dog training advice please??

[babz1986]

Hello All!!

I'm after some advice from you all - I would hire a dog trainer if I could afford but unfortunately it is not within our budget!

Heres a bit of history behind our dogs:

We got Jeff (border collie x) as a rescue dog nearly 3 years ago - no history but is a very well natured dog, used to walk well on the lead, good on walks, always comes back etc. overall we fell lucky!

a year later (this is where the problem starts) we got Henry (border collie x jack russell) as a puppy to keep Jeff company when we went to work (which works well and they get on really well) we've now had him for 2 years. I took him to puppy training classes when he was about 3/4 months old and lasted the whole first class - we learnt the basics of leave, stay, sit, and in the class was very good at walking on the lead (this no matter how many times I took him out and practised at home never worked outside of the hall that the class was in) literally I used to practice constantly with him and he just never got it! we've tried him with a harness and half a choke chain and none work! with the choke chain he pulls and pulls and the 'choking' has no effect on him at all - so this is has always been a problem! the thing is is that when they are both together they both pull!! so they literally bounce off each other.

Henry is also VERY weird and I actually think has some kind of mental illness lol. Everyone that knows him comments on his weirdness!

He has a licking obsession - which is fine (we can cope with this)

one of the problems is (which we are experiencing now) is that every few months for a few days he will be scared of us and everything - we've never been violent towards him, and all his training has been done through positive rewards - its always been like this, not since Ellie came along and i'm not sure why. Example been - last night I was playing with Jeff and Henry was sitting next to me - I tried to include him (as he loves playing) and he just wee'd with fright lol (I know it was fright as he was shaking)

Another thing is he is completely obsessed with his toys - not with us at all but with Jeff - Example, we gave Henry a ball to play with and got a tug a war toy for Jeff, Henry ended up having both of them - and even though he'll leave his toys for us he will not give in for Jeff, he HAS to be the on to play (I know this is jealously and dominating thing, but not sure how to control it)

and the final thing is that at the moment they are just not responding to commands that means they can't do something without been scared and shaking - we are never violent with them, but last night after there walk they we're filthy so we didn't allow them on the sofa (this isn't the first for them) and most of the night they we're scared of us and sat shaking this has never happened before and has never bothered them before when not been allowed on the sofa.

I'm not sure exactly what i'm asking for regards to advice, but i'm not sure what to do regarding there behaviour.

Ellie is 5 months old, and they are really good with her and not bothered by anything that she does so thats not my worry and I know some of the change in behaviour could be due to Ellie's arrival but its only started happening since the new year.

I really need to figure out how to deal with Henry's problems, especially as OH does get annoyed with him - but I do feel that I had tried everything and have always tried to make it positive for him.

Any advice??

 

[midori1999]

Ok...

Easiest thing first, walking on a loose lead. You will need to walk the dogs seperately until they have got the hang of it. Whenever the dog pulls, simply stop walking. Call the dog back to you using a really tasty treat (small bits of chicken, salami, cheese, baked liver etc) and once the lead is loose, walk forward again. If the lead gets tight, stop again immediately, call the dog back to heel and then once the lead is loose walk forward again. Use lots of praise when the dog is in the correct position and you can use a treat to help keep him in position and give him a treat every few steps if the lead is loose. It will be painstaking at first and you will probably be stopping every step or every few steps initially. He will soon get the hang of it though and the result will be permenant. It works because the dog pulls because he wants to get 'there' quicker. By stopping every time he pulls and only walking when the lead is loose he will learnt he quickest way to get wher he wants (or just to walk) is to keep the lead loose at all times. It does take longer with a dog that has already learnt to pull, but you'll notice a change quite quickly. Just use a normal flat collar and lead.

Regarding the toys, I wouldn't worry about it at all. It's not a dominance thing and it's not jealousy either, dogs don't 'do' jealousy, that's just us anthropomorphising them. Some dogs value toys (or bones or attention) more than others. If Henry really wanted the toy he'd either not let Jeff take it or he would get it back. As long as it is not causing fights between them (which it doesn't sound like it is) just let them get on with it.

Re: the nervousness. Is it possible something over New Year has upset them? Fireworks maybe? Could one of them be ill? I think a vet visit would be a good idea and also try a DAP diffuser. (you can get it from the vet) Lots of reward based training will help build their confidence in general too, do several 5 minute sessions with each throughout the day. All the usual commands, plus teach them some 'tricks' for fun.

A really good book to have is 'The Culture Clash' by Jean Donaldson. It explains dog behaviour quite well and although it's not specifically about training it dispells a lot of myths and will help you understand your dogs better so you can deal with minor problems and make training easier.

Hope this helps.

 

[babz1986]

Thanks for the reply!!

With the walking thing - we always used to walk them separately and on his own Henry is really good - but as soon as he sees Jeff everything goes out the window!! Think i'll just keep trying him on his own and probably introduce Jeff in shorter walks to try and get them used to it together?

Also the nervousness has stopped again now lol - this is what I mean its just very random and we've looked for patterns in what might make it happen but there back to been there normal happy selfs! :S

Think i'll just keep monitoring it and see if a pattern does arise!

whats a DAB diffuser?? never heard of one before