Nana Chris

[Nana Chris]

We have a 7 month old Brittany spaniel and find him to be a gigantic handful. He is so naughty, chewing anything and everything in sight ( I know this is pretty normal for puppies), constantly looking for mischief to get into, never seems to be tired or just happy to lay down by your side. He is desexed, and we have taken him to puppy preschool, puppy kinder, and are following through at home with basic training. He continues to seek out things to keep himself occupied and we're running out of options. Nothing seems to distract him for very long, and he's reminiscent of a child with ADHD! Obviously, although we are retired, we walk him regularly but we need to go out occasionally, and when we return all hell has broken loose with mess everywhere, but these things dont just happen when we are gone. He gets into mischief when we are home as well, and although I would like to let him inside to follow us around, he looks for things to amuse himself in there as well, so we are constantly taking things away from him lest he chew them up too. Any other Brittany owners with similar problems?

[RuralPug]

Yes, they are a breed that needs to be worked a lot so teaching him the boundaries of what he is allowed to have and what he is not allowed to have is nearly a full time job at this age! 

Hopefully other Brittany owners will drop in with answers. You might ask @The Spotted Devil who has working line Springer Spaniels and has to keep ahead of them as pups!

[Roova]

If he's looking for things to 'do' he may need more mental exercise (if physical exercise is as a maximum).  Do you do any trick training with him, or would you consider attending a good obedience school?  Mental activity is as tiring as physical activity and easy to do any time you're home.  Brittany's are active smart dogs so you may have to up the ante with the enrichment you're providing to keep him satisfied.  

 

Things to consider: feeding his daily food stuffed in kongs, take him to new locations for walks for different sights, sounds and smells, work on your obedience under different distraction levels, buy or make  food challenges so he has to spend a bit of time getting his daily food, offer big meaty bones, kibble in an empty softdrink bottle, a kids wading pool full of balls with his kibble thrown in, a sand pit with toys\treats buried under the sand, his food hidden in various places inside so he has to find it all, scent games inside, put his food\treats\a toy in boxes and tape them up so he has to rip it apart.  For simple things to keep his brain busy you might like this link: 101 things to do with a box

 

Good luck!

[The Spotted Devil]

Yes much more mental stimulation - shaping, recall training etc - for any pup like this and NO WAY would my youngsters get to rehearse unwanted behaviours like messing up the house! Large pen (mine are indoors on slate) with a crate attached to sleep in. 2 hours of awake time - exercise AND training - before I go out, leave in pen with food toys or a nice meaty bone and mine are still sleeping by the time I come home 4 hours later. Mine can't wait for me to leave  Some breeds and individuals are more prone to separation anxiety too - had a GSP pup for a month for a friend - and then you need to do as I described above but just leave them in the pen for short periods whilst you are home and reward them for relaxing by letting them out when they are resting. 

[Dogsfevr]

Is he show line or working line ?

[persephone]

A bit of frivolity : 
 

he is a TEENAGER
he is MALE 

'nuff said  ;) 

 

 Sounds like  he  does need more brainwork ... I'll leave it up to the more experienced  to guide you in the specifics .
having a 'job' is so important .

[persephone]

23 hours ago, Nana Chris said:

We have a 7 month old Brittany spaniel and find him to be a gigantic handful. He is so naughty, chewing anything and everything in sight ( I know this is pretty normal for puppies), constantly looking for mischief to get into, never seems to be tired or just happy to lay down by your side. He is desexed, and we have taken him to puppy preschool, puppy kinder, and are following through at home with basic training. He continues to seek out things to keep himself occupied and we're running out of options. Nothing seems to distract him for very long, and he's reminiscent of a child with ADHD! Obviously, although we are retired, we walk him regularly but we need to go out occasionally, and when we return all hell has broken loose with mess everywhere, but these things dont just happen when we are gone. He gets into mischief when we are home as well, and although I would like to let him inside to follow us around, he looks for things to amuse himself in there as well, so we are constantly taking things away from him lest he chew them up too. Any other Brittany owners with similar problems?

 This article may be a big help to you ...

CLICK HERE

excerpt :

 

First understand that, a dog will increase its fitness a lot faster than you will. This means that, if you walk your dog for an hour a day and your dog is better behaved, this will be short lived. His or her fitness will increase dramatically and by week three you will likely need to increase the exercise by 50%.

This is a bit of a long Blog post, I wanted to try and give you as much information on this subject as possible so it could be a great excuse for a good coffee and sit back and relax.

And please share your thoughts with us below, we are always interested in your thoughts on our stuff.

 

So try and imagine as I sit in behaviour consults with people who have out of control dogs that get many hours exercise a week, asking myself “why?“

So what I decided to do was create a list of what I feel you do need to have a well balanced dog:

• Some daily exercise
• Some mental stimulation
• Some effective management
• Structure and Boundaries
• Drive satisfaction specific to your dogs needs
• Satisfactory food intake
• Pack engagement
• Communication

[brittany13]

Hi, Nana Chris 

 

We also have a hyperactive Brittany - Jimmy - a 4 month old - he is also into everything he can get his teeth into- as all puppies do.

We are also semi retired.

Apart from his daily walks for exercise, play sessions and going to dog school  - we have a toy box full of all sorts of toys/objects in the main living area of our house - varied textures, shapes and sizes -  rubber, cloth, plastic, wood, cardboard etc - he is allowed to take anything out of it and chew it/shred it at any time.

We also have assorted toys in our pergola outside ready for when he is outside.

Then we have his bedroom area- the laundry - a safe hard floor area with more toys - his wire crate bed and a child safety gate.

If we go out for any length of time he is always restricted to this safe zone - where he can only chew his stuff and not get into anything he shouldn't.

Even when we are both home and can't watch him properly - like when cooking, showering, eating our meals etc - he goes either into the laundry zone, outside or in another  crate in the lounge room (we have 2 crates set up) - until we can supervise him again - this works really well for him and us. We aren't stressed about what he is up to then, so we aren't growling at him, so he is happy and relaxed too.

He has been subject to this since we got him so he never protests where confined to an area or a crate. He is always given toys whilst confined and knows its only for a short term- not forever.

We can happily go out for half days with him in the laundry safe area - we expect when we return to find things shredded and have to clean up- but that's fine by us as they are acceptable things he has chewed.

 

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by brittany13

[DogsAndTheMob]

I have a three-month-old Brittany. She's my first Brittany, but I've owned and trained quite a few dogs - mostly Border Collies and GSDs - and competed successfully in dog sports. Of all the puppies I've trained, she's the easiest. However, I wouldn't leave her unattended where she could destroy anything. She has an outdoor run as well as a crate indoors, and if I'm likely to be distracted when she's with me, I put her on lead - even indoors.

 

When I had a highly energetic border Collie, I used retrieving games to occupy all that intelligence and drive. I'd hide a ball in the back yard, then send him to find it. I also trained him for and competed in advanced obedience; exercises such as scent discrimination, directed jumping and directed retrieve challenge the dog's intelligence and the handler's communication skills. (Frankly, unless taught skillfully, basic classes in sit, stand, down and heel can be a bit of a yawn for a dog.) If advanced dog obedience is not your thing, there is a wide range of alternative activities... including agility, noseworks and tracking, to name just a few. By the way, dog sports are a great way to meet people and make friends.

Edited February 26, 2017 by DogsAndTheMob

[DogsAndTheMob]

Here's my girl:

 

Edited February 26, 2017 by DogsAndTheMob