I need to find a one-to-one dog trainer

[tulpe]

where do I start?

Have googled for trainers in my area and am just overwhelmed with the number of sites to look through.

Am really at the end of my tether with my dog. I have tried to be consistent and use the training methods we were taught in puppy classes, stay calm etc.

But every walk is sheer hell - unless it is in woodland and she can run around full pelt, then her recall is excellent although she will still pull on the leash.

Otherwise she ignores me totally, pulls on the leash, won't come back when called.

I am not giving up on her but I have reached a point where I don't want to take her out anymore :( . And I really don't want masses of "why did you get a dog if you can't cope" type responses because I am sat in here in tears and I just need some positive support please :)

Also, any opinions/views on the Kennel Club Good Dog Citizen scheme? I can see that there are classes nearby but just wondered if anyone has any direct experience?

What area are you in?

I go to dog club and we follow the KC Good Citizen scheme. But doing training in class is only a tiny part of it, you have to continue at home, out on walks and incorporate it into your life so it comes as second nature to you and the dog.

What sort of dog do you have? How old is the dog? Where do you live?

The more frustrated I am after a shitty day, the worse my puppies behaviour seems. When I am calm puppy behaves much better.

Association of Pet Dog Trainers for a trainer or Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors for a behaviour counsellor if you feel the problems are more serious. A behaviour counsellor will take a detailed history and come up with a personalised plan for you and your dog that will help address all the issues that you have. If you are at the end of your tether you might need the more specialised help that they offer.

I'd never berate anyone for seeking help, take heart, there is help out there.

Thank you for replying:

CalamityKate Bucks/Beds border.

Jax - she is a hungarian vizsla and is 15 months old.

I get what you mean about how your mood influences the dog. It's just hard to get on top of it sometimes though. I try rising above it but when you have been virtually dragged from car across a distance of 200m to the park, it is hard to get on top of that feeling of anger.

thingumybob - thanks for the links and your kind words of support.

I have had a look through the first site you linked to and have found a vet who is also a behaviourist not far from where we live. I will give her a call now and try and make an appointment asap.

Thanks again. It really is disheartening because she is a lovely, lovely girl and I am worried that my frustration is adding to the problem. In fact, it clearly is.

It's so much like rearing a child it seems to me - that you want them to be full of life and enthusiasm but you also need them to do as they are told!

APDT trainers

we do kennel club good citizen and it is great. if you are so fed up though a one to one would probably be good as they can show you techniques.

tulpe are you me in six months time LOL? I have a 10 month old HV and I don't have the answers for you, just wanted to offer some sympathy. There are some days when I would readily rehome her, but I don't really mean that!

She's lovely, but bonkers. Some days she is better than others. We have real problems with recall, and pulling on the lead. I walk her on a harness at the moment, as it makes it easier to control her while we keep working on the recall. I did find a local trainer to do some one-to-one with me. At the moment, she is having her first season, so strictly on lead anyway, so is getting plenty of practice at lead walking. Our trainer did suggest that we should keep her on lead until we had 100% recall on a long lead, but I then found once I let her off she was even more reluctant to come back.

I have found that whatever tactic I use, she seems to become immune within a few days. It is not helped by my husband being significantly stronger than me, so he doesn't notice her pulling, and she gets away with it. I have nagged and nagged-- gently reminded him on number of occasions to work at loose lead walking. If she starts trying to pull me, I quickly turn and walk the other way, preferably across her front IYSWIM, so she has to learn to stay at my heel or get 'walked over'.

Her recall improves as a walk goes on. To start with, she is always too excited, and focussed on haring around. I am praying that with enough persistence this will improve as she gets older.

PlasticLentilWeaver - I do hope you aren't me in 6 months time but if you are then I will have every sympathy with you and hopefully be able to give some wise advice by then!

Totally agree with the reluctance to come back once off lead. She pulls and pulls so I make her wait, come back to heel etc before walking on. But then by the time we get anywhere near the object of her desire she is so feverish with excitement that she couldn't care less about any commands from me.

I have tried just taking her for on-lead walks only but they have so much energy that they do need to run it off.

She has just come in to stare at me, wagging her tail and looking hopeful for a cuddle. Daft dog.

She's just tried to climb on my lap, and doesn't seem to get it that she's too big to be a lap dog!

She also WILL NOT retrieve, which I see as a major failing in her breed (or any high energy dog for that matter!) and if you take her out in the rain, or try to walk through puddles, she acts as if she's going to drown. Pathetic, utterly pathetic!

