Of course you will get there with him. Never doubted that for a moment You sound more confident and positive now and that's brill. Haven't seen any pics of handsome lad for a few weeks (or have I missed them )

Pidge how old is he now?? about 8 months??? a working springer is never going to be the calmest of dogs, they're just not bred for it and some and this is not a critisism will never ever be truly happy just being a pet they need something to do. At the moment from what i can gather he has been to 2 or 3 different trainers , all probably have different methods, and he is probably a little confused.

just one suggestion have you tried not giving him all his tea at tea time, and then using either a Kong or a cube to give him the rest when you want him to settle, this should work his brain and give him something to do when you want him to settle.

I'm not for one minute suggesting you rehome him, there are far too many looking for homes as it is, but i would stop treating everything as a training session and back off, enjoy him being a puppy and all that comes with it.

Remember the saying a lab is born half trained and a springer dies half trained.


ETA just started ironing and remebered something, when Meg was this age (she was the only one and one from a pup) she was just as demanding and never settled until bedtime. We also worked, and when we got home she demanded all our attention, she wasn't destructive but always wanted something throwing for her or playing with, of course these days they have each other to play with, but i know at the time she was a little monster

I am really pleased to hear that you are making progress with Woody I am sure you will find that as he matures he will settle down and also get much easier to handle

It seems to me that working springers are very like working collies. Some will adapt to pet life without any real problems (so long as they are exercised, stimulated and well cared for), unfortunately with others it takes them a lot longer and some never, ever do make good pets.

My friend bought a little collie bitch pup a few years ago from strong working lines, even though I advised her against it. She wanted a pet and wasn't intending on doing any kind of work or sport with this bitch For the first two years of her life the dog was crazy. She was left all day when my friend worked and was literally bouncing off the walls of her kennel by the end of the day It was heartbreaking. I offered on a few occasions for this bitch to be tried on the sheep and to come up to us if she proved she was interested in work. My friend stuck to her guns and kept her. This bitch is now 4 years old and has calmed down considerably. She actually seems to quite enjoy life now and "accept her lot". My friend's circumstances have changed though so now the dog gets much more company and exercise throughout the day, so that probably also helps.

I am not criticising Pidge, or anyone else who wants to get a working breed as a pet, but I guess all of us who have dogs from working strains need to be prepared for any associated problems that may arise from an active brain and body not getting enough to do.

Hi Lizzy, I would agree with you there
Training my sons dog Zak has been a nightmare, he seems to be in a little world of his own half the time oblivious of humans/toys/food and totally preoccupied with chasing things including suns rays/reflections and even dust motes which float in the air. After months and months of hard work by his owners he now has a recall. He is also becoming calmer and less frantic.

He is a real outdoor dog in every sense of the word, into every stream lake river or patch of water, he would make an excellent gundog.

I have had experience of other springers from working lines with a similar behaviour and would say they come under the heading of difficult and not for the feint hearted .
My friend had one called Hattie rechristened 'the mad hatter' by everyone, a most appropriate name...

Its not a downer, this is the main reason they come into rescue, i have had them here on foster who would never ever make good pets and have been rehomed to either people who work their dogs, or in some cases to the police force, i have also had others from working lines that would never make a working dog, it depends on the dog.

Working springers are like working collies, some of them just need to work, we never set out to work any of ours until Molly came along, but we quickly realised that the only way for her to live with us happily was to let her do what she was bred for. It has taken two long years to get anywhere near a perfect recall out of her, she just needs to hunt, its not her fault just her breeding, and at the end of the day i chose to have them live with me so i need to do whats best for them not me, and if that means getting up at 6.30am during the season and taking them beating so be it, you might not like it but its what makes them happy

I agree Moobli one of the problems I have seen is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and I would say Zak verges on this.
He was crated at times as a puppy but I feel had he been confined for long periods with nothing to occupy his very alert mind and strong urge to seek and chase he would have been an even more difficult dog to handle. (Again this is not a criticism of Pidge)

Absolutely Lizzy some springers from working strains are not so difficult to train as pets, others are not easy and I think a lot of peole just don't realise what they may be taking on. My son wanted a rough tough outdoor dog and that is exactly what he got

Really? Crate him or rehome him, is that the advice your behaviourist gave you?

Im not critisizing you at all, I just think (as others do) that working breeds dont do well shut in and being bored. Would you not consider doing more working" stuff with Woody?

Thanks Cheeky, I appreciate the confidence xx

Hello, I honestly think it's fine as long as you know what to do with them. We weren't doing enough but now we are things are really improving.

We do the kong, as well as find it games and mental games like which one etc as well as three walks a day ;o)


I know what you mean and I do agree with you. It's very clear to us that whilst we thought we were doing enough with him we clearly weren't. We are now doing much more things that give him the same stimulation he would get out in the fields (except for actually being out there all day, catching animals and living outdoors in kennels) and the difference is amazing, even in a few days.

I'd really appreciate it from now in if there was no more discussion about re-homing and working breeds not good in pets homes etc. I know what you're all saying and that it is not directed at me etc etc but it's still upsetting for me to keep hearing people talking about it whenever I mention issues with Woody as it is a fear of mine that would absolutely destroy me (I'm not kidding) and I'm trying my hardest to make sure it never ever happens. I hope you can understand that.

The main thing is we are aware of what to do and things are getting better. I just need to be patient which was what the post was originally about.

Have you considered an outdoor kennel with a run as an alternative to crating him? With the summer coming he would not suffer from the cold and by the time next winter comes he might be chilled enough to be left uncrated.