[Closed] Terrier owners....

Terriers have the chase the prey gene at the top of their list of priorities and go selectively deaf when on the chase or scent trail .

Mine is getting better and I can stop him right at the start but once he sets off then it is difficult

I always put him on the lead if I see other dogs and certainly for sheep

Very difficult to control. Doable but hard work. Mine is off the lead only in the forests and beachs where there are no other people or dogs.

He can be controlled by having food in my hand and giving him treats when I shout and he returns. But sometimes the hunting gene kicks in and he is off - until he realizes what he is doing then panics and look for his owners and runs back.

Bitches tend to be better behaved than Dogs and also more maternal around kids. My staffy is fine around other dogs, sheep and cats but not rabbits. But then she was very well trained by the original owner. She does get a bit confused when there are rabbits grazing amongst sheep and then I have to put her on the lead (although tbh she generally goes on the lead around sheep just to be safe).

Terriers have the chase the prey gene at the top of their list of priorities and go selectively deaf when on the chase or scent trail .

This is simply not true and is the preserve of those who couldn't be arsed getting the recall right in the first place. 😐

All you have to do is keep hammering home the recall over and over again when the dog is a puppy. If you're getting a male, then consider neutering - once the testosterone starts to kick in the urge to roam and find bitches to mount can be irresistible.

Oh and surfer is the guy here with a Lakeland. He'll be overjoyed that someone is getting one - he posts pics on every "I'm getting a dog thread" but noone ever pays his any attention. 🙂

Gotta say Darcy that you are, despite your rude assertion, wrong.

Every dog has the 'being a dog instinct' at the top of their list of priorities.

Your point is more about how you suppress the dog's instincts, turning them into less of a dog at the same time.

Gotta say Darcy that you are, despite your rude assertion, wrong.

No I'm not, see?

Every dog has the 'being a dog instinct' at the top of their list of priorities.
Your point is more about how you suppress the dog's instincts, turning them into less of a dog at the same time.

Ah yes, the well known "being a dog" instinct. I'd love to hear more about how a dog that comes when it's called is less of a dog than the nutters that pay no attention to their owners at all. You gotta be trolling right, or not enough sleep - there's a reason you're spouting bollocks like that early in the morning isn't there?

You've got to be top dog all the time, they are trainable BUT you must be consistent and pack leader. Our staff will chase rabbits and squirrels if he thinks he can get away with it but he knows he's in for a telling off if he ignores the "LEAVE" command.

Also have to say that it seems to be the smaller terriers that want to pick fights with the big dog, usually streaking across the field totally ignoring the old dear owners attempt at recall to face off the bigger dog.

What Trout says is spot on in my experience, unless you put in many hours of dononating training so they stop in their tracks through fear when you shout.

Just keep a lead to hand and if you see something they will chase put it on the lead before they bolt.

deadlydarcy - Member

Terriers have the chase the prey gene at the top of their list of priorities and go selectively deaf when on the chase or scent trail .

This is simply not true and is the preserve of those who couldn't be arsed getting the recall right in the first place.

i've seen you write some utter tosh on this forun DD but this is your best so far, terriers were bred to act alone away from their owners (down rabbit holes/badger sets etc) and this hasn't been bred out of them, you can only train them so far but the instinct to hunt will alway be there

you've had the reaction and attention you crave now run along to another thread and feed your ego there

hmmm dog owners ! .... i cant take my whippet to the park cos there are so many dogs off the lead running wild and they always somehow pick up on my dogs fear ! he was savaged last year and he has become a real scardy cat, so i have to walk him away from parks and take him to a secure field so he can run occaisionaly....
i think most dogs have the instinct to chase, even tho the owner can scream at trying to get thier dog back =(the dog never listens) not in my area anyway (Lol)...its worrying when dogs come bounding over and the owners ALMOST ALWAYS SAY (OH MY DOGS FINE HE WONT HURT YOUR DOG ! how many times have i heard that...!geez.... if a dog wants a fight...he,s ruddy on his way reguardless of the owners beckond call... not so long ago there was a servey in my area about dogs .... i rang the local council about wether or not dogs shud be 'on the lead' close to 'childrens play area' eg..swings etc which i think they shud be on the lead... they knew of problems in my area where too many dogs are off the lead in certain areas..... they said there was a new 'rule' to come in ..in the future (watch this space) they said..

