Our Springer has turned on the pup and son...
Discussion
Do go back to its a spring thing, as you know there are lots of owners who have taken on difficult foster and rescue dogs with all sorts of behavioural issues and there is likely to be someone local to you.
Do have more confidence in yourself, Springy boy will pick up on your nervousness...
Do have more confidence in yourself, Springy boy will pick up on your nervousness...
wow what a topic for my first post.
ok first of all as has been said dogs pick up our feelings very quickly so relax ( i know easy said)
i had a lab x springer male and we introduced a older rescue gsd male ,oh boy were we in for it.
everything was ok for the fist 12 months or so then bam! fight night every night and i mean blood drawn on both sides no quarter given.
we tried everything but it boiled down to jealousy and the pack system, we found out they were both after our attention so as soon and they started( raise hackles ,sideways looks ,growls ect) we walked out of the room leaving both of them together . they would both instantly stop and wonder where we had gone and why we had left you just have to keep enforcing you are boss and your attention is based on thier acting as you want them to.
you also need to see who is the more dom one of the pair (i am guessing the elder) that dog should get first fuss, first treat, and first feeding at meal times they are not kids and do not understand the term sharing you will not hurt there feelings in fact they will feel more secure knowing there place in the pack
drop me a pm if i can help at all as we have been through this very thing
oh Ali yes it is me
ok first of all as has been said dogs pick up our feelings very quickly so relax ( i know easy said)
i had a lab x springer male and we introduced a older rescue gsd male ,oh boy were we in for it.
everything was ok for the fist 12 months or so then bam! fight night every night and i mean blood drawn on both sides no quarter given.
we tried everything but it boiled down to jealousy and the pack system, we found out they were both after our attention so as soon and they started( raise hackles ,sideways looks ,growls ect) we walked out of the room leaving both of them together . they would both instantly stop and wonder where we had gone and why we had left you just have to keep enforcing you are boss and your attention is based on thier acting as you want them to.
you also need to see who is the more dom one of the pair (i am guessing the elder) that dog should get first fuss, first treat, and first feeding at meal times they are not kids and do not understand the term sharing you will not hurt there feelings in fact they will feel more secure knowing there place in the pack
drop me a pm if i can help at all as we have been through this very thing
oh Ali yes it is me
What a lovely dog.It is hard to imagine him being agressive.
I had a friends working rescue springer to stay recently and was told he would pull on the lead.However with a haltie it was never a problem for me and like yours was loose lead on returning from walks. He was brilliant at retrieving and recall but never had enough of this.Yes he would sit and wait for his food not stealing my own springers food.In fact he never bothered her at all - mayebe age difference between them.
His present owner had him at 7mths after several different owners before.Will have a chat with my friend and see if he had any early issues with him
I do wish you good luck with him. How is he with men? maybe he has had male owners previously?
I had a friends working rescue springer to stay recently and was told he would pull on the lead.However with a haltie it was never a problem for me and like yours was loose lead on returning from walks. He was brilliant at retrieving and recall but never had enough of this.Yes he would sit and wait for his food not stealing my own springers food.In fact he never bothered her at all - mayebe age difference between them.
His present owner had him at 7mths after several different owners before.Will have a chat with my friend and see if he had any early issues with him
I do wish you good luck with him. How is he with men? maybe he has had male owners previously?
It's be interesting to see what he does once her season is over. He may be feeling threatened re his position now she is reaching maturity. It could well settle on it's own once it's over (approx 3 weeks) and all be ok again. It which case get her spayed a couple months time and all will be sorted. Some neutered males will still pick up on hormone changes.
This will poss explain his reaction to your son (how old is your son?) he may be seeing him as competition with an entire female.
This will poss explain his reaction to your son (how old is your son?) he may be seeing him as competition with an entire female.
I think a lot of it is the age thing dogs mature at between 12 - 18 months old and when the younger ones reach this age the older dogs know they are now adult if you will and the allowences they have been making for the "puppy" are over. both dog are pushing for the place in the pack and if they are not allowed to establish this place you will get trouble.
Dr Roger Mugford has writen some good stuff on the subject but any good Behaviourist/ trainer should be able to help
Dr Roger Mugford has writen some good stuff on the subject but any good Behaviourist/ trainer should be able to help
Obliging with the now (separated!) pics. Really wish I'd taken some before her groom - she looked like a sheep and had no idea what a spindly thing she would be without her gorgeous coat, but this is more comfortable for her and more practical. You can just see the darkened end of her tail from the wound there and the darkened end of her ears from the black scabs underneath. The worst facial wound is on her right side, can't see it here, I really needed her to be side on to see it. She's in a playful mood this morning though.
