I realized I rambled on in my initial question and forgot to ask this: What do you do with a hunting dog (springer spaniel) when they are outside? We have 80 acres, but our house is basically on the edge of it, near a pretty busy country road. We have a pretty big front and back yard, but not fenced in. Part of the chaos is we let her out to go to the bathroom and she comes right back in 60% of the time. The other 40% she takes off to go running, chasing birds, whatever. Sometimes I/we can see her out back in the woods, sometimes not. In those cases we usually have to wait for her to come back to the door when she's ready. My husband has better luck yelling for her to come back. This is what dog #1 did, but as she got older she would venture across the yard to a neighbor's house. So I feel like it's just a matter of time before the same thing happens to this one.
Of course we didn't have her on a leash or anything to use the bathroom consistently since she was little. So the few times I've tried it, she gets mad and pees all over the floor inside the house..then swishes it on me with her tail. Argh. Did I mention we are dog morons? ;-) I'm so conflicted! She is a dog, dogs should be able to run around some, chase birds, BE dogs, in my opinion. I hate the thought of having a dog on a leash all the time. What a life. But I suppose it's the lesser evil to being killed of course. If we (read: I) did get her trained, would she, being a bird dog, listen when she takes off outside? Could we ever get to the point of not having her leashed in our yard? Is 1-1/1 years old too old to learn new tricks?
I feel like we are the 2 people who have the most business not owning a dog! Seriously....I realize how ridiculous we sound, I really do! Sometimes I think I must be on a hidden camera show about how to drive a person crazy. I really don't know who I feel worse for - me or her.
Dog Training is wonderful. I had a "bus stop" dog - a stray I literally picked up off the street - my first experience owning a dog - big chow mix. Stoopid as a post, horribly behaved, but oh so sweet. Took him to obedience class - that dog learned to sit, stay, heel, walk off leash, and came running when called.
It makes it so much easier on both the pet and the owner to train them.
First of all, I miss my springer spaniel every single day. She passed away
from cancer. She was the best dog ever. Her sweet face,her incredible
demeanor. I can go on and on but I will not.
How about an invisible fence or a really really long dog run. You certainly
have the space. You know how Jo Frost was Supernanny and shaped
everyone into shape. I think you need the doggies Superrnanny to help
you LOL. Once they know you are the boss, things change. Of course
you are talking to someone who the dog had wrapped around her paw,
but she was a good dog. Rang a bell when she had to go out. Occasionally she would run away if I let her out, then I would have to coax
her with the car keys. She loved the car. You would then find me driving
around the neighborhood because that is how I got her back in. Then
we just made sure she was always on a leash. She loved her hikes with
my husband and his friend. They need exercise to get rid of the energy
that they have. Give her a kiss for me. RIP my sweet Callie.
Sign up for some dog training classes. The problems you are having are there because you dog doesn't see you and your hubby as the top dogs in the household. I had huge issues with my dog and they all got better once I signed up for some training classes. They didn't teach the dog to do anything; they taught me how to because the top dog and be in control of my dog's behavior.
Have you actually trained this dog?
I read, well sort of cause they were all over the place, both of your questions. It doesn't sound like you guys have ever trained the dog.
I don't like a lot of the things dogs do so I trained them not to do them. Fence or not you could let my dog out and she would stay in the area. She didn't bark, she didn't lick and really she was easier to give a bath to than the kids.
It took a bit of work to train her but trained dogs are a lot easier to get along with.
You need dog training classes.
Maybe if you try to make her more of the family, she won't be so high strung being locked in the mudroom all day.
We have friends with a hunting dog and she is THE sweetest family pet as well.
She needs to be trained! That is the only way for her to learn anything. Otherwise she is just going to be a crazy pain in your butt her whole life. I have a Springer and we did minimal training. She is a smart dog though, and now the perfect pet. If she has training she can be an AMAZING hunting dog. My dad had an English pointer when I was little. He was mainly a hunting dog. It was amazing to watch him. My dad worked with him a lot though. You get out of it what you put in to it. If you arent going to train her you are going to have a crazy dog that wont listen to anything you say and take off. If you train her you will have an obedient dog who wont leave you side for anything (and then wont cross the road) Maybe check in to getting an electric fence for part of your yard. Then she can still run, but stay within certain boudaries.
Dogs are never too old to be trained. I can still teach my 11 year old Springer new stuff. Enjoy her--they are great dogs!
All three of you need to go to obedience classes ASAP. Find a great trainer that can answer all of your questions, etc. In the mean time get a fence or please put your dog on a leash outside. You could string a line between two trees and hook the leash to that so she gets to run. One benefit is that you know where the poop is and you have a clean space in the rest of the yard for your children to play.
I would get a long runner... have one side hooked up to the house with a long cable chain and then put a square post at some point in your yard and have the cable connected to it. That way the dog can still run and explore some but will be safe. ( you may have to untangle it around the post from time to time but "usually" they figure out not to after time). This truly can be the best of both worlds.. he is tied up but he is safe and it still can run and burn some energy.
When its not on the runner, make sure you have it on a leash and walk around your grounds with you. This will teach the dog where it can and can't go and get use to it and will learn to stay where it should be.
Make sure you have "ducks" like for hunting dogs to learn on and other dog toys for it to play with while outside and this will keep it busy and use up some of its energy. We have a tether ball hanging for our husky ( who is chained up on a long log chain or he will run) to play with and he loves it! Just make sure there is a dog house or some other shade for the dog and plenty of water outside for it to drink and it will be fine playing out there wether your outside with it or not.
You could get an invisible fence for part of the area so she can still run a little, but is contained and safe. They are very popular in our area. Hunting dogs need a lot of exercise. Someone needs to run with her or play fetch with her.
