Can I learn to love my dog?

[MyGastIsFlabbered]

Adopted a dog in December, my children adore her. But she drives me crazy, she's so boisterous and is always jumping up on me. And don't get me started on having to pick up her dog poo 🤢

I'm not and never would be cruel to her but I want to love her. Is it likely to come in time or is mild annoyance at her the best I can hope for. As I said, the DCs adore her so she's definitely staying with us, rehoming isn't an option.

Looks like I've got some shopping to do.

A secure field is also a good idea. A local rescue let me use their secure paddock for a short period for a very small donation each week too.

Bless her she's lovely

Yy to mental stimulation. If she's a staffie cross she'll need something unbreakable. Black kong stuffed with frozen banana or peanut butter, soft buster cube in the garden, nylabone.

For jumping up, each time she does it turn around.

Teach her to wait for her food, get dcs to teach her 'speak' or wait and search for hidden treats round the house.

Also it took me about a year or more to love my dog - be wierd without him now

She's currently lying on the back of the sofa behind me snoring loud enough to wake the dead!

Snuffle mats also went down a treat here! I worried she would trash it but she bloody loved it...i used to stick her breakfast (obv dry food) in it to make her work for it. Or a big ole kong wobble with breakfast maybe?

Go to some training clssses. Your dog responding to you will really help you bond.

Exercise is essential though. Try and. Hold dog walking into your daily routine. I walk mine as soon as I get back from the morning school run and then my husband does the same when he gets in from work. An unwalked dog is always going to be more difficult to manage, it's also really unkind. Is a dog walker an option for you?

This is what can happen if you use a collar and extending lead - this a photo taken of my dog when he reached the end of the lead, before I knew better! Luckily he was unharmed but it can't have been pleasant for him.

A small dog is better with a harness anyway, as the pressure on their trachea when using a collar and lead can often result in damage to the trachea, and yes no extended leads or long lines with a collar.

Take her to classes. It will help you to learn how to train her, so she doesn't jump up at you, and it will help you bond with her.

Dogs are hard work, as you've discovered, they need a lot of input if you want a well rounded happy dog.

Get out with her more, get to know her better and you might actually discover you like her. Also she'll be more likable as she won't be bored and hyper.

You hate picking up dog poo? You resent walks?

Sorry, why did you even bother to get a dog in the first place?

There’s no such thing as a dog shit fairy and unfortunately in this country dogs can’t walk themselves!

“The dog could do with more exercise” well then give it more then!!!

Sorry, I don’t have any sympathy. Your attitude stinks

Another problem is that her recall isn't great so when he do go for a walk she has to stay on the lead. She has a retractable lead but I feel she really needs to be able to run. I'm just too scared to let her off it.

High value treats are what you need. We take sausage and chicken (only very small pieces) for our 6-month old apparently half-starved (so she would have you believe) puppy. Works brilliantly. Also see if there are any secure dog exercise fields you could get to. You usually have to register and pay a hiring fee but it sounds like it might be a good answer to your problems. Get one of those ball throwing things like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-ball-thrower-Coloured-Tennis/dp/B001I0RM3O?tag=mumsnetforum-21. Then you won't have to walk too far and the dog will get loads of exercise. Or see if you can find a dog walker in your area. We have a fab lady who takes our puppy and a bunch of others to a secure field to play and it certainly wears her out!

Yes, I'm puzzled as to why you actually got a dog. Surely you must have realized that you'd have to train her and walk her?

I'm guessing not. She annoys you because she jumps all over you. Well that's not her fault. Did you think she'd train herself?

Find a friend with a well behaved dog and walk them together. She's likely to stick with the friend which makes training her to come easier.

Get help. Get training. You'll get on so much better.

She's gorgeous.

Of course I knew I'd have to walk the dog, I'm not a complete idiot. Though I realise this thread isn't showing me in the best light. I had envisaged walks in the forest with the dog running free not stressful walks with her on the lead. I had wrongly assumed that a 4 year old dog would be trained as I'd been led to believe but she wasn't even housetrained.

And yes I do hate picking up poo, who enjoys it?

You will get the hang of it OP, just a bit of time, training and lots of patience lol. She will settle into your routine and you won't be without her in no time I'm sure. She's a lovely dog . I always find it weird if I come home to an empty house without the dog and don't like it at all!

Hi OP, I'm sorry you feel this way, but training will definitely help you bond with her!

Tip that's really helped me with jumping up/ general over-exciteability:

Put one hand under your dog's chest (between her front legs) and support her weight slightly.

Put your other hand around the base of one ear and hold gently but firmly. Hold her against your legs.

After a very short period of time she should be much more pliant!

It's like a magic trick.

(Don't communicate anger while you're doing this, though).

You "resent walks" !!!! wow I'm in at that. Why on earth did you get a dog then?

50% of me getting a dog was for the walks. They were my rest, relief, stress-buster, escape, mindfulness time, and then I became friendly with fellow dogwalkers and I made friends. My dog was my rock. Aside from my DC I've never loved anyone as much as my dog.

I'm sorry you don't / can't feel the same.

Go back to basics OP and it will work in your favour. Getting good recall is essential and will mean you can enjoy walks off lead. Sometimes you also have to find their 'thing' with recall. I have a 9 month old lab pup and if we just walk her she will run after every dog she sees to play and not come back. But, if we take a stick she loves it and will totally focus on the game of fetching the stick and that is more exciting than chasing other dogs. So on a walk take a bag full of treats and engage your dog - make it more fun for him to play with you than to run off. Take balls, toys etc and play with him, kids can obviously help with this.
I'd recommend doing a puppy/dog training course and reading everything you can about basic training. Put the work in now and it will make life easier in the long run.

Oh FGS I've already explained why I got a dog. Maybe resent was the wrong word to use, all I know is that I don't look forward to walking the dog at all. And I really hoped to.

I'm sure you will like it more once you have trained her. It is a bit of hard work at first but will be worth it!

I know you haven't taken on a puppy but recall and toilet issues mean you don't have a typical adult dog (if that makes any sense!) Puppy regret is a real thing!
I thought of walking my loyal hound through the woods. Wonderful behaviour and calm and loving dog. We had a psycho wall chewing, child chomping looper. Ok maybe not totally fair but it felt like it. I was exhausted and overwhelmed.
I worked hard on training and she is now that loyal and lovely hound. But it takes time. And hard work.
Raw fed poo is smaller and stinks less. Just saying!

We find Burns dry dog food produces much more tolerable poo!!! Tried a few including Aldi. Didn't give the dog diarrhoea but the quantity and the pong bleaaarrgghh.

Forget her actual age and puppy train her. Go right back to basics. As a veteran of rescue dogs, it's the only way.

Get the DC involved, because training a dog often helps boost their own communication skills, plus they get the reward of seeing their responsible hard work paying off.

How about you and puffie going to dog classes? My MIL's dog was super boisterous but with more exercise and training she's now a really lovely companion.