Ive had terriers for over ten years and they can be stubborn little buggers, but with correct and early training they can definitely be kept under control . I have a guy who lives near me with two Staffords and they are always off the lead and only leave his side when he tells them to go and always come back to him when he commands.

In my experience it depends how much time you can dedicate to them when they are a puppy.

Sprocket the Border Terrier comes to work with me every day so I had plenty of opportunity to teach him recall and not to chase.

We also used to play a game with him as a pup in the house and garden when my wife and I would take it in turns to hide and then whistle him until he found us and then give him a reward, then the other would hide and whistle and so on. He soon learnt that finding the whistling person quickly meant reward.

Jack Russel here, sometimes I'll do as I'm told sometimes I won't, If you want me to come back to you, you best be holding somethimg I want, preferably something edible, even then I may have to think about it.

Best to train me early give me clear and consistant boundaries don't be fooled by my cute puppiness, cos I will take liberties, my nature is to do as I want, you have to teach me different.

When choosing puppies, I like to go for a middle one, ie not the boldest and not the timid one.

Someone at work is selling a terrier puppy. I can get details if anyone's interested.

Loddrick

Heres mine, she is 6 now.
[img] [/img]

Ignore Darcy he is bitter and his experience is limited to a handbag dog!

I let her off the lead all the time and she is quite well behaved and good with other dogs and people. Cant be let off near sheep however !! but parks, beach etc she is fine. I suspect males may be more difficult to control.
Some of them tend to dig but mine doesnt. Those that do can be a pita as they make a right mess and ruin your garden.
I would say the only downside is she yaps a bit.

As DD said, Surfers got a lovely lakeland.
FWIW, I've but a border and could lose her if I tried. She's happy to wander off the lead, but is always looking for where Mum and Dad are.

Daisy, Entry in!!!!

I've 2 Westies..

And to be fair, I've never tried them off the lead, and I guess at 5 + 2 they are too old to train.

Still, they seem happy enough on walks as we have those long stretchy leads so they can still run about.

My Parsons terrier was OK if I caught him at the initial 'oh there's a dog to play with (1 mile away)' stage, but when he had made the first step he was gone. Still miss the little shit though.

Beautiful looking dogs and have fun owning one but remember why terriers have their specific name and take that into account with choice/training/expectations. I am sure you have done that but I am amazed at how many friends haven't.

FWIW, I've but a border and could lose her if I tried. She's happy to wander off the lead, but is always looking for where Mum and Dad are.

Exactly the same with our border. She walks very well off the lead, comes back on recall. There is one thing she goes selectively deaf over (which we're working on, and she's getting better) and that's her instinct to go say hello to other dogs (in a completely friendly and submissive manner).

There's some good points here and some utter tosh...

Terriers are perfectly trainable (is that a word?) but they are harder than most dogs. This is mainly due to them being bred to think for themselves unlike a Lab or retriever. Thankfully they're generally quite greedy (as most dogs are) so food can be used to bribe.

We've got a two year-old Border and he took a lot of training but he's pretty well behaved. One post said the dog needs to be scared of you.... What rubbish, they need to understand who is the 'pack leader' and then they will understand who wears the trousers.

We let ours off the lead all the time, but usually in fields and when there's no one around. It does my head in when others people's dogs come bounding up to me so I don't want mine doing the same.

