I feel that I have let things slide with the pack structure. My dog means everything to me and I know I'm too soft! I have a large list of problems... Can you help?

Question

Hi Ed,
I have written before and hoped you may be able to help me again. I have a 16 month old English Pointer bitch who has really come along well with her training. I had a problem with her recall which is loads better although I know I have to work with her more. I admit I have been a bit slack recently.

My problem is this. Myself and my partner are separating shortly and the dog is coming with me. She has been a bit spoilt recently and that's down to all of us, (probably more me!!)  I am trying her on a natural diet but she seems to have gone off her food, things have been tense at home and I wondered whether she is picking up on it, or maybe just become fussy eater that I have encouraged. The other problem is she is really digging especially if she gets on the furniture. I tell her no and get her off.

I'm just feeling that I have let things slide with the pack structure. She is everything to me and I know I'm too soft! She is a lovely dog, very intelligent, lovely temperament and has a submissive nature with other dogs.

After all that my main problems are:

1) How will she react when I move, will she settle?
2) I will be working everyday and she will be crated from 8-12 then I will be home for an hour then again from 1-3. Is this too long??
3) Some days I wont finish until 5pm but on those days I will take her to my mother's or is that not necessary?
4) Can I regain control with the structure and start from the beginning?
5) What can I do with regards to her fussy eating? 
6) Should she ever be allowed on the furniture? She doesn't sleep with me she is crated.
7) Will a walk in the morning and again in the evening be enough?

Since she has been on a natural diet of vegetables and chicken etc her coat is superb, and I'm hoping it will help with her skin allergies she has had. I also give fish oil tablets and vitamin E plus natural yogurt.

I have read loads of your advice and taken it on but I know I need to sort myself out for when I go and that the anxiety of the situation hasn't helped as I get stressed which is no good for her.

I know you are a really busy man and would have posted on the forum however as it's quite lengthy I hope you don't mind me contacting you directly. I just want a happy me and an obedient dog!!!

Many thanks for your time, I give out your web site address to all dog owners I meet because I feel it's the best there is.

Lucy

Accepted Answer

1) Without knowing your dog, I can’t really answer that. The more structure and leadership you give her, the better she will handle changes in her daily life. Keep as consistent as you can and don’t feel sorry for her and let things slide.

2) As long as she gets adequate mental and physical exercise, this is fine.

3) That’s up to you, it may be better to leave her at home unless your mother can be consistent with your rules.

4) Yes, follow the groundwork article.

5) I would make sure she is on a feeding schedule and preferably being fed a species appropriate diet. Since you seem to be feeding chicken as a base, I would rotate the meat sources to include beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, fish, etc. The veggies are not so important.

6) She should not be allowed on the furniture until you have re-established pack structure and then ONLY by invitation.

7) That depends on how long of a walk you are talking about. A Pointer is a high energy dog, with a high exercise need. I would guess this dog needs a minimum of 2 hours of hard exercise a day to be content and mentally balanced.

Please read this article about becoming an effective pack leader.

The first sentence in this article says it all: "You can feed water and love your dog and he will like you but he very well may not respect you." 99% of all behavioral problems are a result of dogs not respecting their owners. This happens as a result of poor handling and/or poor training.

This article was written for people like yourself, people who have great intentions but not enough knowledge of pack structure. There are links within the article that will take you to other articles on my web site.