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The doghouse

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Original poster

The perfect dog.

28 replies

Springermum1350 · 15/12/2015 14:27

I know that no dogs are perfect. But why does everyone else that I meet seem to have the perfect dog.

Their dogs always walk beautifully. They ignore other dogs. They never seem to jump at cats or birds. Or get scared over feathers lying on the floor ( I kid you not with that one. )

I am aware that my springer ( called Raffles ) is only 11 months old. And we still have a way to go in his training.

And I am sure that every other person I meet with a dog has problems.

They just all seem so pulled together and perfect. I just wonder if we will ever get there. I am always the one that is embarrassed as my dog goes nuts or acts weird.

OP posts:

Deadnettle · 15/12/2015 14:52

I used to wonder this too. My last two dogs were border collies and despite years and years of training were never anywhere near as well behaved out and about as the dogs belonging to people who I know only did very basic training. I thought it deeply unfair!

I now have a miniature poodle puppy and she is so easy. Even if I never did any training with her she would seem like the perfect dog (she's not!). I now realise that all the people who seemed to have perfect dogs were just lucky!

Your dog is very young yet, it will get better as he gets older.

BloodyDogHairs · 15/12/2015 15:03

I was just thinking the same today, I took my 2 GSD'S to the big open grass area beside my house and there was another GSD already there. That one was off lead, it took one glance at us then kept going beside it's owner, if it has been the other way round my 2 would've ran over and acted like idiots

Owllady · 15/12/2015 15:05

It's because you have a Springer. I have a collie
Nuff said

pigsDOfly · 15/12/2015 15:18

You think like this Springer because you haven't seen other people's dogs when they're behaving like loons - the dogs not the people.

If you saw me with my dog on a walk you might think 'look at that lovely dog walking along so beautifully' only thing is you didn't see her leaving the house and the screaming barking if she see's any of the dogs that live down the road - we're working on it and it's getting better. Oh and one of the dogs down the road, always walks along like a dream but I know he howls like a wolf sometimes when he's left alone.

I bumped into someone I know the other day and commented on how beautifully her dog walks on the lead, she said it had taken years of dragging the dog along for her to achieve that.

At 11 months your dog's still a baby and a dog's adolescence can be a bit of a nightmare so at that age there's a lot to get through before they become 'perfect'.

Dog's can be enormously embarrassing at times. My dog is 4 years old now so our embarrassing moments are getting fewer. She can still make me cringe at times though and there's always some new odd behaviour to work on but I'd hate the mad behaviour to go completely, it's part of what makes dog so wonderfully unpredictable.

CMOTDibbler · 15/12/2015 15:19

I think springers are very hard work. I know several who are not very good at recall, pull etc.

But sit in any park for a length of time, and you'll see lots of dogs go from seemingly angelic to ignoring owners at various times. My ddog2 mostly recalls beautifully away from other dogs, but the other day decided to dance around with a jack russell and not be caught, let alone recall

Madblondedog · 15/12/2015 15:27

They all have their perfect traits but have bad points too. My labrador is cuddly, loving, doesn't take food unless its on the floor, can cope without a walk, doesn't chew anything and never has, doesn't jump up, doesn't bat an eyelid at being left at home when we go out. BUT.....his recall is reliant on me having treats, he eats all sorts of rubbish on walks and then there are repercussions of that, he will make friends with everyone (so I think he'd be easy to steal) and he gets grumpy in the lead up to food time.

In the house people think he's perfect and then if they take him for a walk........they know he's not

There is no perfect dog I'm sure of it

superbfairywren · 15/12/2015 15:44

My dog walks beautifully on a lead, although he is scared of everything, and is nearly the perfect pet in the house when we are at home alone. The minute anyone comes round he is a right pain in the bum, won't leave people alone, nips them if they don't play with him, jumps up, licks people, tries to steal their socks, is generally a nightmare. I wish he would be the sleepy happy relaxed thing he is when noone is around!! Fortunately he is only 2 and a half and he is slowly chilling out but he doesn't really like walks and even if you walked all day he is never worn out! Quite looking forward to him getting lazier and less arsed about visitors.

Original poster

Springermum1350 · 15/12/2015 16:02

It's nice to hear other people think the same.

He is not bad. I love him to death. I have had a springer before so I knew what I was getting myself into. I love hiking and walks on the beach and just being out , so a springer is a perfect match for me.

He is good. His recall is wonderful, he spins round when the whistle goes and comes back straight away ( except when there are other dogs and birds etc) we are working on meeting other dogs outside. He seems to think they are things that should be sat on and barked at..... Right in their faces. Though at day care he is scared off them and just watches all day. 🙄🙄

His sit , stay , wait are wonderful ( again inside not out) he even understands the command ' you going the wrong way' when in the woods. He runs back and takes the other path or watches me till I point in the right direction to go.

But when he goes all bananas at a feather on the floor... Growling at it and generally being a dope I despair lol.

I just wish he could meet other dogs better. He is relatively calm for a springer. Just a dope at times

OP posts:

ThatsNotMyRabbit · 15/12/2015 16:06

If he's spending his time at daycare scared of other dogs he shouldn't really be going.

I'd bet a lot of money that the reason he barks in other dogs' faces is BECAUSE he's going to daycare and being frightened.

RiceCrispieTreats · 15/12/2015 16:11

My dog is perfect.

It's a total fluke, and nothing to do with me.

Every dog is different, and some are just more amenable to human rules than others.

Every dog is lovable, though. Sometimes their temperaments just don't fit with what we want them to do.

Your springer is a joy, I'm sure.

