Turning the volume down on an English Pointer

Mack is a seven month old liver and white English Pointer. He has already seen a few trainers but made no progress. He is headstrong, drags his owners along, lunges and whines. It’s the first English Pointer for these owners but they have dogs before. The enjoy travelling in their motorhome and need a dog that will be well behaved wherever they park up. So far, Mack is not living up to this expectation.

When the couple brought Mack, they were told by the breeder that English Pointers need tough love in their training. Unfortunately, rather than taking this good advice for a headstrong breed, they have listened to a trainer who sees everything as positive. Rewards are given for every behaviour, Mack has had no structure or discipline. He has never been on a slip lead but the owner had a whole rucksack full of leads and harnesses.

This dog’s behaviour has been facilitated; they park up and let the dog straight out, he doesn’t have to wait. When I told them to put him back in, he whined. Instead of leaving him, they got in the vehicle with the dog to calm him down. English Pointers are a beautiful heritage breed but no one wants a whining dog who drags you down the lane and doesn’t come back when you call.

Once I got him on a slip lead, Mack was soon walking to heel. We worked on basic commands using The Tessleymoor Way, building a bond rather than the treat training he’s been used to. The owners were amazed at the achievements from the first lesson and will be back for more.

No matter what the breed, the same training rules always apply – structure, boundaries and limitations. Be black and white with your training and your dog will know exactly where they stand with you and how to behave.

Posted: September 16, 2019