Argh.
After Poppy, who never learned to walk on a lead, I swore I'd do better with Tolly and started work on lead work and attention right from the very start. He's eight months old and we've just come back from a trip to the garden centre and I could cry. Despite hours and hours of patient practice clicking and rewarding steps, look at me, six weeks of obedience classes (in which he largely tried to hump a French bulldog he became obsessed with and couldn't concentrate on anything else), hours of work on impulse control, hours (literally) of sitting outside with him in public places working on look at me with a clicker to proof him against distractions, he dragged me everywhere, towards every smell, everything of interest, any person, he was swinging around me like a kite, it was a wrestling match from start to finish. Interspersed with mad hopping on his hind legs like a kangaroo if anyone came into view and jumping up at everyone and everything. And he learned to cock his leg two weeks back which at least stopped him constantly weeing on his front legs and stomach and having to be bathed several times a day, but he sprayed absolutely everything. Display stands, doorways, everything, I ended up having to carry him because even with eyes in the back of my head he was spraying everything he could get into reach of. He's oblivious to me on the lead, he has no sense whatsoever of being with me or walking with me, he just goes into a mad state of flap just like Poppy used to.
Two dogs. Two dogs I've somehow managed to raise as dogs who can do beautiful tricks, sits, stays in the house with me, but the second there's any distraction turn into flappy, uncontrollable maniacs who are no pleasure to take out anywhere, I can't work out what I'm doing wrong! I'm reading what I can and seeing people saying 'don't let them glue their nose to the ground or sniff or relieve themselves outside unless you say so' - HOW?! I can't get this dog's attention at all with any treat of any kind, I can wave hot roast chicken under his nose and not get him to look at me, he's not that interested in food. Backing away from something he wants and waiting for him to get the idea that if he stops behaving like a pogo stick he can go closer doesn't work, he just hangs on the lead and swings around me in circles, or lunges like mad in whatever direction I turn in. Nothing seems to be working at all! Is it always this hard?