From Narrow Boat to Open Fields

Frank is a five year old rescue Springer Spaniel, rehomed by Barbara, an experienced dog owner. She didn’t want a puppy so Frank seemed ideal and had only been in the rescue centre for a short time. However, Barbara has previously only owned Labradors and had no experience of training a Springer.

As with all rescue dogs, Frank’s history has a big influence on his behaviour. He had lived on a narrow boat and appeared to be well loved. As a result he was great in the house but had been walked very little on the lead. He pulled on walks and his recall was not reliable. He was also anxious and showed signs of aggression around other dogs.

Barbara asked me to assess Frank and work with him. Over the course of the last few months, they have attended regular lessons. Using the Tessleymoor Way of training with this rescue Springer Spaniel has had great results. He is now sociable and progressing well. He is retrieving and happy to work around my dogs. Of course there is still work to do on his steadiness but it’s great to see how far he’s come, both for the dog and the owner.