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waxlrose•

How crazy are brit pups? We’re consideeing this breed. What advice could you give to make sure we can keep up with the energy?

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abd1tus•

As far as energy goes, mine's a 10 out of 10. Walks do nothing to tire him out, though still very useful for mental stimulation. I've seen him run loops around the dog park (with brief pauses) for over an hour, outlasting border collies and huskies. The difficulty is that energy turns into curiosity (working breed after all) and he will go around looking for something to do, eat, or chew when bored if he is not stimulated or given a job. That said he is crate trained, mellow in his area, and I can even take him on my kayak. They do train easily when you have their attention, and mine is very food driven which is easy to switch to clicker training. He is a full time commitment but also very rewarding with a rich personality. Bold and assertive but with zero aggression.

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waxlrose•

Love it. Thanks.

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abd1tus•

Some followups on training and 20/20 hindsight of what I wish I had known earlier or done better. I am by no means an expert:

  • Focus on the "eyes" command to the point where they are nearly pathologically incapable of looking away from your eyes when you say "eyes". This is invaluable for getting them to stop doing something undesirable, redirecting behavior is always easier than trying to have them forcefully just stop in a direct challenge. It's also useful for training other commands. Don't give up on this one.
  • Even if you train nothing else, work on "eyes", "heel", "sit" (as in where they are at without coming to you - e.g. car is coming & sit where they are), "stay or place", "leave it/drop it", "calm", "break", and "come" commands need to be solidly imbedded.
  • Try to never use the word "no", but instead be consistent and specific on what you don't want them to do. It's easy to forget that dog reasoning and introspection is not up to human levels when you are frustrated. It'd be kinda like your boss running up to you and shouting "NO!" - you'll be like "NO what? No, don't sit here? No, don't send that email? No, I'm not wearing the right clothing? etc"
  • Hand gesture alternatives to voice commands are also invaluable
  • Return to you with a whistle command. The natural instinct of a Brittany is to go patrolling and they easily can/will get out of normal visual and command hearing range before either of you realize it.
  • Teach off leash as much as possible/practical when ready. It's always better to know their behavior off leash and have it be consistent before they accidentally (and they will) get away from you.
  • Don't feed from your (or any really) plate. It's really firkin' cute to have their attention while you are eating until it's not, and/or their decide all plates are open game. If they want some of your food, they should go to their bowl as sit patiently.
  • Even while you are walking them, never crossing a street without sitting first. (And obviously as much as possible never entering a street without permission).
  • Always sitting/staying when a moving car is near by (as much as practical)
  • They will use their intelligence to constantly probe your limits. Don't give in ever, just politely use the above commands (with as minimal frustration as you can manage - never escalate the forcefulness of commands otherwise they will learn that they only have to listen to maximum forcefulness. Just redirect without repeating commands).
  • He loves people. Too much. Never let them go up to and touch a person without having them sit first and the person saying okay or initiating contact first - he jumped up to and accidentally knocked over our HR rep at work and I thankfully dodged a bullet because what looked like her crying was actually laughing (it wasn't funny to me). Same with dogs (while not at the dog park / other doggy social settings).
  • Emphasis the doggy "please". Make them sit for ANYTHING they want from you or others.
  • Adopt the nothing in life is free approach. Never give food without having them work for it (makes training much easier), even if it's just having them sit and wait patiently a few minutes. Teaching patience and self discipline is key to keeping a high energy dog under control.
  • Start out with a treat bag hidden from sight on your person (fanny pack, etc). Make them think you can always magically and endlessly create treats out thin air (don't let them know/think that it comes from the bag). This will (usually) make you more interesting than the bug in the corner.
  • Embrace the moving on to the next level of training/tricks at the 80% success. When past that point it because difficult to move on or switch to generalization. Sorry if this is vague. Training books have the details on this.
  • Training new or even pointless tricks is a good way to keep them from getting bored. I've been teaching mine to "hunt" morel mushrooms. He kinda sucks at it still, but so do I and his nose is still better than my eyes and we both find it fun.
  • Make all training (as much as possible) seem like a game to them and fun

AND #1 I also wish I found and watched all kikopup before I got him.

Of course YMMV, and everyone's techniques and goals vary.

Oh, and as far as "crazy", I'd say complete and total goof ball is more appropriate.

edit: words

edit II: the little jerk's oral fixation puts a toddler's to shame. That was not a fun trip to the pet ER when he got ahold of Mentos xylitol gum that was accidentally left in my car. His general MO is to eat whatever he finds first and figure out of it's food later (which I hear is a common trait of Brittanys).

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SpoodyLuv•

Great looking pup! How old?

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fire_friendlyOP•

He’s one and 5 months. Always crazy and sometimes an angel puppy.

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