Hi, I need help! In short we have always kept staffordshire bull terriers unfortunately losing our last pair within 8 months of each other last year both to cancer We currently have a rescue staffie bitch who unlike most staffies is completely calm, gentle and extremely lazy-her chip says she is 4 but we suspect her to be in her senior years judging by her demeanour and greying muzzle/body. As a family with 2 children aged 8+9 we are looking to adopt a 2nd dog in the family that will play, my partner has always wanted a springer so we rung round some rescues and asked them to look out for us. we have been 'offered' a sprocker who by all accounts looks springer by a local rescue agency, male 1 yr old we would be his 5th home if you include the rescue centre, apparently he has some food guarding issues (don't most springers) but we could hopefully train out of that, if not it's not a huge deal and can be worked round anyway. My issue is- I was expecting hyper- I am not ignorant and know this comes with the breed, but he is beyond manic, his prey drive is so high he is almost uncontrollable on the lead- off lead he seems to be better as we had him on a training line and the pulling stopped (but this was after about 2 hours walking on lead) but their is no way you could have him off lead and trust him. He comes from working parents but has never been in a working home- Can this prey drive be trained and harnessed? How easy is it? Would he suit a companion pet? He is lovely and the point at which he refused to let the staff take him back to his kennel until my partner walked with him just goes to show his potential loyalty but with the no/very limited training he has had do we stand a chance? Thank you for all your views x
I don't think this is a thing you can ever train out, it will take a lot of hard work but you can learn how to channel it! http://gsrelite.co.uk/living-with-the-high-drive-dog/
Because of his unsettled background, some of his hyper behaviour could be due to anxiety, but he does sound like a dog that is going to need regular work to keep his mind occupied, and out of mischief. Basic obedience would be essential to begin with, but if you fancied dog sports as a hobby, he sounds ideal for high energy disciplines like Trials, Agility or CaniCross. The police love this type of temperament in their search dogs, but their dogs are intermittently on the go for as much as eight hours a day. With two children to care for, would you have enough time to devote to regular exercise and training sessions? Best wishes whatever you decide to do, I can tell that you have his interests at heart.