He was a bit put out being left alone and could hear me calling her to sit - he looks like he's got the grumps here!
He was a bit put out being left alone and could hear me calling her to sit - he looks like he's got the grumps here!
bexVN said:
It's be interesting to see what he does once her season is over. He may be feeling threatened re his position now she is reaching maturity. It could well settle on it's own once it's over (approx 3 weeks) and all be ok again. It which case get her spayed a couple months time and all will be sorted. Some neutered males will still pick up on hormone changes.
This will poss explain his reaction to your son (how old is your son?) he may be seeing him as competition with an entire female.
Thanks Bex - is there an impact with humans and hormone changes too? Son is raging in this department (he's 12) and erm, I'm at the other end of the spectrum! Poor Springer, no wonder he's out of sorts!This will poss explain his reaction to your son (how old is your son?) he may be seeing him as competition with an entire female.
That's the age I was guessing he'd be. We still understand very little re what animals, particularly dogs, re how they can be re hormones but I do believe they are playing a big part in your situation.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't start on working on boundaries etc but I really hope normality will resume soon.
I am going on gut feeling more than proper professional knowledge though
That doesn't mean you shouldn't start on working on boundaries etc but I really hope normality will resume soon.
I am going on gut feeling more than proper professional knowledge though
Oh!
Well now that's interesting reading, to be sure! None of your post from last night indicates the issue being dominance-related... from what you've posted, it does read like the boundaries and living routine that you've created for your dogs just haven't been quite robust enough, if you will, to deal with what I think are natural changes to how the dogs will interact with each other.
It's natural for dog interaction to change if the age disparity between the dogs covers a "burgeoning" dog, if you will (i.e. a dog coming through puberty into maturity). A mature dog has a different place in the dog hierarchy than a pup, and this needs to be established. However, as mentioned, your springer isn't clear on his own position*, so it's never going to have gone well!
So, pup has come into season, springer has picked up on the "change" which is the start of pup's inevitable progression to maturity, but because his normal living routine and boundaries haven't made his as secure in your family as he could be, he's reacting to the change in an undesirable manner.
That list you posted last night... it will seem like a really daunting task. And, I think everyone will be in agreement, it will be hard work for you all at first.
But! There's nothing on that list that's a particularly difficult or unique challenge, when looked at individually... they're all just about establishing a right way of doing things that leaves no-one in any doubt as to who is in charge, and the difficulty for you will come in implementing changes in a cohesive manner.
You're onto a winner in a way in that springers, as you mention, are a very intelligent breed. He'll very, very quickly pick up on the fact that things are going to be different. As long as you go about making the changes in an acceptable manner, keeping him "on board" with what you're doing by doing it by positive reinforcement, you should find that he's naturally eager to please you and work with you - the work ethic is strong in these ones!
In a way, I'm actually quite glad that this is the likely root cause of the problem, rather than any unique, difficult (dominance!) related issue, which would be rather more complex to solve.
J&J has given you some excellent starting points. The 'door thing' will the the easiest and quickest one to work with to introduce him to The New Way Of Life.
He does not go out the door unless he's calm. He does not go out the door first.
One way of achieving this is 'sit' and 'stay' him, wherever it is that you put the collar on him that's by the door (loop the lead round your wrist) - it's helpful to have a 'designated zone' for this that's easily identifiable to him, like a bed or a mat. Treat and praise for doing the right action. Open the door an inch, (or, if he's really bad at the door, just put your hand on the handle). Every time he breaks his "sit/stay", make a sharp (non-shouting) noise like "AH", correct him and treat. Hand back onto the door. Correct his bad behaviour as before. Repeat ad infinitum.
The aim of this exercise is for you to be able to open the door and step out of it with him still sitting, waiting for your next command**. Then, when you're through the door, a gentle tug of the lead and a "come on", and consider it a success!! (Note: this is really easy to write, but could take upwards of an hour for you to achieve, based on experience!
