The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Dogs => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on December 09, 2012, 09:52:33 am
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Not even 24 hours since we've had Murphy, our SamoyedXterrier and he have a puppy that comes to his new name, goes to the toilet in the same spot in the garden with the encouraging words 'quick murphy', knows 'sit' and 'heel'. Has lovely lead manners and didn't howl all night (just twice about 2am).
He had my old fleece that I wore all day while I collected him and cuddled his mum and siblings whilst wearing, a loudly ticking clock, a kong toy, a non squeaky pheasant teddy and his own little room :)
So far so good. Just off to get some flea treatment as he lived quite free range, came from a smallholding next with a river and woods! oh and his own seatbelt.
Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and reassurance. Have woken up not with a feeling of "what have we done..." but feeling really happy to have company at home with me all day
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Plums, at times you will get really frustrated with him there all day but mostly he will be great company and I am sure on the whole you won't regret having him.
Sounds as if he has excellent manners already :thumbsup:
Sally
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:thumbsup: he does look like a sweetie, enjoy!
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So pleased for you and Murphy :thumbsup: How're Tony and the girls?
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They are good thanks Rosemary - they seem to be really enjoying having a dog about. Scarlett was terrified of even tiny dogs up until Murphy came and now (as you've probably seen from fb) they are inseparable! As for Tony, he insisted on taking the dog shopping earlier and really enjoyed showing him off when people were commenting on what a good boy he (the dog!) is. All good (apart from the cat attacking the dog...fingers crossed!)
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Plums, he's had his injections hasn't he?
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Sounds like a very good little boy already :thumbsup:
Think we need some pics on here ;)
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Yes he has Alistair :)
will sort some pictures out
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Sounds like the perfect puppy :love: ( can I swap you :roflanim: )
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(http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/itsbaaathtime/scarlettandmurphy.jpg)
Here he is with one of his greatest fans, Scarlett aged 5. Look at the size of those paws!
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Oh what a sweetie :love:
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Aww, Scarlett and Murphy are both adorable. :hug:
goes to the toilet in the same spot in the garden with the encouraging words 'quick murphy'
When we got our Toby as a pup we used to send him outside for a pee with the words "Toby, go be quick" (I don't recall how it started) and to this day 12 years later it is still the pee command. Amber, our 10 year old dalmation adoptee of 2 months looks at us as if we are crazy (she could be right) when we say it. We have discovered her pee command is "go wee wee" ::) .
Enjoy your little boy and the delights he will bring over the years. :dog:
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So happy for you, must google what a Samoyd is but he certainly looks lovely :love: :love:
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Looks cute - well both of them do ;D A Sammie is a big white fluffy Arctic dog so I'm guessing the other one may have been a Patterdale. Not sure a Scottie would have the reach! :eyelashes: :innocent:
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Mum was a ginger coloured terrier - not sure which kind, will have to google Patterdales. I'm realising that one of the main downsides (if you can call it that) of a crossbreed would be not knowing what to expect eg how large he will grow, what breed traits he might develop! I read that Sammies are good herding dogs - could be interesting! He's certainly a good sniffer, nose permanently down and tail up...so much to learn and so many questions to ask you all I'm afraid!!
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Have carried out some research - seems mum was a norfolk terrier.
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How's his sleeping?, my latest (albeit only 8 weeks old today) managed to sleep until 5.30 this morning without waking up :excited:
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That's good going for 8 weeks isn't it?
He's not too bad, he wakes about 2am and howls a few minutes but settles again. If he hears noise he howls then gives up! This morning though our youngest was crying and we thought it was the dog so ignored it - feel awful now because when we did realise and went in, we found her really poorly!
He's very clingy to people, likes someone with him all the time - I take it that's quite normal?
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First time since we got her
Clingy behaviour is just wanting not to be solitary, he's probably never been on his own before, he'll get used to it, I try and leave mine on there own for an hour every now and then just so they don't get separation anxiety, I do this gradually with the puppy
I also train them to stay whilst I'm out of sight
Mind they're with me all the time home & work, it's lucky Morris my 3yr old border collie is rock solid and in charge, if I pop out they just look to him for what to do
I've got 3 other dogs so the pup always has company of one sort or another
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Makes sense, especially as we have no other dogs so Murphy is seeing us as his pack. I think during the week when its just he and I, I will pop upstairs every now and then so he's alone for short bursts and work on that then.
