new owners need some advice

[pimmsgalore]

Three weeks ago we rescued a lab collie x. He is gorgeous and has fitted in with our family amazingly (although the 4DCs do tend to tire him out).

In the three weeks we have had him I have taught him to
sit at the kerb before crossing the road,
not pull on the lead (originally I couldn't walk him as he pulled me over),
come back when called (not so good with DH so am now whistle training him),
go to his bed when told (especially when telling DCs off as he gets upset),
and wait before coming up the stairs as he was knocking us all over.

Now I have this "friend" acquaintance who is constantly telling me what I should do with him. I shouldn't let him walk with his nose in front of me (I'm happy he isn't pulling me over anymore), I shouldn't be whistle training him as he isn't a gun dog (well he comes to the whistle for DH so I don't have to walk him all the time), I shouldn't let him drink out of the toilet (well its not nice but I'll work on that at a later date) the list goes on and on.

Her dogs are well behaved but I am getting fed up with the constant advice. I have only had my dog three week, he was very skinny and had been badly beaten when we got him. I am amazed at what I have taught him so far, given that the first week was spent trying to get him to even interact with us without weeing on the floor. She keeps telling me he will be very naughty when he settles in as he will walk all over us. Is this true am I building a rod for my own back? I think he just needs some love and a few boundaries to keep him safe he can't learn everything at once.

Just looking for someone to tell me I am going the right way in training him with baby steps, I know he is 2 and has some bad habits but they aren't his fault they are the previous irresponsible owners fault. He is a quick learner but surely he needs to feel loved as well as learning?

Sounds like you're doing brilliantly to me. Has your friend always had pups? With puppies, if you know what you are doing, you can stop unwanted behaviours before they happen. Adult rescue dogs are a different kettle of fish but so rewarding when it goes right.

Whistles are great if they work for you. There are no rules that they can only be used on gun dogs. Go with what works for you. Whistles are thought to be a better recall tool than voice alone, but you might want to think about adding a command once he is coming reliably to the whistle, just incase it breaks or gets lost one day.

Not letting him walk with his nose in front of you sounds like a dominance related thing to me? All you have to do to pass the KC Good Citizen test is walk on a loose lead. There are loads of tips online on how to achieve this if you haven't alreay, which it sounds like you have.

Toilet drinking - mine all do this, even the cat. Just keep the lid down. Problem solved. It's not a massive issue imo anyway.

You appear to have achieved a lot in three weeks. Think about enrolling on an obedience course. Look for one that uses positive training and avoid any that talk about dominance or pack theory. It's all bollocks.

Once he settles in he might gain confidence (mine did) and you might get some more unwanted behaviours, but just keep on at training them away. Even now, two years later, my adult rescue still surprises us by throwing out the odd new bad habit. His latest is still being utterly convinced that if I am not looking directly at him, he is allowed to sleep on the dining table . He does get off the very second I look at him, the little sod . Then there was the time he decided the postman might be tasty. That was surprising as he had never shown any interest in attempting to eat the postie for the first year of his life with us, but it's solved now. We just focus on training all his little foibles as they become evident to us.

Thanks, yes my friend has always had pups and is very into dominance and pack theory hence the lead thing. He is nearly there at not pulling which was simple as we put him in a halti stop head collar (the vet suggested it as he pulled her over). He only pulls now when he is first out of the house, which I think is as it is walkies and he needs to go so wants to get to the grass ASAP.

Come to think of it my cat used to drink out of the toilet. The bigger problem with keeping the lid down will be training DD and DH

Hope he never goes for my dining table even DH is not allowed to go near that it is my prize possession (obtained before children when we were first married and trying to be grown ups rather than 4DC later when it is shut away so it doesn't get scratched)

I think you should ignore her, and go to a registered trainer who uses positive training methods for any advice you need. Rescue dogs, especially collie types can be nervy and bullying dominance tactics are a really really bad idea.