)
Of course, this one leads you immediately on to addressing his lead behaviour....... which is what, exactly? I can't quite make it from earlier posts. He walks well on a 'return' walk, but not when leaving the house? The lead walking should perhaps be addressed without pup around - that's not really anything to do with her! If you could clarify the issue with lead walking, perhaps that'll prompt tips on a way of dealing with that. (I know what I did (which worked for an obsessive terrier!), so happy to share).
R.e. greeting visitors... not sure what "can't get him to sit and wait" means...? Has he got a basic "sit and stay" command? Does he practise this routine without visitors being in the house? Or is just a level of behaviour that's expected of him, apropos of nothing (as far as he's concerned!), that is expected when the house/contents is the most exciting it could possibly be? What I mean by this is, has "sit/stay" on a mat been taught to him and then established, or is it more a case of "visitors are here, "SPRINGER. SIT!" I'd really like him to just sit and be quiet, why won't he listen to me?" sort of deal? For something that requires a good deal of doggy-control and restraint, like this behaviour, it needs to be an established, known routine... not just something rolled out when visitors come round, otherwise, as you're finding, there's no basis for the action so it's easily ignored by the dog.
As J&J says, a house-line might be a good prop - securely attach one end, but make sure it's not long enough to stray far from the bed he's supposed to be staying on until further notice. If all else fails, attaching him to this lead, leaving a "top interest level" chew toy on the bed with him, and just simply getting everyone to ignore him until he's swapped his interest from the people to the chew toy will go a long way to prompting acceptable behaviour from him, which can then be shored up with some additional training. Or you could wait until he's sat calmly... if you do use this prop, pick a cut-off point at which it becomes acceptable behaviour, and treat/behave accordingly (switching attention to chew or sitting calmly, etc.)
If you're going with the change of focus, for example, once it's happened, simply unattach him from the lead. Don't fuss him, don't say anything to him. Simply unattach him and walk off. His subsequent behaviour may need correcting - you may find he runs over to visitors and jumps on them. The level to which you correct this is up to you. You can either return him to the mat (lead him to mat, attach lead, give "sit/stay" command but no other verbal response), or you can correct it as you would normally if he does something 'naughty'.
Bed time - work out where you want them to sleep. Act accordingly, but be consistent in what you've chosen. Bed by your bed? Downstairs in their own (separated) beds? Crate for the springer and a bed for the pup by your bed or on the landing?
/rests aching, bloody stubs of fingers for a bit....
* I'm not talking about "pack theory" here. I'm simply talking about the natural interaction between multiple dogs - there will be a more dominant one, that's all. It sounds like it will be the springer, but he just needs help from you to establish what's OK/NOK behaviour.
** I've got
boy in my head, going "my dogs "sit" command means they wait for my next command anyway!"
Well now that's interesting reading, to be sure! None of your post from last night indicates the issue being dominance-related... from what you've posted, it does read like the boundaries and living routine that you've created for your dogs just haven't been quite robust enough, if you will, to deal with what I think are natural changes to how the dogs will interact with each other.
It's natural for dog interaction to change if the age disparity between the dogs covers a "burgeoning" dog, if you will (i.e. a dog coming through puberty into maturity). A mature dog has a different place in the dog hierarchy than a pup, and this needs to be established. However, as mentioned, your springer isn't clear on his own position*, so it's never going to have gone well!
So, pup has come into season, springer has picked up on the "change" which is the start of pup's inevitable progression to maturity, but because his normal living routine and boundaries haven't made his as secure in your family as he could be, he's reacting to the change in an undesirable manner.
That list you posted last night... it will seem like a really daunting task. And, I think everyone will be in agreement, it will be hard work for you all at first.
But! There's nothing on that list that's a particularly difficult or unique challenge, when looked at individually... they're all just about establishing a right way of doing things that leaves no-one in any doubt as to who is in charge, and the difficulty for you will come in implementing changes in a cohesive manner.
You're onto a winner in a way in that springers, as you mention, are a very intelligent breed. He'll very, very quickly pick up on the fact that things are going to be different. As long as you go about making the changes in an acceptable manner, keeping him "on board" with what you're doing by doing it by positive reinforcement, you should find that he's naturally eager to please you and work with you - the work ethic is strong in these ones!
In a way, I'm actually quite glad that this is the likely root cause of the problem, rather than any unique, difficult (dominance!) related issue, which would be rather more complex to solve.
J&J has given you some excellent starting points. The 'door thing' will the the easiest and quickest one to work with to introduce him to The New Way Of Life.
He does not go out the door unless he's calm. He does not go out the door first.
One way of achieving this is 'sit' and 'stay' him, wherever it is that you put the collar on him that's by the door (loop the lead round your wrist) - it's helpful to have a 'designated zone' for this that's easily identifiable to him, like a bed or a mat. Treat and praise for doing the right action. Open the door an inch, (or, if he's really bad at the door, just put your hand on the handle). Every time he breaks his "sit/stay", make a sharp (non-shouting) noise like "AH", correct him and treat. Hand back onto the door. Correct his bad behaviour as before. Repeat ad infinitum.
The aim of this exercise is for you to be able to open the door and step out of it with him still sitting, waiting for your next command**. Then, when you're through the door, a gentle tug of the lead and a "come on", and consider it a success!! (Note: this is really easy to write, but could take upwards of an hour for you to achieve, based on experience!
)Of course, this one leads you immediately on to addressing his lead behaviour....... which is what, exactly? I can't quite make it from earlier posts. He walks well on a 'return' walk, but not when leaving the house? The lead walking should perhaps be addressed without pup around - that's not really anything to do with her! If you could clarify the issue with lead walking, perhaps that'll prompt tips on a way of dealing with that. (I know what I did (which worked for an obsessive terrier!), so happy to share).
R.e. greeting visitors... not sure what "can't get him to sit and wait" means...? Has he got a basic "sit and stay" command? Does he practise this routine without visitors being in the house? Or is just a level of behaviour that's expected of him, apropos of nothing (as far as he's concerned!), that is expected when the house/contents is the most exciting it could possibly be? What I mean by this is, has "sit/stay" on a mat been taught to him and then established, or is it more a case of "visitors are here, "SPRINGER. SIT!" I'd really like him to just sit and be quiet, why won't he listen to me?" sort of deal? For something that requires a good deal of doggy-control and restraint, like this behaviour, it needs to be an established, known routine... not just something rolled out when visitors come round, otherwise, as you're finding, there's no basis for the action so it's easily ignored by the dog.
As J&J says, a house-line might be a good prop - securely attach one end, but make sure it's not long enough to stray far from the bed he's supposed to be staying on until further notice. If all else fails, attaching him to this lead, leaving a "top interest level" chew toy on the bed with him, and just simply getting everyone to ignore him until he's swapped his interest from the people to the chew toy will go a long way to prompting acceptable behaviour from him, which can then be shored up with some additional training. Or you could wait until he's sat calmly... if you do use this prop, pick a cut-off point at which it becomes acceptable behaviour, and treat/behave accordingly (switching attention to chew or sitting calmly, etc.)
If you're going with the change of focus, for example, once it's happened, simply unattach him from the lead. Don't fuss him, don't say anything to him. Simply unattach him and walk off. His subsequent behaviour may need correcting - you may find he runs over to visitors and jumps on them. The level to which you correct this is up to you. You can either return him to the mat (lead him to mat, attach lead, give "sit/stay" command but no other verbal response), or you can correct it as you would normally if he does something 'naughty'.
Bed time - work out where you want them to sleep. Act accordingly, but be consistent in what you've chosen. Bed by your bed? Downstairs in their own (separated) beds? Crate for the springer and a bed for the pup by your bed or on the landing?
/rests aching, bloody stubs of fingers for a bit....
* I'm not talking about "pack theory" here. I'm simply talking about the natural interaction between multiple dogs - there will be a more dominant one, that's all. It sounds like it will be the springer, but he just needs help from you to establish what's OK/NOK behaviour.
** I've got
boy in my head, going "my dogs "sit" command means they wait for my next command anyway!" Edited by Karyn on Saturday 10th November 13:07
Karyn, thank you for a great reply there and everyone's help and input. Certainly taken lots from JandJ's posts too to implement the changes as well.
Where do I start now?!
A couple of things that have already been resolved - no more tug playing, no swapping for treats (unless it's on walk and dangerous like a chicken wing) and sleeping arrangements.
The door one we're working on.
On lead walking, I use a figure of 8 harness (like a halti except can be used left or right handed) as it pulls under the chin and down towards the knee. He still pulls on it and rubs his face to get it off. I do the stop when he pulls and he does come back to heel position and we start off again - he's pulling straight away! We stop and repeat infinitum. He's never got heel walking going to the field.
I am wondering...maybe I should stop offlead runs until he's mastered heel walking completely. That way off lead is a reward and an incentive?
Probably missed lots, so will come back and reply to those!
Where do I start now?!
A couple of things that have already been resolved - no more tug playing, no swapping for treats (unless it's on walk and dangerous like a chicken wing) and sleeping arrangements.
The door one we're working on.
On lead walking, I use a figure of 8 harness (like a halti except can be used left or right handed) as it pulls under the chin and down towards the knee. He still pulls on it and rubs his face to get it off. I do the stop when he pulls and he does come back to heel position and we start off again - he's pulling straight away! We stop and repeat infinitum. He's never got heel walking going to the field.
I am wondering...maybe I should stop offlead runs until he's mastered heel walking completely. That way off lead is a reward and an incentive?
Probably missed lots, so will come back and reply to those!
Sit/Stay - we use this alot - prepping food, bowls going down, putting lead on, taking lead off. He knows it, he does it. He doesn't need telling twice.
BUT the door is a different matter and so are visitors. It is the most exciting things (as well as garden fetch) and the excitement is uncontrollable...so it seems. He's whining, jumping around, jumping up, and I can't get his attention. The door took 20 mins this morning, so not too bad at all. I just dropped his lead and ignored and waited. Repeat until he sat still and waiting until I'd opened the door - he came rushing through behind me, rather than being called, so lots of work to do here still.
Visitors - we don't get that many (sad people we are!) so it's ultra exciting and a sniff party for him! Cue mega excitement and can't get his attention to sit/stay.
We have 18 coming for lunch next month, I need to conquer this one by then!
BUT the door is a different matter and so are visitors. It is the most exciting things (as well as garden fetch) and the excitement is uncontrollable...so it seems. He's whining, jumping around, jumping up, and I can't get his attention. The door took 20 mins this morning, so not too bad at all. I just dropped his lead and ignored and waited. Repeat until he sat still and waiting until I'd opened the door - he came rushing through behind me, rather than being called, so lots of work to do here still.
Visitors - we don't get that many (sad people we are!) so it's ultra exciting and a sniff party for him! Cue mega excitement and can't get his attention to sit/stay.
We have 18 coming for lunch next month, I need to conquer this one by then!
It seems you're making progress there already! 
Good work!
I can fully empathise with the pulling on the lead. We have a staffy who's "big thing" was what you're describing with your springer/heel walking. If he even suspects that he's going to a field/off-lead walk, he wants to pull. Like. A. Train. Managing and correcting this is still an on-going theme, as, like you say, once they've 'started', it's very difficult to get them to swap the focus of their attention.
It's your call whether you stop the activities that cause the "high excitement" in him - it will make working with him easier in the short term, but it's still an inevitable bridge that you'll have to cross. So, you can address the loose-lead behaviour with pavement walks, but you're still going to have to address the field-walk behaviour at some point! Addressing pavement walking first will create a strong foundation of the acceptable on-lead behaviour, but it reads a little bit like he's got that already... his problem is that there's nothing that will re-focus him once he's focussed on reaching the field?
The single most effective method I found (and I tried a couple) of addressing the lead walking was the "turn around".
Once out the door (easier said than done with yours!) and on the walk-route, every time there was even the slightest hint of tension in the lead caused by the dog, I said "AH" and turned 180 degrees and walked off in that direction. For a good while - at least a minute. I'd use this "anti-walk" walk to remind him of acceptable lead behaviour ('slow', 'wait' and 'stop' are the 3 lead commands that our dogs use), so we'd have a little 'pop-quiz' on the anti-walk - this works by both getting him to walk acceptably, and re-focussing him on both listening and engaging with you and walking properly, instead of focussing on "The Field". Once he's attentive and walking nicely again, it's an about-turn (I say "off we go" in a sing-song voice) and the walk recommences.
Again, at the slightest hint of tension, it's an about-turn... rinse and repeat. You'll inevitably find that you'll be walking a lot further in the "anti-walk" direction than you are in the "field" direction to begin with, but done consistently, it really is effective.
If he's responsive to treats when on-lead, then reward the good lead behaviour as appropriate (our staffy isn't bothered by treats in the slightest when on-lead... he's not even bothered about toys that have otherwise created obsessive behaviour - that's how strong his focus is on "field"!)
