22Behavioural AuditReggie2-year-old Rottweiler × Dobermann · guarding and real-world transfer
Reggie had completed training in fields and warehouses, but his family needed behaviour that worked in their actual life.
Case stageBehavioural Audit
Profile2-year-old Rottweiler × Dobermann · guarding and real-world transfer
01 · The presenting picture
Reggie had worked with several trainers and methods. The family still faced broad resource guarding, poor recall, pulling, jumping and whining in the crate.
He had made contact without piercing skin and could stiffen with raised hackles around dogs. Long work shifts and changes within the household also affected what could be maintained.
02 · What the audit identified
The audit identified a dog tolerant of pressure but without a complete communication and reinforcement system that transferred beyond training venues.
Trading for increasingly valuable food could solve an immediate possession problem while accidentally teaching Reggie that guarding started a profitable negotiation.
03 · The Canine UK strategy
- Teach clear lead pressure and release through short engagement walks.
- Build structured play from the ground up so the handler became more valuable.
- Use a consistent resource protocol rather than escalating trades.
- Teach a quiet cue and maintain crate structure around the family's real schedule.
- Develop recall and off-lead reliability in ordinary environments, not only controlled fields.
04 · Recommended pathway
- The family received a detailed foundation plan and options for one-to-one, recall-focused and residential work.
- Any programme would need to include owner transfer and practice around normal routes, household patterns and distractions.
- No outcome was claimed from assessment alone; the value of the audit was defining why earlier training had not held.
05 · Owner transfer and maintenance
Success required a practical routine that worked around shifts, consistent guarding management and daily repetitions short enough to sustain rather than an occasional intensive session.