I've got the details of a great trainer in Central Scotland if that's of any use to anyone else. Let me know and I'll pm them.

If all else fails theres always the gentle leader. My 2 year old lab weighs nearly 40 kilos and pulled like a train despite numerous training classes. Since her first walk with the gentle leader shes been be a delight to walk.

I use a Halti or Gentle Leader on my shepherds, because although they dont always pull when they do it jerks my back and I cant afford to have my back go again.

It helps enormously. Which side of Bucks/Beds border? I know a few people who could help you, but it would depend on where abouts you are.

I am between Aylesbury/High Wycombe if that helps at all

Jax - We live near Woburn.

I have used both Halti and Gentle Leader over the last 6 months. It doesn't always stop her from pulling and she scratches at her nose which is very distressing for her and me :( She rubbed it raw last time she wore one for any length of time so I would rather have her walking nicely of her own volition if at all possible.

I have found a vet in Leighton Buzzard who is also a behaviourist and member of APDT who kindly returned my call (which I missed!) so will be speaking with her tomorrow to arrange a meeting and see if she feels she can help.

I did loads of on-leash work with her today. She was pulling like crazy - the DCs and DH were playing football and she was desperate to join in - so I used that as a bargaining tool. We were walking towards them and when she pulled I would turn around and walk in the opposite direction. It took around 15 minutes to walk 50 metres but she got there in the end. The next task I gave her was to sit nicely and calmly whilst we watched them. As soon as she started yelping and pulling, I just made her walk away. Again, she got the message and finally sat nicely :)

I also tried her recall today too. I let her off the leash and threw the ball for her. She wasn't coming back so I ran off in the opposite direction, hollering her name - she came flying towards me! Not sure how this will work if there are other dogs around as usually that is when her recall is at its worst.

I am feeling far more positive so thank you all for the much-needed support :) and I will report back when I have met with the trainer.

Sorry to hear you are having problems, but I think you are very right to try a trainer, I am sure she will have loads of helpful ideas.

These are things that have worked for me:

Recall: arm yourself with the bestest treats in the world (chicken, cheese, sausage, etc all cut up in small pieces), get a friend to help, try this in a small enclosed area like a garden. You and the friend stand a few metres apart and take it in turns to call the dog in your most exciting, high pitched, girlie voice. When she recalls give her a treat with one hand while gently placing two fingers of the other hand under the collar, then release and friend calls her. Repeat ad nauseum! In open spaces for now do not give her the opportunity to ignore your recall but use a long line. This is a very long, very light weight lead you can make out of anything you like. You release the dog from its normal lead but leave it attached to the long line which trails behind the dog (make sure it trails free and does not get tangled on anything). It should be so lightweight the dog forgets it is there. When you recall the dog, if she ignores you, step on the long line so she can't go any further, walk on the long line all the way to her, put two fingers under the collar, reverse to where you where when you first recalled her, treat and release. Sounds odd but it works very well (you may need to keep it up for weeks or months to break a bad recall habit) because the dog forgets about the long line and is astonished that you can enforce a recall even when she thought she was free. It teaches them that the recall is not optional.

Pulling: this also works but you need the patience of a saint. Put the dog on a lead as normal and start on your walk. The moment she takes one step too far in front of you, stop and wait. Wait until, for whatever reason she turns to look at you, treat her, turn around and go in the opposite direction. The moment she pulls in front of you, stop and repeat. For the first week or so you won't get to go anywhere, but she will get the message which is: the more you pull the more stuck you are and you don't get what you want, the more you pay me attention and follow me the more you get to walk. In a couple of weeks you will find that as soon as you stop she will re-align herself by your side.

Quick update: we had first session with clicker training 6 weeks ago. Follow up session last week. The trainer was so pleased at the transformation in my dog and her behaviour :)

It has been a tough old road at times but this training method has worked fabulously well for her. We are doing an hour on the leash each day and 30 mins recall work per day too. I am having such a lovely time with her and our bond is really strong now. Her recall is 99% accurate and she walks beautifully on the leash - correcting herself when she feels it strain and looking at me with big toothy grin for a treat :o. We went for a 6 mile walk through woodland today passing a great number of other walkers and their dogs. She came back every time I called her and she walked to heel without the leash even when there was a very exciting dog she wanted to say hello to! That kind of outing would have been unthinkable 2 months ago.

We are now working more on exposing her to busier situations such as the village high street and the school run. I am also planning to start agility with her because as an HPR dog she will love having a focus and a job.

Thank you all so much for your advice. It has turned our family life back on track and made it an absolute pleasure to be a dog owner :)