How our behaviour services helped Ivy stay with her family

When Zoe first met Ivy, she knew there was something special about her. It felt like Ivy had chosen the family herself. What Zoe didn't know then was that, just a few months later, she would be wondering whether she could cope with keeping her at all.

When puppy biting took over family life

For the first few weeks, Ivy seemed like the perfect puppy. She settled quickly, loved being around the family and formed an immediate bond with Zoe's children, Lily and Eli.

But around 3 weeks after coming home, biting became a serious problem.

It wasn't the occasional mouthing most puppy owners expect. Ivy was grabbing clothes, pulling on skin and targeting Zoe, her husband Rhys and their daughter Lily.

One day Lily came to the bottom of the stairs and Ivy jumped on her leg. “She was pulling her pyjamas, but caught her skin at the same time,” Zoe says. "It was horrendous.” 

The biting wasn't the only challenge. Ivy lunged at cars, pulled so hard on walks that Zoe ended up with back and pelvic pain, and later, Ivy developed separation anxiety when family members left the house.

Reaching breaking point

As first-time puppy owners, Zoe and her family had no idea whether what they were experiencing was normal. They searched online, watched training videos and asked friends for advice. Nothing seemed to work.

At home, the pressure was building. Zoe was caring for her children, while trying to manage an increasingly challenging puppy. "I was crying every single day," says Zoe.

Asking Dogs Trust for help

When Ivy was around 4 to 6 months old, Zoe realised she needed support.

We responded quickly. Zoe first received telephone support, talking through Ivy's behaviour and trying practical management techniques at home.

The family spent around one to two months putting that advice into practice.

Unfortunately, Ivy had other ideas. "Ivy can jump baby gates," says Zoe. "She can open the doors and break the locks."

When the suggested solutions weren't working, Zoe contacted us again.

A breakthrough

For Zoe, the biggest turning point wasn't any specific training technique. It was finally feeling understood.

Steph helped the family understand that Ivy wasn't a bad dog, she just needed personalised support. Every dog should be treated as an individual.

The first thing they worked on was redirecting her biting.

"She just said, ‘let's start redirecting her to toys instead of hands and fingers and everywhere else on your body,’" says Zoe. Together they taught Ivy a simple cue: ‘Ivy toy.’

"We worked and worked and worked on it," says Zoe. "And now that command is a regular go-to. If she's getting a bit too excitable around the house, all I need to say is that and she goes to put a toy in her mouth and calms down."

Steph also helped the family work through Ivy's anxiety, teaching them how to redirect her attention when Rhys was travelling and helping them rebuild a positive relationship with her crate when separation anxiety became an issue.

Most importantly, Zoe stopped feeling like she was failing.

A different picture today

The change didn't happen overnight, but gradually things began to improve. The biting stopped. Family life became calmer. The idea of rehoming Ivy started to disappear.

And today, the dog Zoe once thought she might lose has become an essential part of family life.

Today, Lily and Ivy snuggle up on the sofa while Ivy and Zoe's son, Eli, are inseparable. "They're like best friends,” says Zoe. "It's so cute, they follow eachother everywhere.”

Looking back, Zoe can't imagine life without Ivy.

"She means the absolute world to this family," she says. "With help from Steph, and a lot of hard work Ivy is now a perfect family dog for us."

For anyone currently struggling with their own dog, Zoe's advice is simple: