Help - I rescued a Patterdale!!

[Moobli]

North

I am just wondering if there are any working homes local to you that might be interested in him and you could vet them to see they are good enough?

If you want to keep him then you have had some excellent advice on how to channel his instincts and on how to deal with his fiesty nature so I wish you luck and hope he turns into the manageable, happy dog you hope for.

 

[Pattie]

I am just wondering if there are any working homes local to you that might be interested in him and you could vet them to see they are good enough?

If you want to keep him then you have had some excellent advice on how to channel his instincts and on how to deal with his fiesty nature so I wish you luck and hope he turns into the manageable, happy dog you hope for.

I can't explain how I feel, we took a dog on for life, you hear of people adopting a dog then taking it back for this or that, not very good reasons. I don't want to just give up on a dog, but he is extreme. We had a dog for nearly 12 years which we had found think and wan on the road and loved her until she died last year at the grand old age of 15 ish. If I thought our dog would get a good home, I would drive him somewhere.

 

[AmyMay]

If I thought our dog would get a good home, I would drive him somewhere.

Unfortunately you can't do that without the agreement of the rescue.

 

[Dusty M Yeti]

Some excellent advice on here already so I won't add much, but I have to say I agree with Alec - patterdales (in general) need masters not friends! I have a pattie x jrt who I got at 2yo from a friend whose circumstances changed, both parents were 'workers', she is also very driven. Luckily she had been well bought up with strict boundaries enforced, I had to learn quickly that I needed to step up and be master, she is a wonderful little dog but having had greys and lurchers before who I could shower with love, she is a whole different ball game.

Some of the info on this site is bluntly put but you may find it useful : http://www.patterdaleterrierrescue.co.uk/

 

[Pattie]

Unfortunately you can't do that without the agreement of the rescue.

I'm in communication and they would be happy for me to do this. They would also take him back.

 

[Clodagh]

Most working homes are, tbh, not that cuddly. Would I ever give a dog to a working (digging) home? No. Our dogs had a good life, if totally different to our pet dogs, but a lot are not well treated, IMO. I would take him back to the rescue or keep him and deal I think, rather than trying to find somewhere yourself.

 

[Pattie]

Most working homes are, tbh, not that cuddly. Would I ever give a dog to a working (digging) home? No. Our dogs had a good life, if totally different to our pet dogs, but a lot are not well treated, IMO. I would take him back to the rescue or keep him and deal I think, rather than trying to find somewhere yourself.

The rescue centre said they would keep our dog in mind for a Patterdale savvy owner. I am worried that he won't get a good life in one way as a worker dog. I am so torn. We just carry on as though we are keeping him, training him, taking on board what others have said etc. Hoping that he will turn his behaviour around. He has only been with us for a short time. We went out this afternoon and he was so pleased to seem me when I cam e home and he always greets the OH like a long lost friend when he comes home from work. He has done from day 1.

 

[tda]

Do you know anyone who shoots? The terrier men that drive round after our hunt always have a variety of dogs, no they don't get cuddles, but they do work, ratting etc

 

[Pattie]

Do you know anyone who shoots? The terrier men that drive round after our hunt always have a variety of dogs, no they don't get cuddles, but they do work, ratting etc

I am in a semi rural community so there are possible options available.

 

[Pattie]

Bad news and good news. Bad news, OH accidentally let go of the dog when running with him, dog was fixated by some bloke and ran towards him. Then he ran back up the river bank and started off in the direction that they'd been running. OH just stopped and called him. Dog stopped looked round and ran back to him! What's going on?

 

[Alec Swan]

It seems to me Pattie that you have an enquiring mind, you're open to reason and that you don't want to simply send the dog back, from whence he came. I'm with you. I wonder if this may help you reach a decision;

Mostly, dogs fit into pigeon holes, some are simple and straight forward, and some aren't. So that's split the groupings in to two. The easily dealt with can be syphoned off either by their inherent and easy going nature, or the rational behind their breeding, though we often get throwbacks. We need to concentrate on the difficult dogs, those which were either born with a mindset or were 'made' that way by mismanagement, and I suspect that your young man possibly bit his mother on the way out!