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plums, if only all new dog owners set about it the way you are, there'd be a lot less unhappy and unwanted dogs.
Murphy looks gorgeous (so does Scarlett) - but yes, those are huge paws! :D
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I read that Sammies are good herding dogs - could be interesting! He's certainly a good sniffer, nose permanently down and tail up...
Oooooh interesting!
I shall be watching his progress with interest!
Incidentally with most sheepdogs (collie types) when their tails go up their brains fall out their bottoms ;)
However I believe sammies carry their tails over normally so again I will be very interested to see how he comes along.
Regardless as to his working future he is adorable and I want to maul him and squish him :love:
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plums, if only all new dog owners set about it the way you are, there'd be a lot less unhappy and unwanted dogs.
Murphy looks gorgeous (so does Scarlett) - but yes, those are huge paws! :D
Thank you! that means a lot, I appreciate your support.
He is adorable CW! Only thing is, he is sort of permanently attached to me wherever possible ;D I'm having to move him into his own space so that I can cook dinner etc without him lying on my feet. He met new dogs today, that went well. He's been shopping, school run, to collect my eldest from school, to the park and he's been in the car several times. All going well. He doesn't like getting into the car though but happily jumps out at other end.
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:thumbsup: I know what its like to have puppy slippers :innocent: ...I should keep putting him in the car without going out.....then he will get use to it, ours have always been fine but the car can often be assosiated with bad things like a trip to the vet!!!!! I looked them up too....a big fluffy dog then? looks a good mix from what I can see!!!
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Your doing great with him plums :thumbsup:
keep taking him places to meet lots of people and travel regularly to nice places such as school to collect kids. Not to every trip, he also needs to learn short bursts at home alone. This way travelling becomes a normal occurrence.
Try putting a baby gate at the kitchen door ( we have one there permanently ) that way you are busy in the kitchen, pup can watch but not be too attached (and out of danger of spillages or you tripping over him ).
and you can keep an eye on what he is up to ;)
He sounds like he is doing well, perhaps he can have a quiet growl in Obi's ear about behaviour :roflanim:
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MS, I used to do just that, have a baby gate across the kitchen door so I didn't trip up over my (two) puppies :thumbsup:
Babies 'get' object permanence, ie realising you haven't vanished forever when they can't see you, at around 18 months, and you know they've understood it when they will pull a blanket off a toy they've watched you hide underneath it.
Same for a pup I guess, but I don't know at what age. Until they're old enough to get this, they will be unhappy when you're out of sight. Once they get it, you can train them to tolerate it, and that you come back, with the way of 'popping upstairs' or outside for 10 mins at a time :thumbsup:
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I also think a baby gate would be great as pups, just like babies are very quick at picking up stuff you drop that's possibly bad for them.......one of ours had some garlic once, I could only tell by their breath but they should not have garlic either....not good, mind you, a dog trainer says a little bit of garlic in the form of some sausage, is good for keeping ticks away...not tried it as I do not want to take the risk!!
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He has a baby gate separating the kitchen from the utility room as I don't want him causing a trip hazard while I cook but also if I'm working with soap (caustic soda etc!) he's best out of the way! Its worked well, he can see us and the cat sees it as protection for her. He has his crate in the cupboard that used to be a pantry and the run of the utility run. Its working well.
Being brave and letting him off lead to run in our garden (sure he can't get under fence onto that road but always in my mind) so far he comes back and stays near me :fc: I think letting him off the lead for a run at the park is my greatest worry now.
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Make sure you teach the instant sit before letting off in an open space, Plums.(there's no need fro him to run free at this age anyway, only for your benefit thinking he is getting freedom, but it could let him get into trouble) Teach the instant sit at your side and gradually lengthen the distance from you - a policeman hand held up is a good visual aid, and I like mine trained to a whistle.
Also ensure his recall is 100% before he goes free - believe me it pays when you see your beloved dog running towards a road and you can stop him on a whistle!
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My "puppy" is 7 years old and is still always under my feet ...... ironing, cooking, cleaning ..... he's there. I can't move. Hates to be separated from me. Good thing is I think it makes him less likely to roam and keeps him fairly close when he is free running ...... could have advantages!!!!!
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How to get a 100% recall?
"A dog that comes is a good dog."
