Dog whisperer Cesar Millan helped our pet accept our new baby, says Karen Gillan
The Inverness-born actress said her pet dog Turtle, a bull terrier-poodle mix, had been upset and acting aggressively since the arrival of her daughter Clementine in December.
She added she and husband Nick Kocher had fallen into 'despair' at their failed attempts to get the pair to live together at their home in the United States.
Ms Gillan turned to dog behaviourist Cesar Millan who rose to fame with his Dog Whisperer TV series, which has been broadcast in more than 80 countries.
The 37-year-old Hollywood star said: 'Being a dog parent has been my most challenging role because our dog really requires someone who is more naturally authoritative than I am.
'I got Turtle five years ago and she was a rescue dog. As she got a little bit older she started to show signs of aggression when people would come into the house.
'I brought the baby into the house and the dog was not happy about the baby being there.
'I was like 'how are we going to do this?'.
'They need to be able to co-exist.
'It was incredibly stressful because you are hard-wired as a mother to protect this baby at all costs, however the dog is my other baby.
'We were in a pit of despair and really didn't know how we were going to get through this.
'I watched some many episodes of Cesar's TV show and I thought 'I need to get to Cesar Millan'. I messaged him and he responded.'
After attending sessions with the expert at his ranch in California where she was taught leadership and calmness techniques, Ms Gillan said the dog's relationship with her baby had been transformed.
Speaking to Mr Millan on his YouTube series Walking With Cesar, she added: 'She is so good with the baby now, it's amazing. She is so protective over the baby but I think in a healthy way.
'I don't know if I should be allowing her to lick the baby's face but I lick her for a minute and then I stop her.
'I am so grateful that you let us come to the ranch with the baby and the dog and everything is okay now.
'It was really scary because I was nervous that we would not get to this point and we would constantly be living in fear but now we trust her.
'We felt more calm and confident after our time here.'
The flame-haired Highland actress shot to fame when she landed the part of Doctor Who's assistant Amy Pond in 2010 after dropping out of drama school.
After appearing in three series of the long-running sci-fi hit she left in 2013 and moved to the U.S. to pursue a career in Hollywood.
She is now one of the most-sought after names in the film industry after starring in hit movies like Avengers: Infinity War, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji.
In 2022 the actress married Mr Kocher at Castle Toward, near Dunoon, Argyll.
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