On Edge

[Mike A]

I'm sorry if this offends anybody , and I'm sure all the advice is being given with the best of intentions , but Wullie has the dog in front of him (now) and is very very experienced ! Maybe we should just let him get on with it and see how it progresses and enjoy what will be a positive outcome .

Mike

[Judy]

"Percussion instruments" gaffer taped and the "Flashing lights", as you put it, are for when the sh** hits the fan again.It will make finding Edge so much easier.

If the dog runs off, being "chased" by noise and flashing lights isn't going to help him recover his equanimity. And, err, pot, black re the fan?

long line for a while will certainly stop him running off though, when he's attached to it, so you are correct, Judy. Can't see how a long line will cure his fears but it will certainly keep him from running off again.

A long line will do nothing to cure his fears, thats not what its for.

Mike has said; Bill is there with the dog and is very experienced. However, it does no harm to discuss points raised so that newbies to gun dogs can learn from the rest of us, its what the forum is for after all. And we can all learn something new however many years we have been training dogs - I have always let new dogs off straight away but I may be a bit more circumspect now that I've read about Edge!

[Mike A]

Fair point Judy , my apologies

[trekmoor]

Quote ...."If the current owner is taking the cautious route, is getting the dog into a confined but open and easy to view area with maximum effort concentrated on recall not the better option?"

Yes, it would be useful to work in such a place but there is nothing like that around here. I have a choice of football pitches with too short grass and lots of people around. Or non woodland ground with very high, very thick grass and weeds where a spaniel or even a lab could not be seen , or woodlands. The woodlands groundcover is pretty thick in places but I can usually see the pup. Not many dog walkers or ramblers go into woods which makes the woods about the best place to take him.

It would be very nice to have a really well fenced secure area of ground about half the size of a football pitch to take him into but there isn't one.
I will have to work with what I do have.

Wullie

[trekmoor]

I didn't see anything you need to apologise for Mike.

Wullie

[Naj]

Following on from what Judy said earlier, I think there's a difference between introducing an 8+ week old puppy to the world at large & a 6 month old young adult to an environment which he might never have encountered before & without the security of an owner that he is familiar with. Obedience isn't going to solve the dogs fear issues, habituation is. While ever Edge is in an emotional state of fear he won't be open to listening to anything but his instincts, in this case 'flight'.

Naj

[trekmoor]

Obedience isn't going to solve the dogs fear issues, habituation is. While ever Edge is in an emotional state of fear he won't be open to listening to anything but his instincts, in this case 'flight'.

Naj

I agree. My wife and I did some more "Ping-Pong Puppy" playing with him out in the street today with no problems at all. He recalls very well unless he is either strongly interested in investigating something or unless he is frightened of something. Obedience training is not the answer to this problem.

He is still showing fear of people but he will now go to them if they give him time to adjust without moving towards him. While out on the lead a short while ago he saw one of my neighbours and although he would have ran away if not on the lead he was soon engaging with the man. My neighbour went down on his hunkers and gave him a treat which Edge accepted although rather warily.

Within the next week I will take him to meet Cuda's labs .....one at a time. Once he is O.K. with the lab and Cuda nearby I will get Cuda to toss a dummy or two for it and let Edge see it coming back towards him but completely disinterested in him. I'll play it by ear from there.

Wullie

[Judy]

But if the dog is trained then you can call the beggar back before it gets to the other dog, or before it runs off because its seen another dog. It wont cure its fear when it sees things it doesn't like but it will have learned to come to you. The fear has to be sorted as a separate entity but surely will be helped by you working with the dog? I agree once it gets to the hysteria phase its too flipping' late.

Argumentative of Kent.

[westcountry]

I'm sorry if this offends anybody , and I'm sure all the advice is being given with the best of intentions , but Wullie has the dog in front of him (now) and is very very experienced ! Maybe we should just let him get on with it and see how it progresses and enjoy what will be a positive outcome .

Mike

I agree with this,people can post all sorts of advice,good and bad but all with the best intentions I am sure. Even I as a newcomer have read enough from Wullie to know he is a real dog man and if anyone can sort this pups hangups then I think he can. Advice from well wishers is great and always worth a listen but nobody else knows the dog like its owner,particularly when its owner is an experienced dog man with a real love of dogs and a a sympathetic nature as to their needs and fears.
I think Wullie is one of those.

[James]

I would say this will sort itself out fairly quickly as the dog had no problems before having been around lots of people from both my lessons and walkers past our property. The same goes when meeting other dogs in a controlled environment, it's up to Bill now to resolve these new issues and I'm sure he will.