Never ever ever punish a dog - even by a look or a harsh voice - when he comes to you. Whether you called him or not. (Yes, even if you'd told him to not come to you. The recall is much more important than any other command.) No matter what he did before he came to you or how long you have been calling him. Coming to you has to always, unequivocally, definitely, certainly, 100% be a good thing to do.
I have always had a 100% recall with all my dogs since the first one (he's the one I learned this from ::)), and that's how I do it.
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Thank you :thumbsup:
do you reward each time with a treat or some or none? Murphy reacts well to verbal praise so far.
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At his age I'd treat him, recall is important, the emergency stop needs (as at as I know) treats to train, well I've always used them, don't get hung up on to treat or not to treat, just get the basics, my new pup gets a little treat every time she does what I ask, I'll probably wean her off them when she's 6mnths or so and just use them in training sessions
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Thank you Alistair :) Really sorry about all the daft questions - just want to get it as right as possible. We failed terribly with the dalmatian a few years ago (we had 2 toddlers and I fell pregnant again at the time so it was mainly bad timing/planning/wrong time) so this time I intend to have a happy dog for life :)
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Some trainers won't train without treats, some won't use them at all. Some are more relaxed about it.
The problem with treats is that in the hands of novices it is far too easy to reinforce the wrong behaviour and create problems that weren't there to begin with!
With a dog like Murphy, who seems to be inherently well-mannered and who finds verbal praise very pleasurable, then I wouldn't use food treats for training at all - you don't need to. "Good boy", a pat on the head, a pull of an ear - these will be praise enough. You are only wanting him to (a) find that it's nice to do as he's asked and (b) be sure when he gets it right. So the important thing is that whatever you are using for praise in training, do not do it unless he's earned it. Otherwise it loses its power to convey, "That was right, good dog."
When you find a training class that suits you, be guided by the trainer(s) there - they'll have their own way of doing things and it'll be best to go along with what they do. If they insist on the use of food treats, they'll teach you how - and how not - to use them.
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Sally, agree with you, I only use them at te very early stage for the important things like recall, the other trick is learning the 'no' command or stop it or leave it or combination of them, and that comes from spotting that the pups going to do something it shouldn't just as they're thinking about doing it and then (well I clap and say command) to divert the behaviour, installing this early makes life easier IMO
The other thing plums is make sure that whatever your doing the rest of the family do, if you use come as recall, then everyone should use the same command, we have a list of commands that we gave to the kids when they where younger so there was consistency.
And need I say it, remember if you allow a puppy to jump up on you now, when its little, it'll jump up on you in 3years when it's big, and your visitors, and it'll be harder to stop, the other is if it chews your fingers and toes now and you don't stop it it'll do it when it's bigger, we have a No teeth on flesh policy, the exception I believe is gun dogs when you teaching soft mouths but I havNt got gun dogs (mores the pity - always, wanted an English pointer) so will defer to others
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Oh, and importantly, play with his feet and ears and face and anywhere you'll want to get access to later to comb out knots, cut nail etc, get him used to it NOW, do it lots, otherwise you'll end up taking him to the vets to get his nails cut!
It's the second biggest Bain of my life, when people bring dogs to me for grooming and They won't let me near them, not that that stops me, I have my methods, generally involving short periods of meditation (me that is not the dog)
(The worst ones are the excitable over friendly types believe it or not)
I offer free puppy grooming one night a week, usually get about 3or4 in, they just get used to being on a table, nails trimmed and brushed and bathed once a month - out of the 3or 4 I get 2 customers with well behaved dogs, they also get a bit of socialisation in the process
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When we took Archie for puppy training the trainer said that some dogs prefer edible treats whereas others will work just as well if a toy is the treat.
Most puppies in the class were happy to have a toy but not Archie. It was food or nothing. Nearly 12 months on and nothing much has changed. We take a slice of bread with us when we are out. Mind you he only gets the smallest piece at a time. Hardly worth the effort.
As Murphy already has good manners perhaps the toy will work for him.
Sally
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When you feed pup, you could let him see you put his bowl down and call "COME, COME COME" (I also pat my legs, excitedly). When pup is naturally coming towards you again call "COME, COME, COME". Run away from him again shouting the command and when he catches you, give him a big fuss. Look for natural/play opportunities to reinforce the come command while pup is still very young and before/ alongside more formal training. You can give treats but don't have to ..... gundogs, in my experience, are rarely given treats as it may encourage them to spit out the dummy/bird in anticipation of a food treat.
