Truly Pidgey...I would stick totally with what the behaviourist is telling you to do....and chill a bit.
Start to focus on the good and what you want him to do. Assume he will behave and things will get better.
He is still a baby and what sounds like a very confused baby too.
You have a behaviour plan...stick with it, chill and focus on the good. You will get there.

Good post, it takes time, for any new plan or regime to work, and like Ramble said if you are getting anxious or worried , he will pick up on that, and in turn become more confused as to what he is supposed to do.

He is so young, it will get better

The very best of luck, xxx

Thanks, this will help us all to understand the problems you are having...

Heres my take on it.

I think the basis of all his problems has become learnt pattern.. he is learning that if he creates he gets a reaction... by you foxing him with a different approach, you will 1) gain the results without a battle, 2) he will forget his actions, and learn to settle when you say.

Remember if he is not in the position to challenge you , you are 3/4 of the way to a new Woody.

i know a lot of my suggestions may sound a little over the top, but the purpose of them is to get results without confrontation... if you have to stand on your head singing Dixie.. to get it so be it... and believe me, once he forgets to challenge you , you can start to implement calmer rules... its all down to the fact , he knows that he can get the upper hand.. you are the one with the brains, find ways to get one over him. he wont know what hits him, he will have no idea why he was guarding that toy before hand

Hi Pidge, before I start, I saw this in New Look last week and thought of you!



Ok now I know that has cheered you up I will say my bit, and please don't be offended because I don't mean to be. I haven't really read all about Woody's trouble in the past, please forgive me I hardly have time read too much here lately like I used to, so I don't really know the build up to this thread, or which behaviourists you are seeing/how long for/e.t.c.

I am not going to give you a whole bunch of advice either because I think you have enough to think about for the time being.

I will tell you however about my very own super menace dog, and i'm not trying to win the worst dog competition here but if she was like you have described Woody that would have been a good day! A nightmare, NIGHTMARE! Most people here know, oh I did all the research into the breed for years, into her lines, she was my third dog, I had successfully trained Charlie (my springer/collie x) from an abusive situation, he wasn't even housetrained, I thought I was ready for anything, then along came the bombshell that is Maddy. My own vet said that if there is a form of Autism in dogs, Maddy most definitely has it!

Weims like springers can be very anxious dogs, you have to pick them very carefully, I won't go into it as it's a long story but she got her issues from her mum. She was fine as young pup but I later realised all that time it was underlying and she always had her quirks but nothing too serious, little did I know she just needed a push to set her off the rails, she was attacked when she was 9 months old and that was it. I couldn't even persuade her to go out of the house for weeks and I did the worst thing possible, let her stay inside to 'get over it'. This (I now know) just made it worse, tenfold. It took me 2 crappy behaviourists (who told me nothing I didn't know already for £80 an hour!) to realise only I could sort this, I even thought about shipping her off to one of those doggy schools but I didn't have the heart. I put everything on hold for her, my business, my whole life.

It took me the best part of 2 years to get her to a stage where she could be reliable in public and just now, she is 4 in August, i'd say she is a regular dog who doesn't much like strange dogs and still doesn't really accept strangers in the house too well, but from what she was a couple of years ago this is an absolute Godsend and something easy to work on.

You will find that there are so many ways to go about this and you will find the ways that you feel are right and which work for you and Woody. You need patience by the absolute truckload and soon enough you will be looking on www.wigs4u.com because you will be tearing your own hair out, believe me, it is very hard, but he is very young and this is in your absolute advantage.

All the best. x

Its funny, I was just talking to mum about Mia tonight
and she reminded me of the 1st month with Mia and how much better she is
Mum was here for the first week and by the end of it we were both frazzled
Small steps but when you look back you can see how far you have come

Jackbox - a great piece of advice! what you say makes so much sense - it's similar to dealing with stroppy kids (well for me anyway) I can recognize the signs & change my plot to avoid confrontation & it completly throws them!
I've been following Pidges thread with interest as Tilly has some simliar issues.
I would much rather avoid confrontation than deal with confrontation. I spoke with a trainer this evening & he said very similar to you.

Ha ha, this is sooo true!

I think many people don't realise how challenging Springers can be. Isla is very much the type of dog that will stop and think after each command and then decide if it's the right thing to do. Training her has been hard work and very frustrating at times, but I quite like how she tests me tbh. She pushes me every day, always trying to work out what she can or can't get away with, even though she knows her boundaries, and this is where it becomes soooo important to be consistent. Give her an inch and she'd take a mile!

