My "younger dog," Mia, a spayed bitch of 6 years, is a rescue dog, which I acquired when she was 13 months old. We, John and I, always thought she was very pretty but as thick as two short planks - a page three girl of the Schnauzer world! She never seemed a very happy dog, her tail always tucked down, very nervous - particularly of tall men and black dogs (other, strangely, than fellow Schnauzers) and completely unable to play. In other words, she appeared to be the complete antithesis of Zoe, our beloved 8 year old that we have had since she was a puppy.

Walking the two of them became an absolute nightmare because Mia started to become increasingly aggressive towards other dogs and this started to rub off on Zoe who is normally the most placid of creatures. I came to dread taking them out and I am sure that the "girls" sensed this and behaved even worse.

In desperation, having heard a talk on homeopathic treatment for animals at an SGSRS meeting and having taken advice, I started Mia on a course of treatment. This definitely seemed to produce an improvement in her behaviour towards other dogs but, unfortunately, the improvement did not last. A further course of treatment improved matters again but for only a short period.

I tried to think what else I could do for what seemed to me to be an increasingly unhappy and miserable Mia but came up with no bright ideas. Meanwhile, her behaviour was getting worse and, horror of horrors, I even began to ask myself whether it would be kinder to put her out of her misery.

However, at the November SGSRS meeting we had a talk on "The Tellington Touch" - primarily a form of massage for animals designed to influence their behaviour. I was extremely impressed by what I heard and arranged to have an individual session with Toni Shelbourne who had given the talk.

On the appointed day, we spent two hours with Toni who first took a history of Mia (so far as we knew it!) and sought to establish what we hoped to achieve with her. Then she began her magic, massaging Mia and demonstrating precisely what one should be doing on an ongoing basis. Toni also advised that we should put Mia in a harness when walking with a double-ended lead attached at one end to the harness and at the other to her collar. Mia was totally relaxed throughout and kept asking for more and, wonder of wonders, for the first time ever began to wag her tail! As Toni had warned, Mia was very tired by the end of the session but the tail kept wagging.

Back home Mia is a totally different dog. She seems much more alert and relaxed and, generally, happy. Behaviour when walking is very much improved, although there is still some way to go. At least, I don't dread the morning walk any longer. I am continuing the massage as instructed but I intend to book another session with Toni in the New Year.

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