As I said, this is the method I've used with our staffy. On the anti-walks (which I still have to do occasionally, for example, when's he come back from staying with my mum!), there's still pricked up ears, continual glances up at me, and a bobbing, shortened-gait "must we go this way?" stride, but I don't care. In fact, I'd rather he look up at me! That's the aim of the game!
When I first introduced this new way of getting to the field, I don't mind admitting that it took us over an hour to reach a field that was actually opposite our house, but the entrance to which was down the road a bit. It will give you an idea of the extent of the problem... But, equally, this method has sorted out the problem a treat.
It does sound like your springer has an equally keen issue of this mis-directed focus, so, if you do adopt this approach, your first few 'anti-walks' may well need to be about 5 minutes... long enough, and then some, to dissuade him of the idea that you're going to the field. At the very least, to introduce the idea to him that you control the walk pace, and you decide where you go and when.
Really heartened to see you're dealing with this so seriously, as it were... I know there's quite a few 'owners' out there who would have got shot of the springer at the first sign of trouble like this.
"Where to start now?" - you've already started!! Just address each behavioural change as it comes up in your day-to-day routine.
RE rushing out the door, still... you could perhaps consider an anchor-line to ensure he can't go through the door until you've given a command. So, he sits, waits, you go through the door... then you come back (he's still sitting, waitingtheoretically), collect him, and "off we go" - with you out the door first. If he tries to barge past, you can either start from the top (him going and sitting on the mat) or you can make him sit behind you while you go through the door (simply block his nose with the back of your knee).
Visitors is a more difficult one to address, as you ideally need "pretend" visitors to cement the behaviour with... but you can certainly lay the foundations of "sit/wait" on the mat while someone comes through the front door (son may be able to help with this one, to help get their bond back?). Then son ignores dog etc. etc... and once dog is calm and greets 'visitor' appropriately, treat and reward.
I'm very aware that I keep writing War and Peace... apologies! Wish I could be succinct like J&J!
Good work!I can fully empathise with the pulling on the lead. We have a staffy who's "big thing" was what you're describing with your springer/heel walking. If he even suspects that he's going to a field/off-lead walk, he wants to pull. Like. A. Train. Managing and correcting this is still an on-going theme, as, like you say, once they've 'started', it's very difficult to get them to swap the focus of their attention.
It's your call whether you stop the activities that cause the "high excitement" in him - it will make working with him easier in the short term, but it's still an inevitable bridge that you'll have to cross. So, you can address the loose-lead behaviour with pavement walks, but you're still going to have to address the field-walk behaviour at some point! Addressing pavement walking first will create a strong foundation of the acceptable on-lead behaviour, but it reads a little bit like he's got that already... his problem is that there's nothing that will re-focus him once he's focussed on reaching the field?
The single most effective method I found (and I tried a couple) of addressing the lead walking was the "turn around".
Once out the door (easier said than done with yours!
) and on the walk-route, every time there was even the slightest hint of tension in the lead caused by the dog, I said "AH" and turned 180 degrees and walked off in that direction. For a good while - at least a minute. I'd use this "anti-walk" walk to remind him of acceptable lead behaviour ('slow', 'wait' and 'stop' are the 3 lead commands that our dogs use), so we'd have a little 'pop-quiz' on the anti-walk - this works by both getting him to walk acceptably, and re-focussing him on both listening and engaging with you and walking properly, instead of focussing on "The Field". Once he's attentive and walking nicely again, it's an about-turn (I say "off we go" in a sing-song voice) and the walk recommences. Again, at the slightest hint of tension, it's an about-turn... rinse and repeat. You'll inevitably find that you'll be walking a lot further in the "anti-walk" direction than you are in the "field" direction to begin with, but done consistently, it really is effective.
If he's responsive to treats when on-lead, then reward the good lead behaviour as appropriate (our staffy isn't bothered by treats in the slightest when on-lead... he's not even bothered about toys that have otherwise created obsessive behaviour - that's how strong his focus is on "field"!)
As I said, this is the method I've used with our staffy. On the anti-walks (which I still have to do occasionally, for example, when's he come back from staying with my mum!), there's still pricked up ears, continual glances up at me, and a bobbing, shortened-gait "must we go this way?" stride, but I don't care. In fact, I'd rather he look up at me! That's the aim of the game!
When I first introduced this new way of getting to the field, I don't mind admitting that it took us over an hour to reach a field that was actually opposite our house, but the entrance to which was down the road a bit. It will give you an idea of the extent of the problem...
