There’s no denying that your typical Maltese tends to be a little on the excitable side, especially in their younger years. Fortunately, most of them can be counted on to dial it down a notch (or two) when told to do so.
Unfortunately, for the owner of a certain Maltese named Chorong, this wasn’t the case. Chorong simply couldn’t control his overactive ways, especially when he sees his owner after several hours of being apart.
When you get your first look at Chorong, he resembles most other Malteses, thanks to his fluffy fur coat that is as white as snow. He seems pretty relaxed and chill. However, when his owner walks through the door, his entire demeanor changes.
He instantly becomes a whirlwind of fur that gives even the most hyperactive Jack Russell puppy a run for their money. When he’s not happy with his owner’s level of attention, he amps up his behavior by standing on his back legs and flapping his arms.
According to his owner, Chorong was the exact opposite during his puppy period. In fact, he was so shy that he was able to show a lot of self-restraint. Essentially, he was almost too well behaved.
Before long, those days were gone and Chorong was making such a spectacle of himself that he was constantly disruptive, particularly when his owner was trying to eat.
Chorong’s owner tried to rein his behavior in, but she couldn’t find anything that worked. At one point, she asked friends to act as a dogsitter, hoping that having someone with him during the day would use up some of Chorong’s excess energy.
It didn’t work. Instead, the dogsitter ended up completely worn out, while Chorong ran circles around everyone.
Chorong’s owner looked for some other way to calm him down and settled on making him wear dog shoes. Afterall, it would take him awhile to get used to them, which should at least slow him down.
Within an hour of putting them on, it was obvious that the shoes weren’t going to be any help. Chorong was still running around like a wild man.
So, Chorong’s owner was stuck. What could she do to calm him down? She didn’t want her shy, scared puppy back, but she did want one that didn’t have boundless energy. She consulted an expert in dog behavior.
After watching Chorong, the expert decided that his behavior was likely related to a deep rooted fear of being left behind that he first felt as a puppy.
This also accounted for why he always wanted to please his owner.
The expert had several ideas for properly training Chorong to control his behavior and energy. First, any time he started to get overly hyper and misbehave, his owner would hold his paw.
His owner also invested in something similar to a hamster’s wheel for Chorong to use (and he did). In addition, the owner was told to essentially ignore his bad behaviors. (Indifference can put an end to reinforcing inappropriate behaviors.)
Finally, Chorong learned to stay still in a single spot. For Chorong, the spot was his comfy bed, which he already loved. Chorong was taught to stay in that spot most of the time.
Chorong’s owner was shocked with the results. The suggestions worked and Chorong’s behavior became much more acceptable. Now, her lovable Maltese is much easier to handle.
While Chorong still makes it known how much she loves seeing her owner come home after a long day, her behavior is more considerate and way less disruptive.
Original story by SBS TV Animal Farm via YouTube.