Try not to be in a situation where you are giving the come command knowing that it may well be ignored due to some "temptation" eg. another dog, chasing something. Pick your times for letting pup free play ... no distractions. You could allow just a few minutes of free play and then back on lead before anything distracts pup. If you can see pup getting too interested and about to chase etc. you can try clapping hands , calling happily and run in the other direction ...... it can break their chain of thought and focus attention back on you. As others have said never scold once pup returns ..... it can be really tempting .... believe me I know. ::)
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Cute picture hijack - sorry, my border collies morris&julie
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Oh no !!!! ..... wish you hadn't posted that. :love: Been trying to convince myself for a week that a collie pup won't fit in here. Looked after my neighbours collies last week and the runt of his latest litter is just soooo cute, friendly and lively ..... pulled on my heart strings. So temped to ask if I could buy her, though I know he won't normally sell to pet homes and that is more or less what she would be. I am used to lively, head strong retrievers but know little of collies, except that maybe I would have problems as I have a cat, house rabbit, free range hens, 2 children ..... the list goes on ::) . Please tell me to resist.
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always wanted a border collie! that picture is just gorgeous :love:
only problem I'm having with recall is Murphy has discovered his nose and how lovely everything smells, he's hard to distract from a nice niff in the garden ::)
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:love: I'll stop these pictures now, sorry for the hijack, plums I've pm'd that stuff
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Oh stop it!!!!!! ;D
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Personal opinion coming...
As a generalisation, Goldies make great pets and working collies make lousy pets. There are of course pet collies who love their lives and are well-behaved and nice to have around, and there are Goldies who are the opposite. But in general, working collies do not adapt readily to being pets - it can be done, but it's a lot of work and they will always be 'high maintenance'. As a shepherd who works with collies doing what they are born to do, I have to say I am always sad to see a collie in a pet home. Even if they get to do obedience, flyball, agility, etc, once you've seen them use their brains and their physical prowess to manage sheep, anything else is a poor second best.
If you are determined to get a collie for a pet, there are always one or two around that won't or can't work sheep - those are suitable for pet homes, of course, although they will still need all same the stimulation and pseudo-work. Trouble is, you can't tell reliably whether a collie will work sheep until it's past 6 months old - so you wouldn't get such a one as a young pup.
I'll take refuge behind the virtual sofa now, while you all tell me about your devoted, happy, well-adjusted collie pets from working parents! :D
:sofa:
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Sally, Morris is from Working stock an wont work sheep, I've tried, I really have, thats why I got him in the first place (in my days as a shearer)
Julie is hopefully going to be a trials dog, her mum is isds registered, dd isn't but still working.
Mind Morris is very well adjusted obedience dog, I just hope Julie can work sheep so I've got a long wait and she's being kept away from sheep until he's 6 months, if she's any interest ill start her at 8 months
Agreed about Woking dogs and sheep I've handled a few working dogs with sheep and they amazing
I always look at it that ou won't go out and buy a Ferrari for our first car, ou wouldn't be able to control it and it'd go wrong very quickly, don't g&t a bc unless yo know way to expect
It's also sad how any bc end up in rescue centres because people don understand what they need
You can come out from behind h sofa as far as I'm concerned
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Apologies - from the look of my last post I have lost the ability to type and communicate in english
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On recall, try to only call him when you have a good chance of him returning to you. If he's sniffing around and focused elsewhere chances are he'll just ignore you and ideally you want a prompt response. They can then switch off to your voice and learn to ignore you. Hope that helps, good luck.
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:'( Knew it really SITN and Alistair, but thanks for spelling it out. Just a wee bit smitten. Have a high maintenance Flat Coated Retriever so do know what you mean and though I love them they wouldn't be the breed that I would recommend as family pets necessarily. Did gundog work and a bit of agility with my lad in order to help make him manageable and obedient enough to override his general "enthusiasm". Know collies are different and hard work in a different way as I look after my neighbours 20 collies occasionally ...... heart ruling head for a minute there ::) ...... thanks ...... sanity restored. Shall drool over Murphy, Morris and Julie.
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As the owner of 2 collies, one who is scared of sheep (got her from a top welsh shepherd too!lol) and a 'finally getting round to training him' working dog who sleeps on the bed....
I have worked in 3 top boarding kennels and worked with hundreds of BC's
I have to say I agree with you Sally.
What I HATE HATE HATE is the trend for selling 'working collies' who's only work is agility.
