Oh good! So two isn’t too old for anything to change then? Fingers crossed she denounces naughty Indie Pindie and her hunty ways and becomes Super-keen Retrieving Piggy
They change throughout there lives Rory at 8 to 12 months was a chasing nightmare joggers bikes kids anything. After training lots of exposure to these things and just lots of experience of these things he is ok. At nearly 4 he is maturing nicely. He's not so much of a d**k he listens more he engages his brain instead of reacting.these things have become less important as his life has become filled with other things.also our relationship is ridiculous we love to be together we play stupid games and have fun. All the mad stuff falls away and you almost rub each other smooth by the time they are old.not in a weird way
I remember when Sky was young and full of energy. She was wappy and it’s only when I think hard, I remember some of the crazy things she did. She became a totally different dog and now at 10 (almost 11) is just so mellow. I know she isn’t Indie/the Pig but hope this gives a bit of reassurance that she isn’t too old for things to change even though it must be so upsetting for you right now.
Good advice. I have to remind myself of this often. But you can't take the pointer right out of the girl, you can only work with what you've got. I do know that we had a setter when I was growing up who was a nightmare for hunting as a puppy/young dog. Somehow, she became a lovely family pet who settled down to live a normal (for those times) dog's life.
Definitely not! Lucky's 3 1/2 now, and has matured a lot since he was 2! Even in the last 6 months I've noticed a change - he's also started to put on some weight and I've reduced his food a bit, I think it's because he is less active on his walks. Our trainer says medium sized dogs aren't fully mature in their behaviour until they are 3 years old, and I think that was true for Lucky.
Can't believe I'd ever hear myself say this but now Ripple is nearly two and a half I am getting the odd glimpses of maturity. Yesterday he came back on the beach every time I blew the whistle (don't think I'm falling for that one Ripple ). Don't get me wrong he's still absolutely mad but in a more mature way .
Yes, she does point, but normally interspersed with slow stalking, creeping up to whatever it is if it is hiding. But where we are, the birds and bunnies are generally in plain sight so she just wants to runrunrun and flush them. She caught an unwary pheasant in a hedge with OH last year and has never forgotten the excitement...
The Pig is nearly two and a half too! Her birthday was the 6th July 2015. I definitely see her maturity more with other dogs. She is still keen to have a mad zoomie with them but will leave them if asked and stay at heel for a few kibbles. That might be increased maturity or alternatively increased greediness!
My DH said it would take Sky until she was two and a half before she started to settle down (her recall was not good at all and we had several grey hair inducing experiences ) and he was spot on. It seemed like forever coming.
Ella is two and a half and I'm finally seeing some glimpses of maturity. Sometimes. Last week we were at a trial (failed miserably. toys.) but bother before and after we went into the ring, we both sat together on the grass and realaxed. There were dogs and people walking within meters of us and Ella stayed by my side. At one point, she even lay flat out beside me while I rested my arm on her. Six months ago I'd have been standing, braced for the lunge, probably 100m away from everyone else. I know it's a different context and they're different dogs but age definitely does make a difference I just can't wait until next year when she becomes and obedience champion
@Beanwood and @heidrun you are of course right and I apologise to everyone on the forum for my post. I think we both got a little overheated and got our knickers in a right old twist. @snowbunny Fiona, I am sorry for my outburst, I would like to draw a line under this as I hope you do too. Can we go back to being friends? xx
Knickers officially untwisted, on all sides we all love our dogs and work hard with them, bound to get overheated on occasion xxx incidentally, I found a pair of my knickers in the Pig’s nest this morning. God knows when she had procured them!
Really @Lara, you must keep hold of knickers Just shows how our dogs pick up on things - Indie Pig must have known she'd caused a twist of knickers
@Lara so sorry to read your post, so glad all was well. I actually don’t have any advice (everything I have learnt has come via the forum) I sympathise with you entirely as I have a very high hunt drive lab. I’ve cut my long line in half and will occasionally use that instead of a lead. She will cry and whine and go crazy if she sees something she wants to chase. The biggest challenge is keeping her under the threshold I think I’ll be working on it for a whole lifetime. I’ve learnt to accept it now and always take advantage of every little situation I can use for training, which also includes only allowing my husband to walk her in certain places as he has been know to allow her to chase rabbits, squirrels and once to my horror cats in the garden. This has made her more excitable. I love my OH but sometimes I wish he would think
