Christian Hatt bends down and ruffles the fur of first Raven and then Chief, his two dogs.
The dogs, both timber wolves crossed with red wolf and malamute, lean in to get their owner鈥檚 affection as he whispers something inaudible in their ears.聽
Hatt, who calls himself the 鈥淒ogfather,鈥� prides himself on being able to help families eliminate dog behaviour issues, no matter how severe that behaviour is.
A certified veterinary nurse who formerly worked at 麻豆社国产Veterinary Hospital, Hatt travelled the U.S. visiting wolf pack sanctuaries to learn more about animal behaviour, 鈥渨atching them socialize and interact and their pack structure and mentality and how they work out their problems,鈥� he said.
At the top of the wolf pack hierarchy there are alpha leaders, a female and male, that share the leadership, Hatt said. Then there are the betas that behave like uncles, taking care of the pups or watching the den. The youngest, oldest or unrelated wolves in a pack are the omegas that do the front-line hunting or guarding. They also eat last, he explained.聽
Hatt鈥檚 time with the wolf packs had a profound impact on him. Afterward, he became a vocal advocate for ending the provincial wolf cull.聽
The information he learned watching wolves guides how he helps families with their dog concerns.
聽鈥淚 can go into anybody鈥檚 home and restructure their family in relationship to what a wolf pack would look like,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o if it is a three [person] family, then we tier it, and if it is a seven family, we tier it.鈥�
The dog has to be on the bottom of the hierarchy in a home, 鈥渂ecause we are human,鈥� Hatt explained. 鈥淭he parents become the alphas, the children become the betas, depending on the number of children or their ages鈥� younger children are equal with the dog only in a pack mentality so the dog doesn鈥檛 get confused.鈥澛�
After the hierarchy is figured out, Hatt helps the owners set some basic rules with which the family is comfortable, including discipline, correction, positive reinforcement and affection for the pet.聽
The mistake most dog owners he works with have made is being too soft, too afraid to be assertive with their pets. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 take control,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are afraid they are going to damage their dog鈥� but dogs are genetically programmed to respond to good leadership.鈥澛�
On the flipside, Hatt said he wishes people who are too aggressive with their pets and not affectionate enough would call him so he could help them with their behaviour and pets, but those people aren鈥檛 usually the type to reach out and ask for help.聽
Lisa Rehel hired Hatt to work with her two-year-old Australian cattle dog, Pepper, three weeks ago and said she has already seen a difference in her aggressive behaviour both in the home and on leash.聽
鈥淪he listens more,鈥� Rehel said. 鈥淪he is much better on walks, too.鈥�
Rehel said Hatt helped her know how to talk to the dog so she follows direction. 鈥淪he tends to get wound up but as soon as we tell her, 鈥業t is all good, we鈥檝e got this,鈥� she immediately calms down,鈥� she said.聽
Hatt also teaches pet owners about pet nutrition. Dogs should be fed food as close to what they would eat in the wild such as fish and chicken, he said, not packaged dry food.聽
Hatt has faced abuse in his life, he casually acknowledges. Rather than a burden, the history of abuse helps him relate to traumatized animals, he said.聽
When he works with traumatized dogs, that鈥檚 where his instincts and his 鈥渨hispering鈥� kick in, he said.
Hatt was a dog whisperer at least a decade before such a thing entered mainstream consciousness with the arrival of TV dog behaviourist Cesar Millan, he said.聽
If a dog is abused or severely aggressive, Hatt takes it from its family and spends time one-on-one reconditioning the pet until its is able to reintegrate back into a human family.
鈥淭hey talk to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey teach me how to treat them.鈥澛�
