Dog sitter said our dog is a pain in the arse....

[feesh]

...basically.

Bit of background: live in Middle East, dog ownership v challenging here, had dog since she was a rescued 10 week old puppy and she's now 17 months old (saluki/retriever/poss GSD mix among others). Have worked hard to socialise and train her, think I've done pretty well - no dog training classes available, so just followed advice on here and in The Culture Clash.

Dog has always been OK with other dogs, loves them a bit TOO much, which has been an ongoing issue (loses focus on me when she sees other dogs on a walk - although seeing other dogs is obviously quite a rare occurrence in this country unless you deliberately set it up - which I do - and I am constantly working on this). Had a scare in December when she was properly attacked by 2 wild dogs and ever since then she has given out some weird body language to strange dogs, but is always happy to greet them after the initial sniffing stage has been done. Since the attack, she cowers when she sees other dogs and puts her tail between her legs, but once the initial greeting is over she is fine and goes running off to play with them.

We have had other dogs stay at our house on 2 separate occasions, ranging from 2 days to a week. This always brings out the worst in our dog - she is a massive pain in the arse, doesn't stop hounding them to play, gets very excitable etc. Training 'default settles' around other dogs hasn't been hugely successful during either of those periods we had other dogs in the house - she just wasn't interested in anything except playing with the other dog. Haven't enjoyed either occasion to be honest and it's put us off rescuing another dog until she's older.

To try and rectify it further, I set up some training sessions in April with the dog-sitter lady below who I am about to refer to. We did lots of positive reinforcement training to get our respective dogs to focus on us when being walked together (or in the vicinity of eachother), gradually raising the stimulus levels with each session, and it seemed to work really well, and has certainly helped me keep my dog under control slightly more when we do encounter other dogs on walks. We stopped the sessions once the weather got too hot (35 degrees plus).

ANYWAY last month we went away for 3 weeks and our dog went to stay at this dog sitter's. I'm heavily pregnant and now struggling to walk my dog in the 45 degree heat, so I called the dog sitter again today to discuss the possibility of ongoing doggie day care three times a week.

Dog sitter basically said no until I have done more training, that my dog is way to excitable, is a massive pain in the arse trying to play with the other dogs all the time, upsets the dynamic of her dogs (she currently has 11 staying with her in her massive villa complex), barks at the other dogs, sends out confusing body language signals etc. Basically made me feel like shit and implied my dog wasn't well trained enough (although that may just be my hormones making me over sensitive). She acknowledged how much effort I've put into socialising her but said she still needs more work.

Thing is, my dog has an excellent 'settle down' command in our house (as long as no other dogs around), has a great default settle drummed into her from when she was a puppy so when we are watching TV she settles with a kong etc., knows 'look at me' and all of that - the trouble I have is building up these commands around distractions. Being in the Middle East, there is a limit to how much I can expose her to in the way of distractions.

She is also perfectly behaved around the house for us - she gets up for her walk in the morning and then basically sleeps all day, apart from a mad hour of playing with us around 5pm, which we initiate ourselves.

To be honest, I thought her excitability around other dogs was her age (17 months) and that she would naturally grow out of it.

I don't really know what to do now. In my pregnant state I don't really feel up to setting up more training sessions with her, especially when it's 45 degrees outside.

I know my dog has got really shit social skills - she is crap at reading other dogs' signals and I've always noticed her egging other dogs on to play when she's getting clear 'F-off' signals in return. I thought she would eventually grow out of it and other than that, I don't know what else I can do, as I set up socialising sessions with other dog walkers at LEAST once a week at the beach (or at least I did before I got pregnant).

I'm worried now that I've somehow failed her by waiting for her to grow out of it.

I'm also worried that she's only going to get walked 3-4 times a week now (basically, when my husband can do it) as there's no way my pregnant body can cope any more with 5am walks when it's over 40 degrees outside and really, the daycare thing was the only hope I had of making sure she was getting enough exercise for the next few months.

So, do you think this is something she will grow out of naturally, or have I really failed to train her properly around other dogs? Is there anything I can do (bearing in mind my pregancy!) to help resolve the problem?

Reading your post makes me want to come right on around ( ok catch a flight, get a taxi etc) make you a cup of tea and take your dog out for a walk to give you some rest.

It sounds to me like you have done a fab job and what a lucky dog to have so much thought and care put into her socialization. She is certainly an interesting mix and of some very determined instinctive driven dogs .

I think you are absolutely correct she will grow out of things to a degree. A dog trainer with 11 dogs should be able to create the right environment and control to allow your dog to fit in happily however if she is one of these "let the dogs sort it out type" your dog is probably better off without that particular dog walker.

In your heat it will really not hurt your dog to only have 4 walks a week. TBH my normal body would not be up to 5am walks in 40 degree heat or the dogs. let alone pregnant.

Spend a bit of time training from the sofa, maybe collecting named objects, learning to hold objects, learning to put objects in the bin etc. Anything that is easy for you and give you a bit of respite.

Make her hunt for her meals that will take up time and again chill her out.

Do not blame yourself, take things easy, do not feel guilty and enjoy the time to relax while you have it. (It will not be forever)

Hi Feesh.

I know just from reading your above post and also from previous ones (you're expecting twins i believe?!) you sound a billiant owner who's done so much work with your dog.

Nothing more helpful to add, just that really! Hope you're feeling a bit more positive about things soon.

Chin up!

Thanks guys, your replies actually brought tears to my eyes (hormonal lady alert!). Yes I am expecting twins - am only 20 weeks but look and feel like 30 weeks already!

To be honest, this woman is usually quite good at making me feel shit anyway - she is VERY domineering and controlling and she doesn't ever listen to me. She is also not a professional - she is just a very dedicated dog lover and dog rescuer.

I get quite maternal over my dog and I don't take criticism of her very well, so gawd knows what I will be like with the twins!!!!

Thanks for the votes of confidence ladies, it means a lot - I will plough on as we are and it will all work out in the end :)

I had one of these dogs. I got her at just under six months with NO socialisation at all, with people or dogs - she was manic, a dog a mile away at the other side of a field would send her into a frenzy of lunging, whinging, tugging, desperately trying to get to it (to play, no aggression). If allowed to approach she would not leave the other dog alone and play far too excitably, ignoring the other dogs' body language and as a result got herself snapped at many times. I used to dread meeting other dogs on walks because it was just so embarassing.

We constantly trained, on our own and under the guidance of a good dog behaviourist, things like watch me, settle, controlled greetings. It was complicated by the fact that she didn't have much drive for anything, food, toys - a breed thing, this may apply with the saluki part of your dog as well, I just struggled to find any motivation for her. It took a long time keeping her half starved to create a food drive to aid in this kind of training.

I struggled and wept and got frustrated. And then, one day, I realised that she hadn't been distracted by any dogs for quite a few days. That I had taken her to the training class and she had either calmly greeted or ignored the other dogs and people there. That she didn't attempt to jump up at the cyclist that just passed us.

It took a long time but eventually the training paid off (and she grew up a little - two years old was the point where it all came falling in to place) and now I take my superstar unflappable dog for granted a bit. :)

It WILL get better. Keep plugging away at it, it sounds like you're doing a fab job.

Hello! I, having three cats, am of no practical help at all! Now we've got that out of the way, I just wanted to say well done you. You sound like a fab dog owner. I always think its a bit like parenting, you do not have to have a perfectly behaved child to be a good parent, worrying about the problems you have is the sign.
So give yourself a break, tell the dog sitter or whatever to piss off and enjoy your lovely dog and your pregnancy!

Sod the dog sitter. Your dog will grow up and a lot of the behaviour will sort itself out. You sound like you're doing all you can. Your dog won't suffer for having less walks but will suffer if you get stressed so take it easy.

Thanks all! Well, today was the first day without a walk and we've just had half an hour of 'coming to get youuuu' chasing and playing with toys. She probably had more exercise than she does on a 30 minute plod in the sticky heat anyway.

In a minute, I'm going to drag out our much-neglected Manners Minder. It's a Sophia Yin designed gadget which teaches manners when we have visitors - only thing is, it's been sat gathering dust in a cupboard for ages because it's not really compatible with a raw diet. However she's temporarily on normal dog food at the moment (long story) so we can finally use it and do some constructive training!

If you've not heard of the Manners Minder, I got mine on US Amazon and it's an awesome machine!

Hi there, also in the middle east and know what you mean about the early dog walks. They are a killer to do every day - let alone when pregnant with twins! Have you thought about getting a treadmill and training her to use it? My dog sitter has one and says most of the dogs she looks after really enjoy it! She initially uses treats and goes slowly but finds very quickly that they jump on happily, eager to go!

It doesn't sound like your dog has major problems and I'm really surprised that your dog sitter doesn't have the competency to deal with an excitable dog! She sounds lovely ( the dog, not the dog sitter!). In the long term it really won't matter if she misses a few walks so please don't stress about too much. Good luck with the pregnancy.

I think the sitter has too many dogs already, and hasn't the capacity to take on a youngster. That's not your fault, although it is inconvenient for you. 17 months is crazy loon age for any active dog. Don't take it personally.