But, equally, this method has sorted out the problem a treat.It does sound like your springer has an equally keen issue of this mis-directed focus, so, if you do adopt this approach, your first few 'anti-walks' may well need to be about 5 minutes... long enough, and then some, to dissuade him of the idea that you're going to the field. At the very least, to introduce the idea to him that you control the walk pace, and you decide where you go and when.
Really heartened to see you're dealing with this so seriously, as it were... I know there's quite a few 'owners' out there who would have got shot of the springer at the first sign of trouble like this.
"Where to start now?" - you've already started!! Just address each behavioural change as it comes up in your day-to-day routine.
RE rushing out the door, still... you could perhaps consider an anchor-line to ensure he can't go through the door until you've given a command. So, he sits, waits, you go through the door... then you come back (he's still sitting, waiting
Visitors is a more difficult one to address, as you ideally need "pretend" visitors to cement the behaviour with... but you can certainly lay the foundations of "sit/wait" on the mat while someone comes through the front door (son may be able to help with this one, to help get their bond back?). Then son ignores dog etc. etc... and once dog is calm and greets 'visitor' appropriately, treat and reward.
I'm very aware that I keep writing War and Peace... apologies! Wish I could be succinct like J&J!
Migsy said:
Visitors - we don't get that many (sad people we are!) so it's ultra exciting and a sniff party for him! Cue mega excitement and can't get his attention to sit/stay.
It might be worth practising this particular behaviour with a collar and lead on. It allows you to control where and what he sniffs.So, when the visitors enter the house, he's on his mat. Then, once visitors are settled, you can go and fetch him from his mat, on a lead, and thereby control his behaviour with the visitors. At the first sign of over-excitement (you should find that he's already noticeably calmer anyway), you take him back to his mat, sit/sat (and anchor him with the lead) and you return to the visitors. Go and fetch him again a minute or 2 later, rinse and repeat.
If you can encourage the visitors to 'work him' (arm them with treats), instead of them sitting letting him sniff/do as he pleases, it should keep him sufficiently focussed, ergo reducing "over excited" behaviour.
At any rate, the key to this one is, at the first sign of over-excitement, remove him from the room. If you make him do it of his own volition (following a treat, rather than being dragged by a lead) then so much the better, but you may find starting with the lead (in conjunction with a treat) will help him understand what is expected of him in the first instance.
Good morning and Karyn, thanks so much for your posts - very helpful.
The dogs are doing well and can now see pup is obviously in season. Springer is quite calm around her, maybe the DAP working?
Getting out the door took forever this morning. Been thinking what I can attach his lead to - I tried a stair spindle and he just pulled and broke it in half
Struggling with on-lead walking - the exit from the close is opposite the field. Mind you, took an age to get that far as I used the 'about turn' technique - he just pulled the way we were then facing! I upped the treat stakes to ham, but wasn't enough to keep his focus.
Anyone know an irresistible liver cake recipe? Not going to give up!
Going to buy a mat today too and start using that as the down/stay place. Son onboard with practising being a visitor.
Busy dog day ahead!
The dogs are doing well and can now see pup is obviously in season. Springer is quite calm around her, maybe the DAP working?
Getting out the door took forever this morning. Been thinking what I can attach his lead to - I tried a stair spindle and he just pulled and broke it in half
Struggling with on-lead walking - the exit from the close is opposite the field. Mind you, took an age to get that far as I used the 'about turn' technique - he just pulled the way we were then facing! I upped the treat stakes to ham, but wasn't enough to keep his focus.
Anyone know an irresistible liver cake recipe? Not going to give up!
Going to buy a mat today too and start using that as the down/stay place. Son onboard with practising being a visitor.
Busy dog day ahead!
He's got a better set of teeth than me
They've been checked 3 times in 2 weeks - as part of the health check with booster, he then had a teeth clean with his groom and another check at the vets on Friday. So I think we're safe on that one.
They've been around each other pretty much all day - interestingly she is showing signs of dominance towards him whilst he has been quite laid back (for a springer). I wonder if we're in the midst of a hierarchy change as well.
They've been checked 3 times in 2 weeks - as part of the health check with booster, he then had a teeth clean with his groom and another check at the vets on Friday. So I think we're safe on that one.
They've been around each other pretty much all day - interestingly she is showing signs of dominance towards him whilst he has been quite laid back (for a springer). I wonder if we're in the midst of a hierarchy change as well.
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