For those of you who don't know Charlie our 4 year old Labrador x Pointer is a rescue dog and he came to us at 9 months with pretty bad absconding issues. He was given to the pound to be PTS by his family in Ireland as a 6 month old puppy, rescued by a lady at the pound and shipped to a rescue centre in Wales along with other dogs, sent to a fosterer in Surrey, adopted by a couple who gave him back after about a month as they couldn't cope and then we adopted him (we were not told about a lot of this until we adopted him ). We have worked relentlessly with his training since we brought him into our family 3 3/4 years ago, we worked through Pippa's Total Recall and gently over the last year or so we have very slowly built up his off lead time and over the last 3 or so weeks he has had most of his walks off lead and his is behaving very well. He does still do his 2 minute full speed 0 to 60 is 3 seconds and the odd excursion for a couple of minutes but we can live with that, to us it's a small price to pay considering it used to be an hour plus He does lots of checking in on us and milling around and interacting with other dogs which is a joy to see. BAT training has helped in many, many ways and we will always use it. His stop whistle is still a bit of a struggle but we keep going, somedays it's great, so progress albeit small is progress. His verbal recall is really good and we save our whistle recalls for when we really need them and this works really well for us. Charlie is a loyal, loving boy that can always be found at the feet of someone in our family, which is lucky as there are a lot of us so lots of feet He loves to snuggle up to anyone who will invite him onto their bed or sofa and Charlie always has lots of licks and love to share with everyone In the winter he sneaks in to Hattie's bed to snuggle up and I am glad to say they are the best of friends. He is clever too, I have clicker trained him let me brush his teeth, clean his ears and clip his nails, to collect the post, my keys, he helps me take the washing out of the machine, put his toys in a box and himself in a box Charlie didn't have the best start in life from day one but he has overcome such a lot from the 9 month old gangly pup that came to us and I once found standing on the kitchen table would run around the house and garden like a lunatic and lots more that the older members will remember and I would like to forget , to the wonderful family dog he is today, he's by no means perfect but we are not seeking perfection. We were told by two very respected gun dog trainers that we would NEVER be able to let him off lead due to his absconding nature which would never be trained out, so even the naughtiest dog - CHARLIE can be trained. We know he will always be a 'work in progress' with little things still to work on but we as a family couldn't be prouder of our Charlie boy and we love him so much xxx I hope you all don't mind but I really wanted to write this not to receive praise or anything like that but to share with the many new members that have taken on a rescue dog that maybe facing difficult times and maybe pulling their hair out just like we have believe me that there is hope and it can be done. Taking on a rescue dog can be very difficult as they come with lots of baggage, they may have been badly treated, been in kennels for a long period of time, not socialised and many other reasons that you may not know about, so it's vital that everyone in the family pulls in the same direction, keep it simple, use every opportunity to train and proof your training/behaviour, complete continuity so that your dog knows what you want. You WILL get there, eventually, it takes time lots of time and shed loads of patience. You will take 10 steps forwards 20 back but you will do it and you will reep the rewards a 100 times over from your lovely dogs just as we have Thank you xxxx
I didn't know all that about Charlie's background. You and the family have done a fantastic job with Charlie Helen you should get praise for it and you should feel proud. You say Charlie will always be a work in progress well I believe all dogs are work in progress so Charlie is a fantastic, gorgeous, happy 'normal' dog and ended up in a wonderful home. Charlie's story should give hope and encouragement to anybody who might be struggling. You've proven with patience and perseverance you can get there and you really have.
Helen you are an inspiration, and you deserve to feel proud. You have worked tirelessly with Charlie, and despite some contrary advice from other trainers always, always had utter conviction and trust in Charlie. I agree, there is no quick fix. Whilst there are some really great techniques for helping reactive, fearful and absconding dogs, they take time, months and months in many cases.
Reading your post I'm not sure who the luckiest is here - Charlie for having found such a loving, kind, patient forever home or you and your family for having raised such a loving gentle dog and helped him overcome his numerous problems and earned his love and trust. You are an inspiration for all of us who may be considering adoption or who have adopted a dog for your patience and perseverance and never giving up despite expert advice - shows what experts know
I've said it before and I'll say it again, hats off to you, Helen, for your perseverance and dedication. You are such an encouragement to those who struggle with recall! So glad to read this post and know that all your hard work is paying off!
Helen,you and your family have just done an amazing job.I've read through the lows and the tough times with you when you never thought you'd make progress but ALWAYS came back fighting and you are an absolute legend.A lot of us have a great affection for Charlie,there are so many stories,he's made me gasp,smile,cry,despair,even today he's made me laugh imagining him on the kitchen table! I know all you wanted was for Charlie to be a 'real' dog,reading your post makes me realize you haven't just got a 'real' dog,you have an amazing dog x
Reading your post makes me realize that there is still hope for our Finn. He is not a rescue dog, but didn't have a good start in life. Born with a Caesarian section, and had 11 brothers and sisters. His mother became ill after a week he was born. She had mastitis, so heavy that is was necessary to put her on strong antibiotics which the pups weren't allow to have. So no more breast feeding, instead a bottle. His mother lost interest and rejected the pups. After 7 weeks he came to us. The breeder had his mother tested, all was fine, also the fathers papers were fine. After a while we heard that his mother had thyroid problems, probably already when she was expecting. We had our Finn then already a few month. After he was a half year of age, his little brother had to be operated on his knee... If only we had known this beforehand we would have looked for another breeder and puppy.... We have some difficulties with Finn in his behavior. Yesterday he went out with a dog walker and some other dogs, when they met someone on their way who had two dogs with them. This man was eating a banana. Finn likes bananas and when this man had to stoop, Finn grabbed the banana out of his hands.... He is chasing everything and everyone. I myself uses a halty when I walk him. I never walk him off lead! I am sometimes so ashamed of the things he does! He is our third lab, but this one is making us crazy!
Hi Anne, When you wrote 'Finn likes bananas.....' I just knew it was all going to go wrong Labrador style! Poor Finn he did have a bumpy start ,but he sounds lucky to have found you.Your journey together doesn't sound with out its challenges though.This post that Helen has kindly wrote does show that things can get better with work and commitment...and I cannot play down how much work and commitment Helen has put in. How old is Finn now? Why don't you start another thread and see if we can help you with some of the behaviours you are experiencing...things don't get fixed quickly but there is a lot of experience,help and support on this Forum that can help you improve things. Best wishes Angela
Hi Angela, Thank you for your response! I am sure and know for sure that Helen had and still have put so much effort and love in Charlie, and that there is for us still hope. That made me smile! We love our Finn very much, but he is such a handful! He makes us also often very ashamed of what he does. I will follow your advise and open up a thread about him. First I have to put down his adventures chronological in order to put something on here on the forum which is understandable to read. Finn is 21 month now, born on the 24th of October 2013. He has an older brother, Euan, who is born on the 8th of November 2005. So tomorrow I will come back with the story of Finn! I hope you all can be helpful with advise. Annemarie
Hi Anne Marie, Definitely there is hope with Finn, believe me if Charlie can do it Finn can I look forward to reading your thread about Finn and we are all here to help. I forgot to mention in my write up, that without the 100% help I received from my forum friends we most definitely wouldn't have got as far as we have, so I thank you all from the bottom of my heart each and every one of you that was there for me with training advise and emotion support. I still need it though xxx