You need to match the dog/ bitch to you. what i mean by this is that like people dogs have apersonality, so a dog can be hard or soft and the way you feed into this with your dog is important.
To soft and the dog does what it wants or you could completely crush its temprement.
Always view the dog in its home envoironment see both parents if possible.
Terriers where all working dogs so they have that certain temprement, if dont want this in a dog look for another breed

^^^^^^^^ This X2

Too many people go for Terriers because they're generally quite small and cute looking but a lot of them need serious exercise and can be destructive if they get bored. When our Border was a pup he chewed through the radiator pipes FOUR times, managed to get a bottle of red wine out the wine rack and smash it on the tiles, destroyed countless socks etc, ipod leads.

Having said that, he's great now and hasn't chewed anything for over a year (he's two.)

It does my head in when others people's dogs come bounding up to me so I don't want mine doing the same.

Odd that. As a dog person I like meeting other peoples dogs. I find the owners who don't let their dogs greet each other, and pull their dog away on the lead quite rude. They look down their nose at your dog as if they think it'll attack their dog, when all they want to do is have a sniff. Then they wonder why their dog can't socialise well with others.

Nothing I like better than going out for a Sunday walk down the beach where other dogs are off their leads all playing with each other and the owners all having a chat. Quite a social thing.

Get the recall right, put the hard work in when they're young, and be consistant. It works.

Not with mine though, i was crap at it (mines a Border).

I've 2 Westies..

And to be fair, I've never tried them off the lead

Jesus christ poor dogs, I'm well a truely flabbergasted, this site never fails to astound me.

Terriers can be trained just fine, tricky to stop them chasing squirrels, rabbits (who cares??) and sheep (put them on a lead when around them) etc (just like my lurcher). But training them to not run up to other dogs or people all the time and to be called back is pretty straight forward.

I find the owners who don't let their dogs greet each other, and pull their dog away on the lead quite rude. Then they wonder why their dog can't socialise well with others.

Prezet - I will have to disagree with you there. I agree that it is lovely for dogs and owners to have a chat and to socialise. But if someone has their dog on a lead, it is usually for a good reason. I think it is selfish to ignore that and let your dog run up to another on a lead.

If I see another dog on the lead, I put mine on his immediately out of respect for the other owner. I hope that others do the same for me.

A flame from Rocketdog. That's made my day. 😆

You're wrong though. If you put the work in early you can get an obedient dog. If you don't, you don't. Simple as. Some breeds are a bit more difficult, ergo, you need to put in a bit of extra work.

Sorry Prezet, but its not through being snobbish. My dog went to socialisation classes from when he was a tiny pup and went to training every week for two years. So I'm quite happy for him to meet other dogs. The problem is not all dogs are friendly and ours is extremely friendly and keen to say hello.

I've had several dogs snap at ours when he's been on a lead and they've come running over. Because of this I tend to play it safe and keep him on a lead when I'm around other dogs.

Prezet - I will have to disagree with you there. I agree that it is lovely for dogs and owners to have a chat and to socialise. But if someone has their dog on a lead, it is usually for a good reason. I think it is selfish to ignore that and let your dog run up to another on a lead.

If I see another dog on the lead, I put mine on his immediately out of respect for the other owner. I hope that others do the same for me.

I think you two just have crossed wires, If I see a dog on the lead I will stop my dog approaching it, done bother with a lead though myself, if I see a dog off the lead I will let Kea decide what to do she gives nasty dogs a wide birth. Always amazed by how many people have poorly trained mutts who let there dog approach dogs on a lead and dont even try to call it away though. My lurcher has had various injuries and been kept on the lead for a while and so many little mutts came running up to her. Wonder what the owner would think he she picked it up and gave it a shake?

Wonder what the owner would think he she picked it up and gave it a shake?

One tried that on my dog, she is pretty easy going but when the Lurcher started pinning her down she reacted furiously and he soon backed off, mates afterwards.

Anyway keep your voices down or TJ will be along.

anagallis_arvensis - Member

I've 2 Westies..

And to be fair, I've never tried them off the lead

Jesus christ poor dogs, I'm well a truely flabbergasted, this site never fails to astound me.

Really? They seem perfectly happy and will walk all day like it...

So, how should I be doing it, as I'm so obviously wrong...