Sounds like you have given him a lovely home

Well done on opening your home to a rescue and well done so far

It sounds like you are doing brilliantly well! Dominance /pack theory is out-dated rubbish so you should ignore your friend; that's where the idea of not letting your dog walk in front of you comes from. It doesn't matter at all so long as the leash is loose and you are happy. Dogs are like children, everyone is full of advice. Dooin is also right that an adult dog is very different from a puppy. Positive training methods are much better.

Thank you for rescuing him :)

Thanks everyone think we will go on as we are he is such a lovely dog and just deserves to be treated as such. Will at friend nod and ignore from now on.

It was a hard choice to rescue a dog because the centre had so many cute faces in need of a home wish I could have taken them all. I would encourage everyone to do it in three weeks he is all ready a big part of the family and I can't understand why anyone has been so nasty to him. It is like having DC no 5 though

The nose in front thing might also be rooted in obedience training. They are very particular about positioning and so on.

Ignore your friend. Do what you think is right for you and your dog. Avoid advice from anyone who spouts bollocks - basically dominance theory, pack leader theory and anything at all to do with Caesar Milan.

It does sound as though you have achieved a lot in a short time - but don't forget to have fun too. It must have been quite an intense period so far.

I hate head collars - they do little except mask a problem. Ditch it as soon as you possibly can and teach your dog to walk on a lead properly. It will be much more comfortable for both if you.

Whistle training. Is neither here nor there. If it works for you, keep it up. Your dog is half lab and half collie - both breeds which are known to respond well to whistles anyway.

Toilet bowl drinking is a very bad habit indeed. Loo cleaning chemicals are very bad indeed for an animals insides. It would be far better to break the habit so slip ups by household members aren't so important.

Not too intense lucky enough to be around all day and he is a very fast learner.
He is lots of fun especially with a ball or anything you can chew
Have just walked him and am thinking of ditching the head collar as when we get back and it is off he rolls around on the floor rubbing his face like it has made him itch.

Also think he may have been trained before as he has picked it up so quickly, I'm not sure I can take the whole credit despite the rescue centre saying he had had no training.

You sound like you've done a fantastic job so far in such a short amount of time.

I can't understand that business about not letting the dog get in front - if your dog is behind you then you have no idea what it is up to :) and even the best trained dogs can be distracted when walking on the lead. I need to be able to see the signals that my dog's head is giving - like 'I've just spotted some prey and I'm going to go after it very fast any minute now unless you stop me quick', or 'that looks like a nice person coming towards me wonder what they smell like, might shove my nose at them'. All behaviour I need to know about.

Agree with the point that as they gain confidence you might get some unwanted behaviour, but you just work with this as they appear. After two months our rescue dog developed a tissue/paper ripping habit despite all her toys, not the worst of habits I know and DD was hoping to get to use the old "my dog ate my homework" excuse at least once. But now I give her old eggboxes or other thin card boxes to rip up and she loves it, she now knows she can only rip up what I give her directly and has stopped raiding the bins for old tissues and has never touched any homework.

Ours all drink from the toilets - doesn't seem to do any harm at all. But we don't have any of those ghastly blue lumps and if I do use bleach, lids are firmly closed - in any case they hate the smell of it.

Pimms, it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job. Well done for what you've achieved so far.

Agree that some interesting behaviours can emerge - all part of the rich tapestry of dog ownership.

I agree, it sounds like you're doing a great job to me - you seem to have the basics covered (recall, walking on the lead without pulling etc) already, which is pretty good given it's only been 3 weeks, and you can build on that with time. Really can't understand what your friend's problem is .

My older dog came to us having been abused/neglected too, so I know it takes time for them to settle in, learn to trust you etc, sometimes it has to be baby steps with them. You sound like a very sensible, loving owner, and I'm sure you and dog will be just fine.

Sounds like you have a great dog who is willing to learn from you and you are using the right methods to gain his trust and confidence.