I feel like a crap owner :(

A

AJ & Kiz

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Hi Everyone

Firstly a bit of background.. me and my other half got our first house, I am an animal lover and he is dog obsessed so asked if he could have a dog, I knew how much of a commitment this would be but I have a horse and hes ok with that so he got a dog, unfortunately I have never owned a dog but I thought if i can retrain a 16hh cb then a dog should be ok, stupidly we got a 5 month old pup but I feel I have done everything correctly (please tell me if im wrong) firstly he hadnt had any jabs and had never been on a walk so first thing I did was get him to the vets for jab and check up, got him micro chipped and took him out for decent walks. He has no recall (or sorry when he can be bothered), chews everything (we tried crating him and he chewed some of the metal bars off!! I got scared incase he hurt himself) and this weekend my other half took him to his grandparents and he ran off on to a busy road!!! I am so scared that hes going to end up dead :(...ive enroled him on training classes tuesday nights and we have taught him sit, lay, paw and wait when i take him for a walk I make him wait at the door until i want him to go and hes very good with this yet if I told him to wait if he was off the lead I might as well be talking to myself :( he isnt food orientated but loves his ball, problem is if he is given a ball he legs it with that ball and if i try to give him another hes not bothered just wants the one hes got :( well donefor getting to the end :) x
 
You've done the right thing finding a training class to help - for now, keep him on the lead, or use a lunge line so he can't run away and get into trouble. Every time he runs off, that behaviour gets a little further ingrained so at the moment your priority is to prevent him from doing it - so on lead or lunge line at the moment. You need to give him every chance to get it right, because when he gets it right you can then praise and reward him and that will show him what the right thing actually is.

He is only a puppy, he will chew things - give him things he's allowed to chew on such as stag bars, or put his food into a Kong and freeze it before giving it to him. Freezing it means it will last longer and therefore keep him occupied, and if he has sore gums, it will help to soothe them.

Also, PM Cayla for a puppy guide.:)
 
What spudlet said! Where did you get him from - the person who bred him, a private ad or a rescue? Just wondering what his history is. Pups will chew things and especially so those that are stressed (say if he's been in a rescue - although I assume that wasn't the case if he wasn't vaccinated?)

I would definitely put him on the lead and do not let him off - if he's never been walked then no wonder he wants freedom but he can't have it until you can trust him. What breed is he?

We got a lab from a rescue - she had been shut in a shed and not given much exercise at all so was absolutely mental. I think she actually had severe psychological issues now when i think back. My parents should never had let her off the lead as early as they did to be honest. She would be ok and then she just would go (she just wanted to run). Her problem is she couldn't ever find her way back and we lost her numerous times - she'd turn up at people's houses and we'd get that "have you lost your dog?" phonecall.

It was horrid and ultimately after 5 years, this behaviour is sadly how her life ended as she randomly took off one night when she was down the stables and she was hit by a car :(

If I had to do it all over again that dog would not have been let off the lead for months and until a decent recall was established. I would not want to go through the worry again.

Definitely take him to training - the trick is really to make yourself the most exciting place to be (no matter what sort of screeching/whooping idiot you may look like sometimes doing it! :) )
 
When we were training our dog we were told we should play hide and seek with them - its so much fun! You can play it inside your house by telling him to wait, hiding with his toy and then calling him. You can then transfer this to when you are out on walks. I think the reason behind this is that wherever you walk your dog should constantly be checking to see where you are (as you are the leader). So he can have a sniff around, etc. but its his responsibility not to get left behind :) hope this helps!
 
A variation to hide and seek is me and my boyfriend do a game "Where's Martin" or "where's Liz". My spaniel loves this. It mean that he can go to you or your partner as a game. The police use balls for training so ball orientated dog may be a good thing.
 
Keep him on a long line.

When using two balls, while he has one ball, make the other one really active and fun (balls on ropes are good for this) so he is interested in it and comes back for it. Start this in the house. Make sure both balls are identical so one isn't higher value (squeezier, squeakier etc)
NO free access to balls, don't let him sit in the living room and chew a ball. Make it a really high value item you produce and play with him every so often, so he really, really wants it.
He is ball orientated - manipulate that, plenty of dogs are not!

He will be food orientated if you make him hungry and feed his dinner on a walk out of your pockets (obviously dry food works better for this :p)

You sound stressed. If you're stressed, he'll be stressed and less likely to want to come back with you. Dogs don't like stress and it's likely he is not coming back because you have unwittingly made it a conflict situation (no reflection on you, we've all done it) by chasing, raising voice, getting stressed, putting lead on and taking him home.
 
Oh and another thing - did you say he was a Plummer terrier on another thread? They're working bred dogs with quite a lot of drive, they're not sofa-surfing pet dogs - he really would benefit from work of some form or other - even if you don't fancy hunting with him, something like agility or even running him off a bike when he is over a year old.

There was a user called Tweedette on here who was quite knowledgeable about the breed but I think she 'took herself off', as they say around here, you never know she might still lurk if you want to send her a PM.
 
Thanks so much everyone for taking your time to reply :)

Spudlet-hes off to his first training class tonight, I feel he may get expelled lol but we will see how it goes :), I dug the lunge line out a while ago but never used it with him as he used to tangle himself up even with it short :( I will keep trying :), he has a kong, marow bone and raw hide to chew oh and also a blastic bone thing but still prefers the doors if we leave him :(.

ladyt25- he is sort of a rescue came from someone not far from us that could no longer keep him and i fell in love lol, we have had him from being 5months, he's now 1 year

grees008 + lizness- we have tried this with him and he loves it :( we bob down in fields of corn and off he goes :)

CaveCanem- this is what i do, i dance around like and idiot bouncing the other ball ....he does look over but only wants the one he has :(. Im not stressed I just dont want to get it wrong as im new to all this and be the reason hes like he is :( I just want to give him the best start possible as he is soooo loving and has a lot to give :). I make sure that I never put him straight back on the lead the first time i call him back i give him some fuss and a ball when he comes back first time and I do this a few times until I want him, the problem is as soon as hes got the ball he wants to run off with it, yes hes a plummer , id love him to do agilty, ive tried him over a few jumps at the yard and wow he can jump :) hes just turned 1year and i think they have to be older dont they? He's been to flyball and loved it but ran away with the ball :( so until he has a better recall thats a no go, I really need to try the bike now hes had his first birthday as he once chased a bike and could have caused an accident that worried me :(

Thanks again x
 
No, you don't *think* you're stressed - but you will be, to the dog you will be, in your body language and facial expressions (will he come back?) and he'll know it before you do. Dogs pick up on the tiniest little cues that other humans would not even notice. Even your writing style is a bit 'high' - dogs don't like that sort of energy - chill out :)

One year is fine for agility :) re the biking, make sure he is on a control collar like a full or half check and a good strong lead. Start in the yard or enclosed space and make him walk or trot along beside you and reward him for staying with you. When you move off, he comes with, when you stop he stops, when you turn left and right he has to follow - it's a control exercise as well as an exercise exercise, don't allow any messing.
 
thanks :) he went to his first training class last night and instead of joining in we sat and watched he went in all guns blazing barking and lunging at any dog who dared go near him after a trainer came over to give me some advice he sat and watched in silence on a long lead without moving :O he was sooooo good! I cant wait for next week!! :) x
 
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