need advice :(

[littleblueroan]

are little sophie is turning one next mth and still has a few problems.

Although we wouldnt leave her on her own for a very long period of time we cant leave her in even to go do the weekly shop. she whines and barks and the neighbours have complained on the two occasions we have left her in.
i have to bring her to work with me 2 days a wk and my OH has her the other days out with him. he drives all day so she stays in the van but even that can be difficult for him when it comes to stopping to get his dinner or anything as we dont like to leave her in the car especially in this heat. We have to get some one to babysit her if we want to go out anywhere which is gettin us down but we love her so much so want to fix it.

she is coming along on the walking on the lead still pulls now n then but goes absolutely mental when she sees her lead.

recall, well, when theres no dogs around shes really good but when theres dogs even if they are like a mile away she will just run as soon as she can see them to go great them and no matter how much you call her she will carry on and you have to go physically catch her. we dont mind her greeting other dogs and having a play but she just ignores. a couple she has ran like that to we could tell they were not friendly dogs but she wouldnt listen and they have tried to fight her.

and we have had problems with her jumping up to greet people which she is slowly stopping but can still do it.

I am also having a baby in October so we need to get these sorted as much as we can before then, i will be coming out of work for maternity leave soon so will have more time to work on these with her. any advice please

[Karma]

Recall - it may be helpful for you to train this to the whistle (there's a pinned thread at the top of the behaviour board which goes through how to do this!).
Are there any suitable training classes locally that you can attend?  In our area there are 2 places that do classes that are suitable to help refine your dog's recall, especially around other dogs... one is a socialisation group (which we go to) and the other does "Fun in the Park" lessons, specifically aimed at training in real-life situations... it's worth looking at whether this occurs near you, as the fun group we go to has been invaluable in getting our relationship with Honey at the point it is!

Excitement at lead - reduce the anticipation.  So pick the lead up several times a day, and put it back away.  Put her lead on to do some training in the house.  Eventually put her lead on and take it off again without going for a walk.  When you ARE getting ready for a walk, ask her to sit and wait - if she starts being over-excited stop and sit down, don't continue until she is quiet again (you might need to ask for a sit again).  If she learns that her behaviour prevents the walk, she will learn to be quiet...    

Pulling on lead - try clicker training this to refine it... though I must admit it's not something we've cracked 100% (down to us, not Honey!!).

Seperation Anxiety - you will DEFINATELY need to get this sorted, and as you have the time coming up, you have the ideal opportunity.  Look at how she is left - maybe try DAP, crate training (she may appreciate the crate when baby gets to toddlerhood), leaving a radio on, leaving her with something to occupy herself with (a kong or similar), leaving her with a T-Shirt that smells of you.  But however you do leave her, you will need to gradually get her used to being left.
Start by just leaving her (either in crate or on other side of door) for a second... return BEFORE she starts to whine.  Make sure you are very calm and relaxed - no over-excited praise, but a calm, positive "Good Girl".  How you build up depends on how anxious she is being left - the key is the build up the time she is alone, without letting her get to the point where she gets upset.  It is really helpful to vary the way you build up the time, otherwise she will quickly realise you are just leaving her longer and longer - so you might leave her 1 min, 2 mins, 3 mins, 1 min, 2.5mins, 4mins, 5mins, 3mins and so on.  Take as long as she needs... over many days, weeks... but she WILL get there.
(If you do a forum search for Separation Anxiety, you will find much more detailed info on the method I've summarised...)

Jumping up - really is about consistency, which is difficult when other people aren't consistent!!! 

Some general bits of advice for October (I'm due then, too!) - make sure Sophie is used to being ignored when you are at home... if needbe close doors briefly between you (once she is happier being left generally).  Don't let her always demand attention.  Make sure she doesn't jump to you on the sofa without invite (you won't be impressed if you are feeding baby and she decides to join in!).  Make sure she is used to the baby stuff - especially if you are using a buggy (practice walking her next to the buggy so she is used to it!).
Good luck with it all! 

[littleblueroan]

Recall - it may be helpful for you to train this to the whistle (there's a pinned thread at the top of the behaviour board which goes through how to do this!).
Are there any suitable training classes locally that you can attend?  In our area there are 2 places that do classes that are suitable to help refine your dog's recall, especially around other dogs... one is a socialisation group (which we go to) and the other does "Fun in the Park" lessons, specifically aimed at training in real-life situations... it's worth looking at whether this occurs near you, as the fun group we go to has been invaluable in getting our relationship with Honey at the point it is!

Excitement at lead - reduce the anticipation.  So pick the lead up several times a day, and put it back away.  Put her lead on to do some training in the house.  Eventually put her lead on and take it off again without going for a walk.  When you ARE getting ready for a walk, ask her to sit and wait - if she starts being over-excited stop and sit down, don't continue until she is quiet again (you might need to ask for a sit again).  If she learns that her behaviour prevents the walk, she will learn to be quiet...    

Pulling on lead - try clicker training this to refine it... though I must admit it's not something we've cracked 100% (down to us, not Honey!!).