Agility, flyball, canicross etc etc etc are all wonderful HOBBIES for a BC. But they are not and never will be work.
They are designed to run the hills thinking on their paws for mile after mile, hour after hour. Anything less is not work, just a mild distraction.
ITH if you think this is more than puppy love, you could have a collie and train it to sheep. If collies are a yearning you have, investigate further.
I am not encouraging you to choose on a whim, but many people don'tactually realise that they are perfectly capable of learning with their dog.
I have yet to meet a true sheepdog enthusiast who didn't end up trying their dog on stock. Ask the pups owner if he would help you train the wee one if you were to have it. I never remember who has what but do you have sheep?
I never had sheep til I had a border collie! Now I have 2 addictions ;D
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Well, I suppose mine are barely-working collies. But Skye does on occasion and the rest of the time the pair of them organise the ducks, hens and geese. They've come to an agreement with the goats - they leave them alone or Ellie headbutts them ;)
Plus they do always have sheep to watch and obsess about, even if they've not always allowed to tidy them up.
This is what Skye does if he gets out - gathers all the sheep into one corner, and then sits and admires the much more organised situation. I can tell he wonders why I allow sheep to be scattered all over the place when they could so easily be kept tidy :D
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Recall:
Don't do it when they're distracted and you're likely to fail.
Insist a couple of times but if you're getting nowhere, don't keep going on - you're just training then to ignore you then.
Increase the distance very slowly - a foot away to begin with :D
Do that whole, mad 'what a clever pup, what a good boy' squeaky-exited-voice stuff with your arms wide open and a lot of fuss when he comes. This then becomes a useful signal, so you can get a long recall, beyond the distance you could shout, by opening your arms wide while he's looking at you (whistle attracts the attention). Useful and it's cute ;)
When one of my half-grown 'bone-headed, nose trumps everything' lab pups seemed to forget about anything to do with a distance recall, I was taught to put her on a long length of washing line and firstly give her a gentle tug in my direction to remind her what she was supposed to be doing and then if no response, to 'reel her in', all the while making the sort of high-pitched, encouraging fuss as though she were the most amazing obedient pup and had chosen to do it herself. It worked and we got it sorted.
I add this last because Murphy seems to be becoming a 'nose' dog?
With a border collie of course, you just go 'uh hem' which instantly makes them remember their manners ;)
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With a border collie of course, you just go 'uh hem' which instantly makes them remember their manners ;)
;D that's what I love about them
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i think we will be buying some washing line! he really is a nose dog. Would love a dog that responds to uh hem!
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Plums, have you tried a really high squeaky "yippee" type noise, clapping hands and when he looks up, running away until you are out of sight. Okay, you look pretty stupid but it can often get their attention .... you have to be over the top dramatic just like when talking to a toddler.
When he is a bit older and can do stay, you can sit him in a narrow corridor/pathway (choose a spot where all he can do is come to you) and walk away backwards, holding up your hand. After a couple of seconds, do your joyous ::) recall. Increase distance and time before calling very slowly. Don't always recall but sometimes leave pup sitting and return and praise. Also walk backwards from pup sometimes just calling come, come,come for the length of the corridor with pup chasing you.
Perfect the recall in several different places at home before attempting anywhere else. Short lessons .... several times each day. When out and pup is free playing, recall but don't put back on the lead everytime. Pup soon associates "come" with the end of his free time. Recall, fuss/give treat if that is what he is keen on and then give command to "play" and let him go again. If you teach the word "play" your dog eventually won't just run off when let off the lead or car door opened but wait for your command ..... could be heel, stay, play etc.
It will come but sometimes it feels like it never will and sometimes they seem to have it but then "forget" ::) ask me how I know that one.
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Interesting CW and Jaykay. Yes, do have quite an interest in Collies. My friendly farmer ;D , who helps me with my sheep trains collies and sells them ..... his passion. He competes nationally .... well respected I believe and I love to watch them work and hearing about the process of training. Having trained gundogs I like the connection that training gives you to your dog and seeing the dog working. Have issues with shooting so only train now with dummies so can't take it too far but collies........ . But then my Soay may not take kindly or would they???? I would have a good teacher. Not sure if the collie could learn to be a "housedog" though and don't want at the moment to kennel. My dog goes everywhere with me .... holiday, school, shops ..... he is a handful but training means he can contain himself just about ::) ..... could a collie do that?
