Doggy Advice Needed

slummymummyof3

Dog training teaches you how to be that exciting person that the dog wants to return to - yes you will need to make funny voices and behave like an absolute numpty in public but your dog will love you and want to return to you!

Training is as much training for the owner as it is the dog.

Is he microchipped? If not, the RSPCA do it in your home for approx £12 and if he is a wanderer this is all the more important.

By the way - he is very handsome!

gettingready

You may want to try:

http://www.doggiedealer.com/dog_breed_selector.php

- just for a laugh though

I really like the look of some dogs but I know their temperament would not match with mine so.. I just stick to GS.

Sometimes people get a bit confused between what they think they want in a dog and what they can reasonably provide for that particular breed (or mix of breeds).

Hope you make the right choice for both yourself and the dog

candygirl

Aww he looks gorgeous, and as a mum of two little terrors i'd say go for it:D:DThey are literally barking mad but obsessed with people too:D:D

charlies-aunt

Its not just terriers! We have a six year old labrador from Rescue. Lovely house dog but she is aggressive with other animals inc dogs.

She is a very good escape artist and impossible to walk off the lead as she wil do a runner as soon as unclipped - will run for miles chasing rabbits etc - she will turn round and grin at you when you try and call her back and then run on! :mad:

Fire_Fox

CFC wrote: »

Thanks guys. I have found an training class locally and have also researched into clicker training. I guess what worries me most is that

a)mutt was found as a stray - nobody knows how he ended up as a stray, and of course in my mind is the possibility that he was always a little devil for doing a runner.
b) will I ever be more interesting to him than other dogs/kids etc?

I don't have other pets and if he keeps the cats away from my garden I'm all for that

If you can train deaf dogs, independent cats and stupid chickens then you can certainly train a smart terrier! Perhaps read back through some of Sarabe's posts in response to people with 'difficult to recall' dogs - she suggests keeping favourite toys in reserve for training, and feeding only outside while outdoor recall is learned.

foreign_correspondent

...another thing to remember, is that terriers do tend to be quite vocal. They are generally confident, bold, spirited little dogs (and should be) - if you really want a very biddable, relaxed dog that looks to you for reassurance, and listens to your every word, a terrier will not be it!

I dont't know if you saw the Martin Clunes programme on dogs (it was repeated recently) but there is a section where some terriers are working, killing rats - it shows them doing what they have been bred to do - to do this, they are by nature bold, aggressive, (to rats anyway!) assertive, brave and independant - it really depends what you want from a dog. They are not for everyone, and some dogs will be more 'worky' than others - a lot of it depends on what your ides of your ideal dog it... take looks out of the equation, how would your ideal dog behave?

slummymummyof3

My terrier is fantastically behaved with our 2 pet rabbits who come in the house (but she has been with them since she was 8 weeks old) but other furries she just loves to chase! That said, I wouldn't trust her unattended with our buns - just incase of a moment of excitement.

elsien

gettingready wrote: »

You may want to try:

http://www.doggiedealer.com/dog_breed_selector.php

- just for a laugh though

To go completely off-topic (sorry OP), had to have a play and came up with a chihuahua.:eek: Or a rhodesian ridgeback. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous.
And it told me bull terriers are good guard dogs and amenable to training.
Not in my house they're not.:rotfl:

becs

My parents have a patterdale terrier who was found as a stray. He was with the dogs trust for 6 months before parents took him. He's a gorgeous dog in the house but an absoloute nightmare out of the house. He can not be let off the lead except in a securely fenced garden, he chases anything that moves, car, lorries, bikes and especially cats! They have had a couple of interesting moments when he's managed to slip out the front door if someone hasn't had a hold of him when they opened it and spent the next 30-40 minutes trying to catch him. He has even jumped out of parents bedroom window to get out into the garden to chase a cat, he jumped out the window onto the roof of the conservatory and off into the garden!
He barks constantly when out on a walk if he sees a cat and behaves like a nutcase. I'm quite sure if my parents were more disciplined with him he wouldn't be as bad but I still don't think you could ever let him off the lead. This I find a huge shame as he's exactly the kind of dog who would benefit from doing something like dog agility to challenge his brain and give him a lot more physical exercise. He needs a huge amount of exercise but only gets 3 walks a day on a lead for 30 minutes so never gets to run and chase a ball. I would say they're definately not the right people for him, he needs someone who is prepared to be strict with him and to put in an awful lot of effort with training and to be consistent.

CFC

I guess my ideal dog is:

not an escape artist
not destructive
willing to take direction and enjoy being trained
affectionate
playful
intelligent.