the practical dog listener - jan fennell

[Julie Marie]

hello its me again!!!  

someone has given me the above titled book and i was thinking of starting the amichien method. i have only read the separation part about ignoring the dog when we are re united until he has calmed down and relaxed then i can make as much fuss of him as i like.

has anyone else tried this. i don't think i can do it. benny is left in his pen for three hours whilst i am at work and we are both over the moon to see each other. i feel cruel ignoring him until he calms down and relaxes.

does anyone out there do this method?? is it cruel?

thanks                      

[Pammy]

Jools - no - ignoring Benjy for five minutes ois not cruel. What you do have to remember is that as a young puppy - Benjy needs to go for a wee as soon as you come home so I wouldn't use this method on such a young puppy or he'll end up weeing inside and then get confused. What you can do is not make a fuss, just a simple hello while you open the doors to take him outside, no big fuss. Don't look him on the face, look away from him and he will soon be calmer. As he gets older and can hold on a bit longer, then you can ignore him - if you need to.

It does work, but must be done by everyone who comes into contact with him in your home.

hth                    

[Julie Marie]

fanx again pammy. do u want to come and live with us!!!!! i think i am going to have probs trying to get my four and six year old to ignore him. is it really necessary to do it with the kids? i am just trying to reiterate to benny that i am the alpha female. advice welcome!!! no matter how harsh it is. i am a big girl!!!!!!   x                    

[PennyB]

I used this method for Ruby. When she'd become more or less housetrained she only seemed to wee in the house if I went upstairs to work (I work from home). I eventually spotted the link and realised that she had stsrted developing separation anxiety. Tried this method out for a while and problem solved.

I don't use it with my new pup though as at the moment there isn't the need plus it wouldn't be fair for him at 13 weeks.

Still occasionally use it on Ruby as she gets so excited it spills over into naughtiness.

You don't have to use the method forever, which is what a lot of people worry about.                    

[Pammy]

i am going to have probs trying to get my four and six year old to ignore him. is it really necessary to do it with the kids?

Glad you're managing to keep a smile on with all this and yes, it is very important that the kids do it as well otherwise Benjy won't know if he's coming or going.

All training requires patience and consistency. Everyone must be the same with Benjy, use the same commands etc etc or it just won't work :-. He may well obey your instructions but be a nightmare around other people. What you are aiming for is a happy well balanced dog who knows his place. He can only be happy if he does know his place and this comes from everyone treating him the same.

He is only a tiny baby at the moment, so I'd concentrate on getting your children to know how to treat him and on his house-training. Also get him, Benjy that is, used to being left on his own when you are in the house. There will be times when you have visitors and you'll need him to stay out of the way. This way, you'll reduce any seperation anxiety which will also work well for when you do leave him to go to work etc.

This doesn't mean letting Benjy get away with things you don't want him to do when he's all grown up. Tell him "no" when he's being bad and have a good look through our FAQ's, they'll help. Also get "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey. I'd put Jan Fennel down for now and concentrate on him being a normal puppy, rather than an adult dog. The perfect puppy tells you all you need to know for the next ten months or so.

One thing I would start to do now, if you haven't already, is introduce Benjy to his brush and comb. Leaving that 'til later can make it very hard to deal with, but a couple of minutes, several times a day now will be well worth it.

So much to do with a new puppy isn't there, makes a baby seem easy                    

[Gilly]

I must admit i read the Jan Fennell book and thought it was very good and interesting. But...i didn't use this meathod on Butty. I did try it but felt like i was stiffling her personality. She likes jumping on me when i come in   As she has grown older the one thing i have managed to do which i think is helpful is ask her to "sit nice" when people come in so that they can then stroke her without getting dive bombed  
It does work as my In-Laws who don't have any dogs have even got used to saying "sit nice" and she does and this method works well for me                      

[roy]

Hi I'm trying out the Jan Fennel methods with my two dogs - Barney 9yrs old with some bad habits and Alfie 11 weeks old. Alfie too is left in Cage when I go out - when I come back in I let him out of cage and go outside with minimum fuss or eye contact, seems to be working - especially with the old dog as well, the difficulty is remembering to keep to the suggested routine. And of course I think that there needs to be some adjustment for individual  situations, especially when I get up in the middle of the night to let Alfie out for wee, cause have to give lots of fuss when he performs to order. So suggest use method without going overboard.                    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

We also did this with Nell, when we went out we put her in her pen about five mins before we went ,and when we returned ,we didnt make a fuss of her for a least five minutes
 We would put the shopping away and make a cuppa, then let her out. It worked a treat.Now she is so laid back about it, she,s almost horizontal.                    

[Julie Marie]

thanks everyone. don't know what i would do without cockers online. benny would end up as mad and neurotic as me i guess lol