My tiny companion/motorcycle buddy passed away not too long ago at 20 years old.
I decided to get a hunting dog for a companion this time. It has been a couple decades since I have done any bird hunting to speak of. This dog will be 90% companion and 10% hunting.
I have the opportunity to adopt a 9 year old finished Brittany from a breeder/trainer. I have had Brittany’s decades ago so I can appreciate their values and quirks. I know Brittany’s are independent and smart enough to push the limits to test their boundaries.
My issue is that this dog knows how to hunt and responds to both vibration and shock collars. I, on the other hand had trained my previous Brittany’s to whistle and hand commands so I will have no idea how to properly use remote collars.
On top of all that are the issues of adopting an adult kennel raised dog to house life. I anticipate that house breaking may be a challenge.
Any advice or wisdom you feel like sharing will be greatly appreciated.
New dog advice needed
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RayGubernat
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Re: New dog advice needed
Let me say that having a dog for 20 years is truly special and you have my sympathy for your loss.
I think you will be quite pleasantly surprised with how things will go with your new companion.
First things first. Transitioning an adult dog from a kennel life situation to indoors should be a relative breeze. I have no doubt that the dog will realize, very quickly, that it just grabbed the brass ring, hit the lottery and hit a home run...all at the same time. My first dog transitioned, as an adult, from an outside kennel to an inside dog with zero incidents. He just knew he had to be on his best behavior, or he would be back outside. I think if you put a portable kennel in an area in your house, as a safe place for the dog, and a place for it to sleep and do the due diligence to get the dog to understand that it MUST go outside to relieve itself, it will be fine. As I said, an older kennel dog will understand boundaries and actually be comfortable with them. Patience, persistence and insistence.
Next is the e-collar thing. An e-collar is essentially a mile long checkcord. If you think of it that way, it will be easy to use correctly. The intensity level on the collar will correspond to tugs on the checkcord. Call the dog in and if it turns and comes in...no tug is necessary, therefore no e-stim is necessary. If the dog ignores, a quick tug( momentary low level e-stim) will often get the dog's attention and compliance. If the dog still blows you off, a vigorous, hand over hand pulling in of the dog until it complies is usually called for and that equates to a higher level continuous stim. Just as with a checkcord, use the lowest level correction, especially with a Brittany, that gets you the compliance you need. A collar conditioned and reasonably well trained dog(especially a Brittany) should not need much in the way of higher level e-collar correction. Heck, a stern voice is usually more than enough with most Brittanys.
A nine year old dog might be somewhat set in its ways, and a bit unsure of a whole new set of living arrangements, so a bit of patience and understanding is called for. However, with a bit of loving and care, I think you will be surprised at how well the dog adapts. A kennel dog is not used to a lot of personal attention from its master and I believe the dog will treasure that new level of attention and interaction.
I personally do not keep dogs in my home, but I know several folks that have taken retired field trial champions into their homes with good results. You don't get more high energy, hard wired and driven than a pointer field trial champion, and if that can work, you should be OK.
Good luck and enjoy.
RayG
I think you will be quite pleasantly surprised with how things will go with your new companion.
First things first. Transitioning an adult dog from a kennel life situation to indoors should be a relative breeze. I have no doubt that the dog will realize, very quickly, that it just grabbed the brass ring, hit the lottery and hit a home run...all at the same time. My first dog transitioned, as an adult, from an outside kennel to an inside dog with zero incidents. He just knew he had to be on his best behavior, or he would be back outside. I think if you put a portable kennel in an area in your house, as a safe place for the dog, and a place for it to sleep and do the due diligence to get the dog to understand that it MUST go outside to relieve itself, it will be fine. As I said, an older kennel dog will understand boundaries and actually be comfortable with them. Patience, persistence and insistence.
Next is the e-collar thing. An e-collar is essentially a mile long checkcord. If you think of it that way, it will be easy to use correctly. The intensity level on the collar will correspond to tugs on the checkcord. Call the dog in and if it turns and comes in...no tug is necessary, therefore no e-stim is necessary. If the dog ignores, a quick tug( momentary low level e-stim) will often get the dog's attention and compliance. If the dog still blows you off, a vigorous, hand over hand pulling in of the dog until it complies is usually called for and that equates to a higher level continuous stim. Just as with a checkcord, use the lowest level correction, especially with a Brittany, that gets you the compliance you need. A collar conditioned and reasonably well trained dog(especially a Brittany) should not need much in the way of higher level e-collar correction. Heck, a stern voice is usually more than enough with most Brittanys.
A nine year old dog might be somewhat set in its ways, and a bit unsure of a whole new set of living arrangements, so a bit of patience and understanding is called for. However, with a bit of loving and care, I think you will be surprised at how well the dog adapts. A kennel dog is not used to a lot of personal attention from its master and I believe the dog will treasure that new level of attention and interaction.
I personally do not keep dogs in my home, but I know several folks that have taken retired field trial champions into their homes with good results. You don't get more high energy, hard wired and driven than a pointer field trial champion, and if that can work, you should be OK.
Good luck and enjoy.
RayG
Re: New dog advice needed
Thank you very much for the reply. It definitely raised my comfort level.
I will have a portable kennel in the house that will be used for all unsupervised time until we are both comfortable with respect for outside relief rules. I am also planning to get some belly bands after strong recommendations for them for training adult dogs.
I will have a portable kennel in the house that will be used for all unsupervised time until we are both comfortable with respect for outside relief rules. I am also planning to get some belly bands after strong recommendations for them for training adult dogs.