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Oh yes, Skye would come everywhere with me given half a chance, and would be fine, and all my dogs live indoors.
If you get one, make sure you know the temperament of the parents. My two came from very friendly parents and are absolutely fine, love kids and people generally. Some collies of course are more nervous and snappy than this, so it does matter what sort of collie you get.
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Yes, ith, a collie could do all that. If you've a neighbour trains 'em and would let you work your dog on his sheep, plus the occasional light work on your own Soays, then I wouldn't have qualms about you having a collie.
Some working farm dogs are house dogs. They do focus on their work better if they're not - but unless you have 00s or 000s of sheep, or want to compete at a high level, you don't really need that level of focus. And unless they'll be working outside for hours upon hours in all weathers, being a bit 'soft' from living indoors won't hurt.
And yes, you can work primitives with a dog. It takes a very calm steady unpressured approach, so I'd recommend training your collie on your neighbour's sheep and only start to work the Soays once s/he's good and settled.
I drove the Castlemilk Moorit wethers with the dogs, but you have to keep the dogs way back and very calm. I spent many weeks just getting the sheep used to there being dogs in the field with them, then more weeks getting the dogs closer and lying down nearer to the sheep as they ate. So by the time I needed to drive the sheep, they were used to the dogs and weren't scared of them - aware and a little apprehensive, so they'd move away from the dogs, but not running, boinging, jumping all the dykes scared!
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plums, I had a nose dog, a big black bitzer, great long legs and only enough brain to work the nose, really :D
But her recall was 100%. They just have to believe that anything you might want is so brilliant, it's worth lifting their head to see. And then the actual recall has to be automatic - like jaykay, I use the raised arms to signal any dog that can see me to come to me. And yes, it's very cute. :)
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Collies and snapping is a tough one.
The snap near the face or heels of a sheep is a tool of the trade for a working collie. So it's an instinctual behaviour. One from a good longstanding farm working strain will have the behaviour inbuilt.
For that reason amongst others I would not recommend a working collie as a house pet in a house with young children, or to live in any lifestyle where it will come into contact with young children.
Taking the snap and making it a bite, however, is trainable. Most working shepherds need the collie to be prepared to take a grip when commanded to do so - and not otherwise. Sometimes a bolshy sheep does just need an actual demonstration of why s/he is doing what the collie dog tells her/him. In competition, the dog just has to know it could, and the sheep has to see that in its eyes - but if the dog does grip then it's instant disqualification.
Dot has a, "Go on - make my day" stare which usually does the trick! :D
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For that reason amongst others I would not recommend a working collie as a house pet in a house with young children, or to live in any lifestyle where it will come into contact with young children.
And yet my family has 6 collies currently, all of whom are house pets with kids about, and all are working stock and four of them are partly-working dogs. 5 of these are from the same breeding.
I accept that snapping and possibly biting are part of a collie's work - but my premise is that with the right temperament, the dogs are no more risk to youngsters than most others. In the same way as we has a Police dog who was a scary business when he was at work, but when off-duty was fine with people, as fine as most big dogs would be.
Personally I think gundogs make great family pets but I have to say our collies are good with people, including kids.
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This is the side that worries me more than anything and that puts me off if anything. My children are 11 and 14 and grown up with big excitable dogs around them but dogs that I through careful observation trusted .... and I do understand that no dog can be fully trusted. I think they are old enough to understand how collies "tick" but worry whether this side to them would make them difficult for me to take everywhere with me. Though I have to watch my FC carefully around people not used to dogs/ children because of his over-friendly nature and boisterous personality ??? . Some gundogs make good pets but it's like all breeds and varies. My father has 2 labs at the minute that are nervous dogs and the actions of young children spook them ..... if I even wear a hat they are unsure if it's me!!!!
Pup's mum is very friendly, fussy and gentle. Jumps up and seeks attention. Not sure about dad. To me, she seems more balanced than some collies. I won't rush in. Will find out more because couldn't risk making a mistake.
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jaykay, I am sure you know that you and your family are extraordinary animal people. I expect you could have a pet crocodile and it would be a pussycat! :D
So I stick by my generalisation as a generalisation.