I disagree with those who say you can completely train terriers. Yes you can get them to largely behave (and mine does) but if something more interesting comes along I think years of breeding takes over and trumps a few training classes.
I think if I ever came across a terrier that was totally obedient I think you would have destroyed its temperement.

Possibly A-A but I am a bit touchy as in the process of re-training one of my retrievers after several incidents with an ill-disciplined German Shepherd and his owner. All could have been avoided if the other owner could control his protective GS properly with or without lead, but sadly not. Let is maul my dog and create a lot of anxiety and fear for him.

Pretty much back to normal with correct use of a lead and socialising on our terms not others. But irritating to have dogs come up when it is not appropriate.

Just basic manners really?

Sorry Prezet, but its not through being snobbish. My dog went to socialisation classes from when he was a tiny pup and went to training every week for two years. So I'm quite happy for him to meet other dogs. The problem is not all dogs are friendly and ours is extremely friendly and keen to say hello.

Probably should have elaborated a bit more. The incidents I mean are when Molly is on her lead. She walks calmly by my side. Another dog owner approaches from the other way, and owners yank their dogs as far away as they can get to physically stop the dogs saying hello. In my view, this can't do any favours for their dog. I can only assume their dogs doesn't get on well with others.

Sorry probably not explaining it very well. But they're the type of owners who won't let their dog mix with others, and completely ignore you when you say pass them saying 'good morning'.

As I've confessed, if Molly is off her lead she is very well behaved except for going to greet other dogs. We've tried numerous things to break this habit - but she goes deaf and gets some kind of tunnel vision. She doesn't go right up to them. Stops about 5-10ft away and sits down wagging her tail. Then normally rolls onto her back.

Once the other dog has gone past, either by ignoring her, or having a sniff and wandering off, she resumes her obedience. If anyone has any advice on how to break this it'd be appreciated. Treats don't work. It does worry me that one day she might go up to the wrong dog and get hurt.

She's still fairly young at about 20 months, and slowly she seems to be growing out of it.

deadlydarcy - Member
A flame from Rocketdog. That's made my day.

You're wrong though. If you put the work in early you can get an obedient dog. If you don't, you don't. Simple as. Some breeds are a bit more difficult, ergo, you need to put in a bit of extra work.

read this, never a truer word said on here

surfer - Member
I disagree with those who say you can completely train terriers. Yes you can get them to largely behave (and mine does) but if something more interesting comes along I think years of breeding takes over and trumps a few training classes.
I think if I ever came across a terrier that was totally obedient I think you would have destroyed its temperement.

My Westie is fine off the lead and will do as he's told but it has taken me 2 years and a lot of perseverance to get him to this stage.

As already said, it's just a case of having the time to invest which I thankfully did when we got him.

No bloody signal today and even less battery so I couldn't join in the fun.

I think if I ever came across a terrier that was totally obedient I think you would have destroyed its temperement.

Nope disagree, truer words have been spoken.

Like these: whenever there are any threads with people asking about new dogs, the only advice I give (amongst all the other pish) is to reinforce recall over and over and over again and socialise him/her. They're the things that all other people expect you to do as a minimum. Have a dog that comes when it's called and doesn't get into fights constantly with a fear-aggression reaction. As far as teaching loads of other tricks, well, that's down to the owner - it's not something I'm interested in. Now, I'm just going to work out what you [i]really[/i] mean. 🙂

if that makes your day i pity the rest of your life

Thanks, your pity has filled me with joy. Though, I did worry about the attention craving of which you accused me in your rather flamey post. I'm going to have a long think about that. I really appreciate your bringing it to my attention. 😐

I kind of know what surfer means. My lurcher is very good but if she sees a rabbit its game over but as long as she can only chase rabbits in an appropriate place all is good, its similar with most teriers.

Prezet, sounds like your dog is just being submissive, she may well grow out of it.

My Scottish terrier was quite problematic for running away after other dogs and ignoring recall.