Seperation Anxiety - you will DEFINATELY need to get this sorted, and as you have the time coming up, you have the ideal opportunity.  Look at how she is left - maybe try DAP, crate training (she may appreciate the crate when baby gets to toddlerhood), leaving a radio on, leaving her with something to occupy herself with (a kong or similar), leaving her with a T-Shirt that smells of you.  But however you do leave her, you will need to gradually get her used to being left.
Start by just leaving her (either in crate or on other side of door) for a second... return BEFORE she starts to whine.  Make sure you are very calm and relaxed - no over-excited praise, but a calm, positive "Good Girl".  How you build up depends on how anxious she is being left - the key is the build up the time she is alone, without letting her get to the point where she gets upset.  It is really helpful to vary the way you build up the time, otherwise she will quickly realise you are just leaving her longer and longer - so you might leave her 1 min, 2 mins, 3 mins, 1 min, 2.5mins, 4mins, 5mins, 3mins and so on.  Take as long as she needs... over many days, weeks... but she WILL get there.
(If you do a forum search for Separation Anxiety, you will find much more detailed info on the method I've summarised...)

Jumping up - really is about consistency, which is difficult when other people aren't consistent!!! 

Some general bits of advice for October (I'm due then, too!) - make sure Sophie is used to being ignored when you are at home... if needbe close doors briefly between you (once she is happier being left generally).  Don't let her always demand attention.  Make sure she doesn't jump to you on the sofa without invite (you won't be impressed if you are feeding baby and she decides to join in!).  Make sure she is used to the baby stuff - especially if you are using a buggy (practice walking her next to the buggy so she is used to it!).
Good luck with it all! 

thanks for the reply. congrats for another october baby!!! there is so many due in october. what date are you due

over the last few months i have been ignoring sophie inside the house to try and get her used to when the baby is here, i dont let her on the couch anywhere near as much and ask her to go to bed alot so she knows thats where she should be. sometimes its hard to resist those eyes though! ha ha  she only really comes on the couch when i let her.

also have been consistent about her jumping up, i tell her no when she jumps up and then ignore her until she sits then she gets a stroke. like you said hard when other people arent consistent.  she is getting alot better with it though. Dont want her too excited jumping at the baby.

I have read a fair bit on seperation anxiety so whenever she has had to be left at home i have been leaving my dressing gown for her, leaving the tv on, giving her toys and some dog biscuits in her bowl. when we have got home she hasnt touched them and you can just tell that she has been pacing up and down but we havent been able to gradualy build her up to that. Like i said its hard for me to really do this properly whilst working so once i finish for maternity leave in august i will start practising little bits at a time.

when she sees her lead or when you go in the cupboard where it is and she goes hypo we dont put the lead on her until she sits calmly this can take at least 10 mins, when she does sit her tail is going so fast and shes is whining away for you to hurry up so she can go out. she is walked twice a day sometimes more and she will act the same everytime she is to go for a walk. i will start moving her lead around and puttting it on her whilst she is in the house.

i will look into classes near where we live. Also she is used to following you all around the house inc into the bathroom!! i started shutting doors behind me so she couldnt and she doesnt whine anywhere near as much but she still sits outside the door waiting for you.i think i have been a little too soft with her when she was very young.

[Karma]

I wouldn't worry too much about the following - Honey was the same when she was younger, but from about the age of 1yr she gradually opted to keep a little more distance.... she will still follow from room to room, but she is no longer a shadow...   
You will find she will settle down a fair bit over the next couple of months (at least Honey did at that age!).

Try asking her to sit when you are getting the lead, rather than saying "no" - that way you are telling her what you want her to do, rather than what NOT to do.  Another idea to distract as you get ready can be to scatter a few treats on the floor just before you get the lead, so she can be distracted - just to break the habit of getting hugely excited at the presence of the lead.  Then introduce more calm behaviour, gradually building to the treat coming as a reward... then of course you can phase the treat out, as getting out for the walk becomes the reward!!

[Geordietyke]

Hi, just wanted to let you know of my experiences so far.  Odie is now 6.5 months old but from bringing him home at 8 weeks old up to him being 18-19 weeks, I went through absolute hell with his separation anxiety.

I am a stay at home mum so am lucky enough to be here all day, on the same hand though, Odie was so used to me being here all the time, when I had to go out (school run) for 25 mins each afternoon, he used to soil his crate/floor every time I left him (ie 5 times a week on school days plus whenever I had to pop out to the shops etc).  That is a LOT of cleaning up to do especially when his poo was very soft and 'spreadable'    I posted many times about this on COL and got tons of reassurances and advice to help me cope with this difficult period.  I built up the time Odie was left (exactly as Karma has suggested) - it was hard work and took a few weeks but all of a sudden at age 19/20 weeks, something just clicked in Odie's brain - he must have just realised that I WAS coming back after all!  I have since changed his food over to adult food and his stools are perfect but I've had no toileting accidents whilst he's been left alone (and we've managed to leave him up to 2.5 hours a couple of times). 

Odie still follows me EVERYWHERE by the way.  I can't even go to the toilet in peace but hopefully that will subside when he's a bit older.  He does pull on his lead on walks even though I've tried to curb this but its a work in progress   He does jump up when excited and again this is being discouraged and I'm hoping he'll eventually calm down as he gets older.  Anyway, good luck with it all, hope you see some improvements soon.  Lesley 

[Karma]

I do find Cockers are very velcro dogs (especially for the first year or so!).... it's not necessarily anxiety driven, it's just they like to know where you are... I'd aim for a compromise of on the opposite side of a baby gate, so she can still see you but you can be getting on with something else without her under your feet!