Hi - new poster but I've been lurking for ages... All through choosing our puppy last spring and since then! This is long, sorry...
I think I'm posting to rant as much as anything else, but I'm truly at my wit's end with our 10 month old Springer.
We've just got back from what was meant to be a nice walk and it has ended in tears, as usual (literally)! I can't remember last time we had a walk that was enjoyable or relaxing. In fact, we can't really walk him per se - he has plenty of controlled exercise on our village green on a long line, but we can't take him on what I'd call a dog walk as he gets out of control and is SUCH hard work, and his recall is very poor (despite our best efforts).
We chose a springer as we very often look after a friends', and he is lovely, and we wanted an active breed. But I've barely done a proper walk or run since we got him as he's so hard to to control and needs truly constant input and supervision which is, to be honest, absolutely exhausting. He still finds loose lead walking really hard and is learning at a glacial pace, so every walk involves trying to get him to walk nicely. He doesn't just pull on the lead, he is literally scrabbling with his belly to the floor, so we have to practice loose lead walking constantly as I'm worried he'll hurt himself, or pull me over. Even walking him to the village shop is a 40 minute ordeal rather than the 10 minute stroll it should be, as it's literally step by step coaxing him to walk nicely and pay attention. He has no interest in us once off lead, so he's on a long line, but he's so strong I feel it's just a matter of time until one of us gets hurt. We practice recall daily but it seems no reward can compete with sprinting off and chasing rabbits (which he can't do as he's on a long line, but it doesn't stop him trying...)
I feel stupid that we thought we could handle this breed, despite seeing them everywhere we go. My dreams of walking accompanied by a dog are vanishing and I'm realising that I don't think we will ever have the nice walks I dreamt of, and experienced with our friend's Springer, and we'll have to exercise him separately. We love walking, running and cycling and a dog was meant to enhance this and accompany us, but I don't think it will ever happen. He is an awful whiner and whines incessantly in cafes and pubs, so my long rambles ending with a country pub feel like a ridiculous and stupid idea at the moment.
I just feel so sad! And frustrated that going for a walk on Easter Sunday is too high an expectation - we passed loads of our neighbours with their dogs and I feel really sad that we can't enjoy walking together. We were seeing a trainer every week but obviously aren't able to at the moment. We religiously practice his recall and his lead walking and all the rest, so I think we just feel extra frustrated as it seems like none of it is paying off or working and we're actually going in reverse. We must have spent literally hundreds and hundreds of hours practicing, but he's still such hard work and it's really having a negative and stressful impact on our lives and I feel so drained. We do the same outings for exercise day in day out (with LOTS of training and scentwork) as everything else is just too much for us all, and it feels like a depressing and weird groundhog day that makes me regret getting a dog - but I dreamt of this for years and did so much research and prep!!
Like I said I think I'm just ranting... But if anyone has any positive outcomes of stories like this please share!! (Sorry for the long indulgent waffle!!)
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The doghouse
Springer driving me to despair
46 replies
madspringer · 12/04/2020 13:50
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