Hi i have a 4 month year old Patterdale Terrier x Cocker Spaniel....

And I'm making a real mess of training him.

He is my first dog i have ever owned, being a long time Cat owner, i didn't realise how hard it was to own a Dog, that being said i love him and I'm attached to him, so looks like i need to train myself as well as him.

Here is my problems with him.

-Messing in the house, randomly anywhere, on sofas, floors, anywhere

-The dog coming between me and my partner when we are sitting on the sofa

-Stealing/Snatching food, running off with it, then getting aggressive when trying to retrieve it from him (he also does this with my toddlers toys)

-Aggressive play fighting, including growling, biting, scratching

-Running off any chance he can get (we have stair gates to stop him getting into the hall way where the front door is, but the kids will leave it open occasionally and he will make a run for it, he did this today and got hit by a car in the road outside my house, luckily he was not hurt)

-Running up stairs and hiding, he is not allowed up stairs in the house but any chance he will get he will run upstairs and hide under the bed where we can't get to him

-not lying in his bed so constantly havign to get him off the sofa

-can't take him off the lead, he will make a run for it or attack other dogs

-Attacking/jumping on/biting/pulling out hair of other dogs that are friendly to him

-Chasing 1 of my 3 cats to the point it wont come down the stairs, the other 2 fight back at him and hes scared of them

-Stealing the cats food

List is pretty endless, theres probably plenty of things i have missed out.

Where do i start? today he got hit by a car after chasing him outside for half a hour after he got out of the house, he wasn't hurt but very nearly.

Any help would be useful, i never realised how hard keeping a dog was and if i knew i wouldn't of jumped in head first like i did, but i have him now, and i want to make him obedient without paying lots of money for classes etc and make him a happy family dog.


This is Brucey my Patterdale Terrier x Cocker Spaniel

I think some of your problems stem from having a cross from two very intelligent breeds who need work to keep them occupied....lots of mental stimulation.

I also feel that, at this point, with the problems you describe that it would be well worth spending money at least on classes, if not a behaviourist to give you advice and guidance. Resource guarding, aggression, lack of bite inhibition etc need sorting asap.

Reference the toilet training; I would start from scratch; take pup out every hour or so, plus on waking, finishing a meal, finishing playing, any sign of circling, sniffing, scratching at the floor etc. Watch like a hawk. Praise like mad when the correct behaviour is achieved; don't punish accidents, just clean them up with a pet cleaner. At 4 months it may also be worth attaching a house line so that pup is never out of your sight. Also crate training (there is a sticky here) is worth it's weight in gold in my opinion, but is very much a personal choice.

Lastly; I would get pup checked by a vet following the car incident; serious internal injuries may be present in the absence of external signs (not trying to worry you unduly, sorry).

Hopefully, people with far more knowledge than me will post soon - just didn't want to ignore you.

__________________

He does look adorable! With a dog you make a large time investment when they're young, and then enjoy the return for years after.

Take a look at the housetraining thread for the messes issues. Basically supervise, take out when he wants to go and reward with praise or even a training treat for going in the right place. If you can clear up the smells where he's been before with Biological powder good enough, and then avoid him doing it in the wrong places; he'll soon learn where he's meant to go. Regular meal times matter to help his schedule be predictable.

Puppy classes ought not be very expensive, it's not like car driving lessons. You need to learn how to train, and have a dog do what you want.

Your basic problem is that your Brucey is acting like a dog, rather than a dog that's been taught how to live nicely with people.

On the guarding of "stolen" objects, the right strategy is to exchange something he finds higher value. You can practice with toys he likes, have him give you them when saying "Drop!" wafting a training treat to his nose (small delicious smelly things either ready prepared, or small slices of hotdog, cheese, or leftover chicken etc), and then give the object back. So he learns surrendering an object to you, tends to pay.

What you absolutely musten't do, is chase him around, try to snatch things by trickery, or force him to give stuff up.

The puppy "attacking" other dogs, is just playing and normal, they love play-fighting.

If you can find a puppy play romp or class near you, they are great fun to go to. Take a look at Dog Star Daily for some top advice on puppy rearing Raising A Puppy and Dog Star Daily Free Download Aricles

OMG the second pic is my dog i swear!!!

He looks like a sweetie.

Our Holly isn't allowed on the sofa without an invite, so if she jumps up or is already on the sofa (if we are out of the room), we point to the floor and say "off". However when she was a pup we used to use the back of our arm, or our leg to literally push her off the sofa. She knows not to, but she pushes her luck.

As for the upstairs thing... Can you not fit a stair gate? We have a stair gate from the kitchen to the hallway, so that she can't get upstairs.

Also with the stealing thing... once he has the hang of "drop", start to teach him "leave", so as soon as he starts to look at something say "leave", and if he leaves it alone, praise. If he goes and gets it, you can use your "drop" command

__________________

I agree with the post above by Dogless. It's too late now, but Patterdales (and their crosses) are not suitable for inexperienced owners. They are one of the toughest, most demanding breeds around and aggression problems are quite common. Resource guarding is a common problem in Cocker Spaniels too.
Some things to try:
Stop him going upstairs by putting a babygate at the bottom of the stairs.
Teach him that nothing in life is free; he has to sit before he gets his food, any treats and any game with him is on your terms. Keep him on a light lead around the house all the time (cut off the loop your hand goes through so it won't get snagged, about 5 or 6 feet will do nicely), then you can remove him from the sofa/anywhere he shouldn't be without getting confrontational - you can just pick up the other end and make him go where you want. You can also help house training by tying it to your belt so he can't go off and crap on the furniture. You can see when he wants to go (sniffing the ground, circling) and get him outside pronto.
It's really important to go to training classes; they are for you as much as the dog, so you can learn what his body language is saying and you can get lots of ideas for things to do with him.

Thanks for the feedback.

We do have 2 stair gates, one on the front room door and one on the play room door where the cats are fed, problem is i have 4 young children so keeping the gate closed is fruitless most of the time.

As for the Patterdales being not for beginners....i can see that lol! problem is when i got him he was labelled as a 'Lakeland Cockerdale' and i knew very little about him and the internet had no info whatsoever....and now i know he is mostly patterdale (in looks, size and behaviour) its still very hard to find info about these dogs other than stuff on hunting forums which is not helpful.

I'm going to take some time reading your responses properly when i get the chance and will post back, thanks again

i will start by saying OMG he is cute. My advice would be start with the basics, crate training it fantastic for toilet training as mentioned before. Also go along to some basic training classes and once you have got the basic sit, leave and recall (which takes time) you will find it makes a huge difference. Each day is a new day and take it as it comes, you will have good days and bad days to begin with and what ever happened the previous day forget about it and start again.

__________________



So why don't you stay for the night? Or maybe a bite?
I could show you my favourite obsession.
I've been making a man with blond hair and a tan
And he's good for relieving my tension[/COLOR][/B][/COLOR]

i think your expecting too much out of a four month old pup, i don't mean that in a bad way

Absolutely agree with working for everything; I do it for everything - sit and wait for food, lead to go on etc, varied commands for treats and toys etc etc. Sit and wait before I will open the baby gate to greet. I think that the constant training is a bonus, plus Kilo has mental stimulation and enjoyment too

__________________