I am shortly to rehome a 3 year old bitch from an elderly breeder who having to reduce the number of dogs because she is unfortunately unwell.
The lady is a friend of the breeder of my own 11 year old bitch, and I have no concerns about the dog's health, welfare or general socialisation.
The new bitch has lived in the house as one of several dogs, has had a couple of litters, and is a real sweetie.
Like my own bitch, she is fairly well behaved but not always obedient, if you know what I mean! My bitch was a puppy when I also had a baby so I did the essential training but not much more. So she jumps up, barks at bit too much, steals and doesn't always recall as quickly as she should, but we are used to her doing all of this and still love her!
This time round I have the time to put the training in and would love to have a really obedient dog. I know the thinking around pack leader theory is now discredited.
Can anyone give me any advice, or point me to books / websites that will help me settle this lovely girl in and train her? I will probably look for a training class to go to as well, but most of the work needs to be put in at home.
And a specific question:
The DCs would love to have a dog that will play ball with them which our older girl won't - I don't know if the new bitch already does this,but can you train a dog to want to chase a ball?
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Settling and training a rehomed dog
Sunshell · 29/04/2015 10:33
Ha! I must have the only greyhound who thinks he's a retriever! 
I agree that you cannot train a dog to like retrieving, but you can reward wanted behaviour and hope she catches on I guess.
We are 4 days in to getting to know our rescue grey and it's a work in progress.
I think if I were you, I'd give in a couple of weeks to get to know the bitch you are rehoming. Work on a steady routine, calm house, consistent rewards for stuff you want her to do: toileting outside etc.
There's lots of evidence that training with positive reinforcement creates a happy, obedient dog and that's the route I'm going down (although I do find it hard to remember to praise when he's just 'being good' i.e. not doing anything that's nuisance. Much easier to 'tell off' when naughty… 
).
At least you know your future dog's background fairly well - that must be an advantage, surely.
I've looked at rather a lot of KikoPups videos on YouTube - ?worth a look
Some breads (lurchers, sighthounds) are known for having selective hearing and for not retrieving balls.
V true, but there are exceptions to the rule: I am the proud owner of a retrieving greyhound - he'll retrieve balls to the point of exhaustion! AND bring them back….
Ah Pacific, that is nice!
Our lurcher (grey cross) runs after it, takes it in her mouth, then drops it in a random place. Still fun. Kids get exercised retrieving ball for her
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