Alfie is a 5 month old Portuguese Water Dog (PWD). They are in the sports breed category; I make it a point to better educate myself on temperaments of dogs that are boarders here at the farm. However, if I am unfamiliar with the breed, I’ll research this in depth; especially if the owner(s) are not experienced with the breed. I have read extensive articles whilst Alfie is a temporary (2 months) member of our family and I have to say, he has proven to check every box according to https://www.dogbreedinfo.com; they are very intelligent dogs, and easy to train. However, they require a strong minded leader. If not, they will take you over. This sounds very similar to the Border Collie. As with any breed, every puppy from one litter can vary from one puppy to the next.
Alfie was a blank canvas when he arrived here to our farm. It took several days to learn a few things about him; i.e., why he would whine for no reason, his caution regarding males, his constant jumping on younger females, biting issues, his fear of other dogs, constant humping (rude behavior). Just to name a few. These issues didn’t destroy his ability for training, but simply stalled Alfie’s learning for a bit.
We are on our 3rd week of training. As of this writing, Alfie is now playing with the group. It took Ivy (our Alpha) to teach him the “ropes,” on how to behave around the pack; At a later time, I will explain in some detail how Ivy goes about training the young, ill-mannered dogs etc. Alfie, no longer bites our hands while we put his leash on. Regarding the leash, I NEVER allowed him ONCE to nip my hand - this is never okay. When he did, it would delay his freedom, and he soon realized this and decided to stop delaying his play time with the pack. He walks like a champ (more often than not), and even though he’s come a long way, I’ll continue to walk this training path alongside Alfie.
Note: People often get a dog because they read that a dog is “easy to train”. I would add, “however, YOU (as an owner) need to know how to train a strong dog, and/or understand the breed-well.” I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve received where a person says, “but I read they’re (insert breed here) easy to train, but they won’t stop biting, jumping, she keeps running off,” etc. This is an inexperienced owner. The dog knows exactly what it can get away with. Some behaviors are hardwired into the dog breed, but I don’t know this if I don’t educate myself with that specific breed.
I will continue to document Alfie’s progress, and we will cheer for
Alfie’s continued success together.
🐾 Keep those tails wagging and stay tuned!
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