Don't get me wrong, she's a fantastic dog to live with and has been the easiest pup we've ever had, but then I got her from a kennel that breeds them to be more laidback. I dread to think how much more work would've been involved if I hadn't got her from Canouan!

Keep at it Em, you'll get there in the end. This time next year you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

Hi pidge,
I am sorry you seem to be having these problems with dear little woody.
It seems to me you have always tried too hard to get it right and be a good mum. Nothing wrong in that but I think you worry about it which he picks up on and being very clever takes advantage.
I remember saying when he was smaller that I thought you gave him too much exercise for one so young. The reason behind me saying this was it stimulates them into wanting more and more as they grow, which makes life harder and harder for you. Its not all about joint problems in later life its about teaching them to rest and relax. I have had hyper dogs, my Shady is one but as a pup I would give minimal exercise (her reason is she is a large dog and I did worry about her joints) I would play a few mind games with her and then ignore her and just get on with things.
Her and Milo are the first dogs in 30 odd years that I had to crate as pups when I was out to stop them harming themselves by being destructive and eating something dangerous.
Milo has possesive behaviour but its not actually a problem, because I don't allow him anything he can be possesive over like a bone unless its an hour before food time. Then I can feed him and as he eats his food I remove the bone.
I never remove my dogs food when they are eating and never have done. None of my other dogs including Shady would bother if i did but milo would so i don't give him the opportunity to show aggression by even trying. its pointless and there is no reason for it. If I was hungray and eating a nice meal and someone kept sticking thier hand on my plate and removing it my goodness would I fly for them I would be so annoyed and some dogs feel that way too.
Sometimes I want to move Milo from where he is sitting on my bed or the sofa, he will growl if I try and push him off, so I never push him off. I just calmy lift the sofa cushion or the duvet cover so he has to get up and off and then I sit down and call him up for a cuddle. No aggression shown I have what i want and he is invited then to join me. Once I have invited him I can move him easily at any time because I was there first and he seems to accept that.
So you see although Milo could be absolutly awful that way he isn't because I don't give him the chance or any opportunity for confrontation.
The only other dog I ever had that showed any aggression was my first CKCS and the only time was as a pup she would growl and snap at you was if you tried to towel dry her if she got wet. So I stopped towel drying her as I think it was through fear. When she got older and more confident I tried again and she actually enjoyed it from that day on.
Had I persisted or made a big thing of it when she was a pup it could have escalated into a real problem.
What I am trying to show here is there is always a calm way to get your dog to do things without getting flustered or making an issue of it. Don't make an issue of it, they don't understand English, only your body language and your emotions. making an issue causes an issue.
Being cross or upset just makes them hyper. Think calmly and carefully before rushing in to move him or stop him doing something. There is always an alternative easy calm quiet way to get what you want without force.
My two love me to play with them and would keep me playing all day. But I will throw toys for them and after 5 mins or so I just say thats it now mummys got things to do, and they come on in and settle down. They didn't used to settle straight away but I would ignore all thier attempts to carry it on and if they then started to be naughty I would get a stuffed kong or some time out. So they learn't they were wasting thier time to keep trying to get me back playing.
If they needed more than a five minute game I would add onto that 5 mins training and then stop always telling them thats it now so they learn that I am not going to carry on and they must settle down.
I always instigate play and never play because they demand it. its my choice not thiers when I will do things and they are only too happy to join in when I start.
I will never play with my dogs in the evening when I want to sit down and they now naturally settle for the evening. I am tired and want some rest myself and they have to respect that and that comes by ignoring any silly behaviour but encouraging cuddles and relaxation in the evening together.
Good Luck I hope you manage to work round your problems together as I think you could both have a very happy enjoyable future together.

Re the food - I agree what he's on is probably not the best. For example it's "known" that some dog foods are likely to make dogs have problems, one food is of course Bakers; some trainers notice hyper dogs on Hills Science and a couple of others I can't remember. (I used the Hills for sensitive stomachs so that particular one is OK for my particular individual dog).

Also, what is so important is to ensure that you are counting the dry matter (so if you are considering any wet food, you need to work this out) but as you are considering kibble, you can as far as I know just look at the packet!

And, much depends on the actual protein used. How much is available biologically to the dog. What I mean is, some foods such as soya protein are not well digested but it can look as if the food has high protein levels, but these are possibly not being fully digested so the dog is not getting all of that protein.

Some foods with lower levels may have a better quality protein which is available to the dog's digestion, such as chicken, fish, etc

Nutrition is not an easy subject! I wish I could help more. Generally diets such as James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange, etc are supposed to be good.

Wys
x

Pidge, did the behaviourist give advice regarding the biting in various situations?

Wys
x