I must admit to feeling completely non-plussed by him most of the time and feel I'm either avoiding or putting out fires. No two dogs are alike I know, but my previous dog, same breed, was a breeze to train and control. I took her to training classes and she learnt fast and was highly motivated by pleasing me and then .... we got this one, opposite of everything we had known.

He is a very very fast learner. Yesterday with the clicker I taught him to "watch me" (I had done it before so it wasn't new to him) ... I then turned around and within seconds he'd got the idea that he had to walk around me to make eye contact. It's staggering how quickly he learns something. I got a book called "Brain Games" which I am going to try out with him.

i am working with a behaviourist because of his dog aggression and she has suggested BAT which is a really good technique to temper his anxiety around other dogs and works really well - I can see the change in his body language instantly. I may well spend some more time with her about increasing the bond with him and finding ways of maintaining his interest.

I so want to hit the right chord!

Sandy

He is a fast learner and he learnt to hit your buttons before you learnt to hit his.
Could the behaviourist help you motivate him to respond to you better?

I'm going to email her today to sort out another appointment.

I've got used to him being the way he is - but maybe he could be happier if he was more under control (not in a pack leader sense!)

Very sensible. I am sure he'd rather have fun interacting with you (but he doesn't know it yet), then running around looking for ....god knows what he is looking for.

I shall look forward to your progress reports. Best of luck, don't give up.

There are a number of ways of increasing the bond between you, but much depends on the individual dog (and owner) so if you have a behaviourist you already trust, it really is the way to go.

Also, ask the behaviourist to help you find your lad's most motivating reward. A bit of trial and error should help you to find what 'floats his boat'. It may be a combination of rewards, or a simple change that will make all the difference.

Good luck and never despair. The answer is out there, it just needs finding

Thanks for all your responses. I had to laugh at him this morning, I read somewhere that if you put all their toys in a row and wait for them to choose one, that would be their favourite and one you could use in training, well I lined them all up and he walked straight through them, not even a downward glance. He does respond very well to a particular squeaky toy - it has to be a particular plastic duck - not anything else, it has to be a that one!

I do work really hard with him and we do seem to love one another - but I do feel I'm under scrutiny all the time.

I think I need to go back to the "nothing in life is free" but I must admit last time I did this I did feel he was slightly humouring me.

You may be wotking him hard, but are you working him right?
Aren't some dogs human???

I don't think I'm working him right - but not sure what right would be.

I rescued him just one year ago and I can really see the difference, he looks at me a lot more - he comes over to my armchair for a stroke etc, he likes to be in the same room as me, he likes to sit on my lap in the morning when I get up. When I think what he was like a year ago, he actively avoided me.

I am different with him too - I learnt the art of reading body language and know when he's anxious, bored, frustrated, relaxed etc. He's taught me so much.

I've never learned anything from our good dog. She was lovely though. The 'naughty' ones were the ones that made me learn about dogs, like my sheep chaser, my dog reactive dog, like my barky dog. They're responsible for me sitting here and telling you YOU CAN DO IT. But you need help of someone who can assess your dog and his environment before advising you how to best proceed.
Which you seem to have. By the way, my behaviourist also is APDT, not APBC.

Prey drive is only troublesome if you cannot control it.

There are plenty of resources out there to help you.

Courses

How to Change Predatory Chase Behaviour in Dogs with David Ryan

When: Sunday 12th May 2013

Where: Otterbourne Village Hall, Otterbourne, Winchester SO21 2ET

Details: 10am- 4pm registration from 9.30am. £35 per person, lunch included

Throwing a ball for a game of chase is an enjoyable and rewarding experience for many owners and their dogs. For other owners canine chase behaviour turns into a nightmare when their dog chases cyclists, cars or sheep. When their dogs choose what to chase it can compromise owners financially, cause the target severe injury or even death, and threaten the life of the dog. This seminar looks at the reasons for the problem, the more effective solutions and how to control the behaviour.

David Ryan followed 26 years as a police dog handler and Home Office accredited training instructor with a postgraduate Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling, with distinction, from Southampton University, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for animal behaviour studies. In 2008 he was certificated as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist by the prestigious Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

He was chair of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors from 2009 to March 2012 and currently works as a companion animal behaviour consultant, being an independently vetted member of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses since 2008.

David has appeared in the internationally scheduled television series ‘Crimefighters’ focusing on his remarkable and fascinating work with police dogs, and as a guest on the BBC 4 programme “It’s only a theory”, discussing how dogs have evolved to bark. His dog behaviour articles have appeared in publications as diverse as the Daily Telegraph, Woman’s Own, Your Dog and Veterinary Times.

He has been invited at various times to lecture to the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group, BSc Animal Behaviour Students at Bishop Burton College and Myerscough College, and Pet Rescue/rehoming Centres, including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Merseyside Dogs Trust and Wood Green Animal Shelter. He is currently a guest lecturer on Newcastle University’s MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare.

David’s unique blend of practical experience and theoretical knowledge of canine behaviour fuel his particular interest in inherited predatory motor patterns and the lengths to which pets will go to find a way to express them, usually despite their owners’ best efforts

http://www.positivetrainingforcanine....php?id=events

Books

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Chase! Managing Your Dog's Predatory Instincts
By Clarissa Von Reinhardt

Stop! How to control predatory Chasing in Dogs
by David Ryan

Teach your Dog to Come When Called
By Erica Peachey

Total Recall
By Pippa Mattinson

Training your Dog to Come When Called
By John Rogerson

DVDs

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Really Reliable Recall
By Leslie Nelson

Training the Recall
By Michael Ellis

Your clever dog: Getting your dog to come when called
By Sarah Whitehead

Does your dog whizz back to you as soon as you call his name?

Can you call him to you even when there are other dogs or distractions? Teaching your dog to come to you when you call is the cornerstone of training and the gateway to allowing him more freedom in the park.

If your dog has selective deafness, ignores you in the garden or the park, or would rather play with other dogs than come when you call, this specially designed training session is for you.

Ideal for starting out with puppies or rehomed dogs, and also for dogs that ignore you or are slow to come when called, despite previous training.

Including:
• How to know what’s rewarding for your dog and what’s not
• Five times when you shouldn’t call your dog!
• Using your voice to call versus using a whistle
• What to do if you call and your dog doesn’t come to you
The pack contains: A clicker, long line (worth £10), training manual, instructional DVD: 55 mins approx running time including Bonus trick, Bonus Training Session, Intro to Clicker Training, Q & A with Sarah


http://www.dogtrain.co.uk/shop/produ...0atbk7j4let2v3

Website articles:

How to use a long line properly here (under information to download)

http://www.dogpsyche.co.uk/

http://www.apdt.co.uk/content/files/...ips/RECALL.pdf

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/reliable_recall.pdf

http://www.clickerdogs.com/perfectrecall.htm

http://www.clickerdogs.com/listofreinforcers.htm

http://www.clickerdogs.com/distracti...yourrecall.htm

http://susangarrettdogagility.com/20...call-collapse/

http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm

http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_f...e%20recall.pdf

http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/teaching-come/

http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-...y-dog-chasing/

http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/recall.pdf

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/come-at-the-park

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/te..._to_you_on_cue

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/be...me-when-called