I think what worrys me about it all is, yes Pidge has decided to take the advice of the trainers involved with woody,
Now im not sure which one it was that said woody may have to be PTS if these issues are not resolved,
the very people pidge has put her trust/money into are the people who caused the upset in the first place..

also to say he would be un Re-homeable is not compleatly true, ok, you cant re home aggressive dogs to pet homes, but there are some who can and will take on problem dogs, though they are few and far between,

The problem with trainers/behaviourists is, how do you know who is good and who's not, often you dont know your trainer is bad untill you find a good one. So much trust is put into the hands of trainers, more so by people like pidge who are on there first lap of the track so dont have anything to compare it to.

Pidge I think after the number of threads you have started on here many of them in what appeared to be desperation culminating in this one, people feel they know quite a bit about the dog and the owner.

It is only a few days ago that you posted that Woody had a serious problem and you said ''were scared it is going end in tears if you know what I mean'' and ''he won't be rehomable' which sounded pretty serious to me.
You also posted..
I was amazed that any of your 'expert advisors' who are experienced with dogs would ever consider this puppy has 'generic behavioural issues' or any really serious problems . I actually don't agree that there is anything particularly unusual in Woody's behaviour, he sounds like a typical Springer puppy to me and no worse than the many other Springer pups (and other breeds) I have known.
I think sometimes people just don't realise what hard work some puppies can be, they see normal (if somewhat exaggerated behaviour in the case of some puppies) as behavioural problems .

It can take months and months to get anywhere with some puppies, one day will be good and you think you are getting somewhere then the next day a new problem will arise, when this happens you grit your teeth and stand firm in the knowledge it will pass if you handle it correctly.

Zak my sons springer is 15 months now and has been very difficult to train but not for one moment did anyone consider he had 'serious behavioural issues' (he certainly has a degree of obsessive compulsive behaviour which I attribute to being a working dog in home enviriment) or contemplate anything other than using time and patience to get him through the difficult stages of being a puppy and a young adult.

I would say many of Woody's 'serious behavioural problems' are down to people not understanding his needs and giving him the wrong messages . Take the aggression, this often starts with puppies because people do some small thing like removing food from a puppy who may be a bit unsure so tries to protect what is his, a natural instinct required for self preservation. If this is handled incorrectly what begins as a minor problem can grow to be something more serious, but is is not unusual behaviour given certain circumstances.

Pidge I think you need to stop thinking of Woody as some delinquent puppy. I am sure the problems he has are down to his inherited traits as a working breed and people not understanding how to handle him.
A lot of puppy training is 90% using common sense and seeing the puppy for what it is, a small animal which doesn't have the ability to reason, doesn't speak our language and can easily misunderstand what is required of it.

exactly, and no good trainer ought to recommend tying him to a radiator to make him settle

I understand your concerns Shona, but I believe context is everything. How anyone feels on a certain day influences who they see things.

I was just surprised at the sudden U-turn by a few members who decided today to have a go just because Pidge was feeling better.

As for saying 'You say more bad things about Woody than good' (not you Shona), so what? You can't control what people post or how they feel.

It's interesting that people feel the need to bring that up

I know plenty of exceptional and exceptionally experienced trainers who would recommend doing just that as long as the dog is supervised and the dog has something'to do' whilst benched.

but thats just it, i have only been directed to one or two good posts about him since he was an 8 week old baby, i haven't turned on Pidge, i'm just frustrated, that people seem to have wasted their time and effort thinking of ways to help, when actually this whole post was about Pidge not woody at all.

I think you need to take the time to read through all Pigdes threads asking for advice and help where Woody is concerned.

There are no sour grapes I am afriad , just frustration from many who time and time again try to help and reassure Pidge.


Re- trainers and behaviourists, they are not all good ones.. and to be honest for a behaviourist /trainer to suggest a 8 mth old pup may need pts and tying to a radiator , in not one I would put my trust in.

But as you say, Pidge is free to choose who to take advice from..

I think this is exceptionally good advice and is what I have tried to say on here too. Relax and enjoy him.

In fairness I think that Pidge has highlighted the worst case scenarios that were given to her...ie...if Woodys behaviour continues and gets worse he may end up with real problems and perhaps need PTS...understandably she was probably shocked by that.

I think what people may be worried about is Pidge has chosen to put her money and faith in a trainers that said he may need to be PTS what happens if she takes their advice no one here wants to see a 8 month old pup PTS.