Greyhorses · 15/12/2015 16:23

I have one that's pretty much perfect, however it's nothing to do with me at all. I rescued him at 10 months and he had been beaten within an inch of his life and has never put a foot wrong. The secret is i need a tennis ball in my pocket as he ball obsessed and will take the ball over anything else in the world.

Second dog is a horrible barking dog and people aggressive idiot
I spend my time keeping her away from other dogs and strangers- she is very scared of life and dogs in her face make her 100 times worse (and I wouldn't dare send her to daycare as nobody would survive ) Some dogs are just anti social!

dotdotdotmustdash · 15/12/2015 16:46

I have a 5.5yr old Border Collie who came from a rescue when he was 18months old. He's perfection on four furry legs. He is a stickler for rules and does whatever he's told the first time. If you tell him to leave something he won't even look at it - for example we stayed in a farmhouse that had about 20 chickens wandering around and we told him when he arrived to leave them and he studiously avoided them for the next fortnight. He's never had a voice raised at him or chewed anything he shouldn't have. He's ace. He's been on Scout camps and stayed in lots of places with no issues.

We got another dog from the freeads last Christmas. She's a 2yr old collie cross and she's different in temperament, but while she's still a work in progress, she is learning her craft from her brother and settling beautifully.

It is possible to have perfect dogs :-)

FlameProofBoots · 15/12/2015 16:49

My dog (11mo chihuahua/jrt cross) is perfect when it's just me and her. She's snuggly, barks politely once to be let out, sits and stays when told.

As soon as the rest of the family are home she's a bloody lunatic, nips and barks and runs around the house. She can be quite exhausting.

Original poster

Springermum1350 · 15/12/2015 17:32

Thatsnotmyrabbit. He has only been at day care three times so far in the last few weeks. The reason he goes is to socialise with other dogs and hopefully make them seem less exciting when we are out. That's the trainners theory anyway.

He will go bananas when we are in the forest or at the beach. But in a cafe, house or day care he reacts differently. He seems to ignore them. Now if we could get him to do that all the time it would be soooooo much better lol.

OP posts:

Lucylou333 · 15/12/2015 17:43

People leave the park to avoid us. Mine is always coated head to toe in fox shit always. It's actually quite embarrassing. It was so hideous last week I actually puked as I had to touch it to get her lead back on.

Original poster

Springermum1350 · 15/12/2015 17:56

Lucyloo33. That made me laugh. It's normally me that people look at strangely as Raffles is going bananas and their dog is just walking beautifully and ignoring him.

OP posts:

Bubble2bubble · 17/12/2015 13:13

I met someone at the end of a walk the other day and she remarked how calm and attentive my dogs were as they sat at my feet . What she didn't know was that they had been running flat out for two hours and wanted to go home for breakfast and if she had met them at the start if their walk she probably would have been frightened at the madness

LimeJellyHead · 17/12/2015 19:18

I think also add terriers to the mix when it comes to trouble, lol. Our Berkeley, a JRT, has spent his life causing agro. We were the ones who had to stand outside at the vets until it was his turn to go in, lol. He hated cats, played "I'm the boss" with other dogs, took me for a walk rather than the other way round. People used to either give us dirty looks or sympathetic looks... mostly the former. But gawd, was he fun. I would not swap him for all the "perfect" dogs in the world. Our other dog is quiet, lays in her bed and sleeps until walks or dinner, is fine with other dogs and cats, can be taken anywhere etc... and I love her but TBH she is a tad boring. I like the spirit of the "non-perfect" dogs

BirdyArms · 18/12/2015 00:32

I think some people like to talk about their dogs problems and others don't. I have an 11 month old lurcher and like to bang on and on about his latest problems to any other dog owners I can find in the hope that they might have some solutions for me.

I know one fellow dog owner quite well now, we always walk together and chat if we are in the same park, and he never has a bad word to say about his dog. However, the lady who walks his dog when he's at work says that the dog tears his house apart whenever he goes out. If it were me I'd be able to talk of nothing else, yet he has never mentioned it.

LimeJellyHead · 18/12/2015 19:16

lol, good point.

Hatethis22 · 18/12/2015 19:22

This is the perfect dog.

There are dogs that are beautifully behaved out on walks and then go home and wee on the carpet and eat the sofa. That's what I tell myself anyway

Hatethis22 · 18/12/2015 19:23

Bum. I meant

Thed0gs · 18/12/2015 22:39

I think all dogs have their cheeky moments. I have a pointer and a ridgeback who are absolutely wonderful, sociable dogs (apart from the fox poo rolling). One thing that drives me mad though is people who don't allow their dogs to meet other dogs. I mean, they're social creatures right? My two would drive me mad if they just walked at my heel for two hours (not to mention not getting enough exercise). Yes, they sometimes bark. Yes, some like to boisterous play. People seem to anthropomorhise (and misread) these actions and attribute them to aggression.

I would suggest, keep up socialising your puppy and he will learn to interact with other dogs in time.

roastednut · 18/12/2015 22:50

Mine is far from perfect. Never comes back when I call her (altho never runs too far away unless another dog is nearby to play with) and much much more.

This morning things hit a new low for me - I was rather hungover from the works Christmas do last night, she'd been with my inlaws all day. This morning I gave her a massive cuddle and buried my head into her neck, only to be hit by the stench of what can only have been some kind of animal shit. Somehow my mouth was slightly open and I swear I actually had it in my mouth (sort of). Cue me running with my sore hear to wretch into the toilet while my bemused pooch looked on.

She's all clean again now of course

Hatethis22 · 18/12/2015 22:58

I have a Sixth Sense dog. She sees dead things and rolls in them.

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