Only now, aged three and a bit, is he getting to the stage where he has a 50-50 choice, obey me or hare away after the other dog at the other end of the playing field, and he chooses to obey me. The only thing I've changed is that I've modified my "come heres" from an enraged bellow to a falsetto, upwards-inflected come-hither. Seems to work a bit better.

He wasn't nasty about it and getting into fights, just the usual bum-sniffing antics and, embarassingly, a tendency to cock his leg at the other dog if it was roughly the same size as he is.

He's more prone to starting fights, or trying to, certainly doing more growling and barking and "lemme at 'em", if either he or another dog we might encounter are on leads.

I agree with DD on this. My Staffys recall/walk to heel is excellent. Can easily walk her to heel past a cat,another dog or sheep if I need to - although put her on the lead around sheep just to be safe. Familly have had Staffys for 50 years and have always found if they are trained well when young they are like this. As with any dog it needs to be reminded every few months.

I've changed is that I've modified my "come heres" from an enraged bellow to a falsetto, upwards-inflected come-hither. Seems to work a bit better.

It's strange that one...you want to get angrier but the more cheerful you sound, the more likely you'll not be ignored. 😆

if either he or another dog we might encounter are on leads.

Have also noticed this at times...must see what the theory is.

although put her on the lead around sheep just to be safe.

To be fair, I'd always do this - I'd rather not give a farmer an excuse, no matter how sure I am about how she might behave.

I think being on a lead interferes with the dog's fight-or-flight instincts and its sense that it can take whatever action to defend itself.

So it works both ways - for your dog, or the other dog on the lead, which presumably comes out in its body language or scent.

Just a guess though.

My border terrier was a little beast, she was fantastic at recall, never chased sheep, would chase rabbits and squirrels when I wanted her too and stopped when needed too.

Her main problem was other dogs when she was on a lead, the typical scene of other dogs being off the lead and them running up to her was 99% of the time going to end up badly for the other dog! I'd warn the owners to keep their dogs under control and to get them back but quite often I'd have to let her off her lead so she wouldn't be so stupid! She would still be aggressive but not as bad as when that lead was on.

I've now got a springer spaniel and apart from being a dirt and hair magnet compared to a border, I'd not change back again.

I have a 5 yo Westy, he's generally well behaved, doesn't exactly "come" when I call him, but when I shout him to stay he stands still. I have to go to him to leash him up, but he doesn't move. 😆 He hasn't been neutered and he does go a bit haywire when he's on a scent, but he's no fighter and loves everyone!

To reiterate Pepper's point, my Westy behaves much better around other dogs when he's off the lead, I don't thin khe likes being restrained if there's a potential punch up coming. 😆

That lead thing is "fight or flight" instinct no? No option to "flight" by running away so dog gets ready to "fight" by being more aggressive as its the only option left to it?

Edit: beaten to it above 🙄

Not just terriers

Just back from this mornings walk with my Border Terrier who in the dark is ALWAYS on his (long) lead, he was hunting, sniffing, searching and all the time (I guess) he was looking out for something to chase.

Above on this thread there are those who let their dogs do this and those who train it out of them, each to their own but for those with "well trained" terriers. I feel sorry for your terriers been forced to be a dog they are not.

Ive got a english bull terrier, had him from a rescue when he was 1 year old. I walk him off the lead when over the park or canal paths and hes as good as gold. we put a lot of work into him to train him and the only times i put him on lead is if other dogs around are on leads. he can be stubborn at times (another terrier trait) but only round the house

Nick

My poor dog that comes when she's called. She's emasculated. 😉

Oh hang on, she wanders around, loves nothing more than a game of chase with the mutts she knows and generally gets to have a proper yomp about where it's ok. She's no fan of water though. So I think that's the next phase - forcing her to swim. 🙂

Prezet, sounds like your dog is just being submissive, she may well grow out of it.

I'm not quite sure I'd want her too. Being submissive means she doesn't get herself into any trouble.

Around other animals i.e. sheep, horses, cows I put her on the lead. Walking at night she's always on a lead. She likes a good chase of squirrels and rabbits, but gives up quickly.