It may well be the case that you will never feel free enough to allow your dog liberties …. no getting up on the furniture, no toys and no 'games'. he needs to learn his place within your family. By ignoring this point you will be sending him the dreaded 'mixed messages' and that will achieve no more than confusion. That isn't to mean that life needs to be regimented, far from it, it means that you may need to concentrate on not what he needs so much, as what he doesn't need.

Training aids? Your voice and that alone. If you prevent your dog from expressing himself with a halti then that's all that you'll achieve. 'Preventing' a dog from doing what we don't wish for is achievable in two ways; firstly by physical restraint and secondly by the regime which we apply to his everyday existence. When he's out for a walk, then a simple lead is all that's needed and if you can accept that you have a manic and whirling dervish on your hands, then probably a lead with three of four swivels so the lead doesn't end up as a knot as he spins about! Dogs hate haltis and so does every trainer who I know and would respect.

Before we attempt heal walking in an acceptable manner, we need to get the in-hand work in place first, and that starts in the home, then it progresses to the garden and then beyond. Attempting any form of obedience work whilst he's distracted by other dogs which he swears he wants to kill will only serve to teach him that you can be ignored.

It will take time, months perhaps, but once you've achieved an acceptable level of dominance NOT by force but by management, you may well have a dog which brings you pleasure. All of the above should be ignored if you honestly believe that you have anything but a fruitcake on your hands!

I still believe that you can achieve a marked improvement, though only with consistency and by attempting to understand HIS thought processes.

Alec.

 

[Alec Swan]

Bad news and good news. Bad news, OH accidentally let go of the dog when running with him, dog was fixated by some bloke and ran towards him. Then he ran back up the river bank and started off in the direction that they'd been running. OH just stopped and called him. Dog stopped looked round and ran back to him! What's going on?

What's going on? Leave the training to your OH!

Alec.

 

[Pattie]

What's going on? Leave the training to your OH!

Alec.

I'm with the dog all day and I've been teaching him to come whilst on his extendable lead. He just used the command I'd taught him, so I will take some credit, but it's fantastic that he came back, it could have been a terrible Friday. When he got out before he'd onl known us 3 days so maybe a bonding is occurring!
That said, it might have been a different story had he seen a dog or been on the scent of something. Grateful baby steps.

 

[Alec Swan]

I'm with the dog all day and I've been teaching him to come whilst on his extendable lead. …….. .

How about teaching him to come to you, not with an extendable lead or treats, but because he wants to?

And how do we achieve that?

Alec.

 

[Pattie]

How about teaching him to come to you, not with an extendable lead or treats, but because he wants to?

And how do we achieve that?

Alec.

Can't really trust him off lead. We are in the process of sorting our fenced off land so that he can't get underneath, then I can let him off lead and do some training with him.

 

[Alec Swan]

Where, off lead? In the house?

Alec.

 

[Pattie]

Where, off lead? In the house?

Alec.

I can get him to do anything in the house...

 

[Alec Swan]

I can get him to do anything in the house...

OK so the next step is the garden. You probably have many months before you when you can trust him and even then, outside of his everyday environ he will be a bit of a challenge.

He came back to your OH when called …. what does that tell you?

Alec.

 

[Pattie]

OK so the next step is the garden. You probably have many months before you can trust him and even then, outside of his everyday environ he will be a bit of a challenge.

He came back to your OH when called …. what does that tell you?

Alec.

I trained him good! seriously we are both so pleased that he came back. The garden is tough because of the distractions, I've tried and he is the same as on walks, I just keep going with it.

 

[Moobli]

Great posts from Alec. I hope you manage to find a way to make the relationship work for both of you.

 

[Pattie]

I managed to get him to stay for 6 steps a record, maybe he could have done more.Baby steps though, want him to succeed as much as possible.

 

[Pattie]

Great posts from Alec. I hope you manage to find a way to make the relationship work for both of you.

I hope so, as much as it's hard for us, me in particular as I'm with him all day doing most of his training, but I want the dog to have a good future too.

 

[splashgirl45]

dont have any advice but wanted to say i am impressed that you are trying with this dog and not sending him back to the rescue..hopefully you can find a way to manage him that works for all of you , so lots of good luck and fingers crossed you turn the corner..

