When he is all quiet,as he is now, remember to praise him, just gently give him a tickle...people often forget to praise and reward the very behaviour they want!

In all honesty Pidgey, from your diary, it sounds like he has been demanding and getting all your attention!

Yes, I think we've tried so (too) hard to make things right that he is now an attention seeking little poo head!!

The trouble is, it's hard to ignore that behaviour as it's destructive.

Perhaps think of a house line then...when he starts to be destructive you can just pull him away if he is in a harness too (no damage to neck then ) then you don't have to say anything or even look at him...
Praise loads when he is doing something good..like chilling or chewing on something he's allowed to chew.

You'll get there Pidgey!

Way ahead of you Ramble, already using one ;o)

Just relax & enjoy the dog for himself. Just like men there is no perfect dog, just what you can put up with. Dont fight all the battles at once, just work on the good bits & the bad ones should go!!!
Hes just a baby,. he just needs to learn & at the end of the day he only does what you have allowed him to do.

Everyone makes Tons of mistakes with their first dog, i think in your case, chill out & enjoy him!

Hes a springer, they are nutz!!!! Enjoy his nuttiness that is "who" he is.

If you are just concentrating on the bad things you will build up a really frought negative relationship. So now please list his good points & good behaviours & we can think how we can develop these,

Do you take him to training classes?

Sorry didnt get far before i replied, im sure you will find regular classes a god send for him! Enjoy!!!!

You're right. I do put too much pressure on him (and me) to get it right. I'm just so desperate to be a good owner and have a happy, well behaved dog that actually I'm creating trouble!

I realised this a while back and am trying to be better, honest ;o)

Sometimes I find myself missing out on him because I'm so focused on the training. That's bad!!

The class today suggests we do a list of a) all the things we think our dogs are excellent at, b) all the things we think need improvement and c) all the new things we want them to learn. I think this will be really useful but also think we should take it one step further and write down all the things we love about him. I bet I'd be surprised how much it is compared to the things I don't like.

Don't get me wrong though please, I love him to pieces and my intentions were always good.

You are most welcome and Woody is welcome here for a holiday if you and Neil need some time out. XX

Just take one day at a time and you'll find they soon become weeks and months and then Woody will be all grown up.....and you'll be laughing about all this.

Hi Pidge do you mind if I ask is Woody still being crated during the day some days while you are at work. Is Woody now being crated at night too as well as on a house line during the evening or have I misunderstood?

I know you got very upset when some people explain (if a little forcefully) that lengthly crating may not be the best thing for a dog from a working breed, but I am sure those people had the best interests of yourself and Woody in mind when giving an opinion in this thread...
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=101563
I am interested to hear the behaviourists views on regular lengthly crating .

If Woody is being crated a lot and on a line in the evening , is he getting enough time to just potter around and be a puppy.

As I see it to begin with Woody had you at home all day and your full attention and lots of training and stimulation, then as he hit adolescence and final stages of teething (when the teeth are setting into the gums and he is promted by instinct to chew a lot), you started work and he suddenly found himself crated and your presence/some mental stimulation removed.

As you know my son has a young springer Zak (now 15 months old). I warned my son and DIL that having a springer from working lines could lead to problems for the unwary but they went ahead and got one because they wanted that kind of dog . Working springers are bred to be out in the field and require a lot of careful handling if they are not to become frustrated. Zak has been difficult, fortunately my son works from home a lot of the time so the problems have not been as bad as they might have been. Zak has done a lot of damage to the house but that to me is not his fault, I put it down to having a working breed in an unsuitable environment. To me saying this is not 'being judgemental' it is saying if you do certain things with certain breeds there may be consequences,that's how it is.

Woody has been through a lot of experiences in a very short time, Zak has got a lot better and I think Woody will too as he matures .

As I said this post is not meant as criticism, it is prompted by an interest in the opinion of your behaviourist and wishing to make what to me are a couple of common sense observations which I hope may help those who find themselves in similar circumstances to yourself .