plan in place he will definitely get there!

We also taught him to wait on a mat and stop pushing through the door and getting frustrated and over-excited by walks.

Odin has some awesome potential, and as long as the plan is followed, will be the perfect dog!

Well done Odin and gang!