 

[Karran]

No real advice but you sound like you're really making an effort and I admire that!

We have two recently retired patterdales in our flyball team. I really would consider something like that or agility or canicross to give him something to focus on and feel like he is 'working

A good team will be able to help work with Chase issues should you be worried he will chase the other dogs- they'll have seen it all before don't worry!!

 

[Pattie]

No real advice but you sound like you're really making an effort and I admire that!

We have two recently retired patterdales in our flyball team. I really would consider something like that or agility or canicross to give him something to focus on and feel like he is 'working

A good team will be able to help work with Chase issues should you be worried he will chase the other dogs- they'll have seen it all before don't worry!!

Thanks for your comments. What exactly is flyball? I've looked it up and still don't know what it entails.

 

[Pattie]

dont have any advice but wanted to say i am impressed that you are trying with this dog and not sending him back to the rescue..hopefully you can find a way to manage him that works for all of you , so lots of good luck and fingers crossed you turn the corner..

Thanks for your post. It's a big responsibility adopting a dog, I don't want to send him back unless it is impossible. I must admit, we both feel a bit of encouragement after he turned and came back yesterday and he was good on his afternoon walk. Fingers crossed.

 

[melbiswas]

I can empathise with a lot of what you have been going through Pattie.

We adopted a GSP in January who had been a stray (probably failed hunting dog) in Cyprus. It became clear immediately that he had an immense prey drive and zero recall.
We walked him in a harness on a long line, but this felt like it was incredibly frustrating for him as well as painful for me. Recall training was so, so slow, and for a long, depressing time I was convinced walks would be on the long line forever.
It has taken 9 months but we can finally have off-lead walks in areas where he is unlikely to get totally distracted by scents. We are still at risk of losing him in local woods as we have lots of deer. Most of the time his recall is great.
He is a very sweet, loving and devoted dog indoors and this has kept us going.

You have put a lot of effort in. I hope it is early days and your hard work pays off in time.

 

[ponyparty]

Well done for persevering! Terriers - particularly those of working lines - can be difficult dogs, but so rewarding. They are so intelligent! Mine outsmarts me on a regular basis.... I always said, after a relative had a terrier when I was a child, that I would never have one haha.... Never say never!
I have been toying with buying this book: "Terrier-centric Dog Training: From Tenacious to Tremendous" by Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell.
Looks interesting from the sneak preview on Amazon and you may find it useful...

ETA: eugh, didn't realise it was American. Might not be as good as I thought. Perhaps worth a punt though?!

 

[gallopingby]

Have you looked on www.patterdaleterrierrescue.co.uk they may be able to help you. I volunteer for a gundog rescue and we are able to provide support/links if required for the breeds we help. I do think its unfair that the rescue your dog came from weren't more thorough in their assessment of the dog and home it was going to. I certainly wouldn't be returning to the centre responsible for rehoming but a specialist breed rescue may be able to help, it seems you are making progress but there will be good and bad days.

 

[Pattie]

I can empathise with a lot of what you have been going through Pattie.

We adopted a GSP in January who had been a stray (probably failed hunting dog) in Cyprus. It became clear immediately that he had an immense prey drive and zero recall.
We walked him in a harness on a long line, but this felt like it was incredibly frustrating for him as well as painful for me. Recall training was so, so slow, and for a long, depressing time I was convinced walks would be on the long line forever.
It has taken 9 months but we can finally have off-lead walks in areas where he is unlikely to get totally distracted by scents. We are still at risk of losing him in local woods as we have lots of deer. Most of the time his recall is great.
He is a very sweet, loving and devoted dog indoors and this has kept us going.

You have put a lot of effort in. I hope it is early days and your hard work pays off in time.

Thanks for your post, it does encourage me! I suppose the biggest worry is that when he got out, he went straight down a fox hole and was beaten up a bit in terms of scratches, cuts and blood. This kind of dog is beyond my scope. He is lovely in the house - most of the time -and he is making progress. He seems to be bonding with us a bit which would make it harder to re-home him now. I don't think, at this moment in time, that I would ever voluntarily let him off his lead. I'm so pleased that everything is working out with you and your dog.