And, in the hills, bless you for wanting to take a great deal of care over this decision. :-*
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jaykay, I am sure you know that you and your family are extraordinary animal people. I expect you could have a pet crocodile and it would be a pussycat
Well that might be so :D Plus the dogs really are a good temperament :thumbsup:
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Dogs are utilised for their traits as we all know, so thats the starting point, get the wrong dog and you can find it much harder to adapt or train ......I need a working dog that can wash up and hoover :innocent: although I suppose I have, they will clean pots if I let them and they do try to put washing away, usually in their beds and as for the hoover well my husband is surgically attached to our Dyson , besides that point, some dogs are much harder to train and as for recall, males have male selective hearing.....or am I too cynical?
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Pup's mum is very friendly, fussy and gentle. Jumps up and seeks attention
That sounds good :thumbsup:
Lol Sandy, yes if only I could train the dogs to go out and collect firewood instead of removing it from the log basket and chewing it to bits all over the floor.....etc etc Mine are pretty good at pot-washing too :D
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Just enjoyed 4 perfect recalls with 'distractions'. Either he was sniffing (fox trails) or 'talking' to the goats or rolling in the frost but each time straight back for a treat and lots of happy noises and hugs from me.
Now to stop him pulling on the lead quite so hard!
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:excited: Well done, Plums.
He's only a babe, in my opinion, go slowly with your training ..... plenty of time. I would just make heel work fun for a bit ...... I walk very slowly, very quickly, round in a circle and backwards ...... he will wonder what on earth you're doing, eyes on you and he'll be interested. Pat your leg and give command.
Did you say he was only 10 weeks? Couple of minutes heel work on his lead several times each day in the house will do, then garden and then elsewhere.
In my opinion don't rush him, can do more harm than good, he has to be a baby first.
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He's 16 weeks :)
we just have a few minutes a day, rest is playtime which is good for the children too!
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Top tip for heelwork is never go forward if the dog is pulling. Yes use all the whiles as people are suggesting to make it fun and make him come with you, but whenever there is a forward pull on the lead, you stop moving forwards. Do not proceed forwards until the lead is slack. He'll get it pretty quickly, especially if you help him by making it very exciting to come back to you and set off in a different direction .... ;)
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Well done Plums and Murphy :thumbsup:
Do not proceed forwards until the lead is slack
that's exactly it :thumbsup:
And don't 'tug' him back on lead.
Except if you ever do, make it count - roar 'no' and pull him so hard you pull him off his feet. Sounds awful but my ex, the Police-dog trainer, used to say that all people generally did was train dogs to tolerate harder and harder tugs, til you had to do it over and over again really hard. So that actually it was kinder to do it right, once or twice.
But far better, with plenty of time and patience, is to do as SITN says.
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have found that chatting to him as we walk keeps him looking at me and he doesn't pull ;D
The more I look at him, the more he looks like a collie X terrier. The lady I bought him from took the mum (norfolk terrier ) in and it was assumed that her samoyed fathered the pups but as the mum would have been straying on farm land I personally think there could be a chance his dad was someone else!
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Never let him pull, he is young and is going to try it on, purse your techniques and never give in to him pulling you where he wants, yes, change directions constantly, if he pulls stop give him a quick tug tug on the lead, say no or his name then when he comes back then start again, works well to change direction so then they do not predict where they are going.......chatting is good, I tell the dogs where I am going, either things like right or left or stopping here, they learn very very quickly!!
Oh and ours empty the logs basket, they think they are helping, would be great for kindling makers!!!!
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I always use a loose lead looped in my hand, as soon as the dog pulls on this I drop the loop and quick turn and walk in the opposite direction, it works. You look daft, but it works.
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have found that chatting to him as we walk keeps him looking at me and he doesn't pull
that's good.
He sounds as smart as a BC to me - I reckon his dad was a naughty farm collie, from his intelligence and his looks ;)
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have found that chatting to him as we walk keeps him looking at me and he doesn't pull
that's good.
He sounds as smart as a BC to me - I reckon his dad was a naughty farm collie, from his intelligence and his looks ;)
I'm glad its not just me that thinks that's possible Jaykay! Even little things like he'll sit and wait to be told to eat his dinner after I've put it in his bowl, the eye contact he makes, his interest in the sheep...is it wishful thinking on my part?! ;D
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You need to build value for doing what you want- make it so much fun to walk next to you and so boring not to, that walking next to you is all he will want to do!
no point saying no or punishing, if they don't know what they should be doing- so treat every step he walks next to you until it becomes automatic- then every few steps etc.
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Plums, buy a dog brick, they're a real challenge to a pup, google it, mines a nina otterson one
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Googled it - looks brilliant!!