The Apple Orchard

I'd had plenty of experience with trigger stacking before, but there's one scenario that stands out the most. It's a stark reminder of how swiftly things can unravel, regardless of how well-trained and mental stable your dog is. It was an early autumn day in 2019, and by then, I'd had Enzo for nearly 6 months and my sausage dog, Purdy, for about six years.

We were on one of our regular strolls in the apple orchard at Barton St David, just 15 minutes from my home. The sensation of rotten apples crushing underfoot always brought a smile to my face. Both Enzo and Purdy were joyfully exploring as they always did, following intriguing scents, and occasionally giving chase—precisely what their breeds are known for.

These walks are and have always been a primary source of enrichment for them. The ability to be out here for four hours daily means I don't have to do additional enrichment at home. However, on that day, every squirrel and his mate were out. I'd noticed Enzo barking more than usual, but I brushed it off, attributing his heightened energy to our recent boring days due to bad weather. But, 45 minutes into our walk, his continuous barking from a distance had me worried, as he always stops after this amount of time and comes to catch up with me. He’d done it thousands of time, why not today?

I retraced my steps, only to find him barking at an empty tree, his arousal levels skyrocketing, driving up his obsession and making him react to just the sounds of the leaves. I got him on lead for 15 minutes and managed to calm him down, but shortly after, he was at it again—only this time, it was worse. Both he and Purdy were so engrossed in their obsession that they actively avoided me, so I wouldn’t interrupt them, this had never happened… not with my dogs. A few failed attempts at grabbing crazy Enzo later, I decided to just walk down the long rows of the apple orchard, watching my dogs, not bat an eyelid.

Of course, I didn’t wanna just walk back to the car and leave them, so I waited at the end of these rows and watch them for about five minutes. The sausage went “oh my God, we haven’t seen max in ages” and came looking for me and then another couple minutes went by and a few more trees along the way, Enzo decided he should probably wonder to find both me too.

For a few days after that incident, their behaviour was notably different. I had to adjust our routines to ensure they didn't stay in this heightened state. It's terrifying that this one singular event undid their off-lead and recall training they'd perfected.

It was as if I was seeing the same Enzo I'd initially rescued.

Days later, once they'd settled down, we gradually returned to our regular life. Thankfully, my lesson wasn't learned the hard way, as some dog parent learn when their dog bites someone, destroys the house, resource guards and so on. I was fortunate that my lesson was taught by squirrels in an orchard, no where near a road.

So my question to you is this: When will you truly understand the impact of trigger stacking and over-arousal?

It has the power to change a dog's behaviour entirely. Dogs can't focus, won't accept food outdoors, or appear untrainable due to it. Owners often mistakenly label them as 'broken' or believe that training won't work for them. The truth? Harsh punishments aren't the answer. Understanding and helping the dog is. When will it be enough to start learning?

With MK9Plus we can ensure that our dogs are no longer lacking and finally getting what they need