Her favourite is cats - she shakes when she sees them. And I can tell given an instant she'd be off. One of the neighbours cats stupidly came into the garden and I don't think have ever returned 😀

Oh hang on, she wanders around, loves nothing more than a game of chase with the mutts she knows and generally gets to have a proper yomp about where it's ok. She's no fan of water though. So I think that's the next phase - forcing her to swim.

You seem to be looking for a disagreement that doesnt exist Darcy and you are painting yourself into a corner.
Nobody has said that terriers cant and shouldnt be trained however I would argue with anyone that tells me that my dog could be stopped from barking when the postman posts letters through the door. She will calm a bit when I tell her off and she does mostly come back when I call her.
My point was unless this is the dogs natural temperament then you would have to spend a disproportianate amount of time training them out of these traits. I/we have probably not done a great job of training her as given her behaviour appears to be typical and it causes us and others no real issue it wouldnt appear to be time well spent.
If I did follow this route I am sure she would be a less happy dog and we would not have gained much.
We knew this general behaviour was typical of the breed so are happy. You on the other hand seem to have a slight obsession with trainability. I would prefer my terrier to be more "terrier" like.
Each to their own

I don't surfer. The only things I really care about with any mutt, even my "handbag dog" 🙄 is recall and socialisation (and not shitting in the house j guess). The rest of it I couldn't really care less about - as I've said numerous times - if you'd care to read. If this is obsessive, then, well I dunno tbh. I want a "trick" dog as much as you - which isn't that much at all. Are you saying that having a terrier that comes when it's called is somehow less of a dog?

Terriers have the chase the prey gene at the top of their list of priorities and go selectively deaf when on the chase or scent trail .

This is simply not true and is the preserve of those who couldn't be arsed getting the recall right in the first place.

All you have to do is keep hammering home the recall over and over again when the dog is a puppy

You rubbished this comment which I agree with. As I have repeated my dog comes when I call in most situations. If a rat ran across the path in front of her and she immediately came when I called her * as oppose to chasing the rat (assuming she wanted to) then I think (in the first instance that it would be immposible) if she came to me because I have trained her over and over to do so then she would be less of a terrier IMO in the same way that I am sure AA's dog has an irrepresible instict to chase things. If you dont like that and are only happy with a dog that obeys your commands in every situation then a terrier is not for you.

* if she is already in your hadbag then this does not apply.

The type of terrier also comes into play, for example most Bedlington/ Scottish terriers are so far removed from the original working stock they have lost the true hunter instinct. Whereas the Lakeland, Border, Plummer type are more closely related to the working strain. They WILL hunt which meansd rabbit chasing and digging.

If this dog is to be used with your mtb do you think you should get a more "leggy" dog!

Perhaps the ideal MTB dog is a Trailhound, manmade scene following foxhound- now they came cover some distance

Smartray

The OP didnt mention MTB'ing in his choice of dog I dont think and my Lakeland doesnt come with me when I MTB.
She does occasionally come with me when I go running but even small terriers are easily capable of running at a steady pace for several miles.

Prezet, sounds like your dog is just being submissive, she may well grow out of it.

I'm not quite sure I'd want her too. Being submissive means she doesn't get herself into any trouble.

What I mean is she may well grow out of feeling the need to approach other dogs and be submissive, she will most likely not suddenly grow into a fighter.

If you dont like that and are only happy with a dog that obeys your commands in every situation then a terrier is not for you.

Interesting qualification you've decided to make. I understand now.

Havent read all the above but our westie won't say boo to a goose, never runs off and gets walked off the lead regularly. He gets bullied by our rabit and is dead friendly with all dogs and cats.
There his good traits mind..... Don't get me started on his ailments, bloody thing costs us a fortune in lotions and potions and he smells like a ferret.

I got two border terriers.
The one will go deaf and go to any dog it sees.
The other is not the slightest bit interested in meeting other dogs.

The one dog will fight any dog - no matter how big - that as much as growls it him.
The other will run a mile if a dog growls at it.

Each dog are different.