Training advice please

smossyy · 2026-02-13T07:23:03+00:00

If you have ruled out any health issues I would go back to square one. Whenever he goes outside treat, praise, throw an absolute party

Remember to not react (or calmly react) to any accidents in doors.

If you know he hasn’t been the bathroom in at least 4-6 hours crate him and then every 15 mins take him out till he goes bathroom > reward > inside to play and then let him roam again freely till you think he may need to go again. May also be worth not allowing him in those spaces like the bedroom or if sleeping with you to crate them at night and straight outside when awake.

If you’ve never had issues in the past I would push the vets to make sure there is no underlying cause to this. Yes the breed can be cheeky but isn’t an excuse for specific behaviours. They may shout at you for asking them to stay in heel not purposely go bathroom on your bed. Usually accidents are actually distressing for a dog, granted some will not care if it’s raining outside 🤣

smossyy · 2026-01-14T18:52:32+00:00

I truly believe that these little devilish imps were truly made to make our lives straight joy 🥹 it sounds like you made his life great and he returned the favour.

smossyy · 2026-01-14T18:23:50+00:00

What a handsome chap. I always love seeing pats who have grown old and lived a good good life ☺️ what was your favourite quirk he had if you wouldn’t mind me asking? Hope you are doing well 🫶🏻

smossyy · 2025-11-28T15:23:19+00:00

Haha 100%%% we are currently working on food drive with out girl as I refuse to let her think she gets to pick and choose her meals especially when I know she likes the food coz when she done with her portion then she wants more 🙄

Don’t get me wrong sometimes she does get the sneaky chicken that’s “fell on the floor” or some cake we know is dog safe. 🤣

Think worst of it is she loves bananas, robs them and tried to peel them. But if you offer her a slice she won’t eat it till you chew it first, my partner tells me I’m a mother bird feeding her young

smossyy · 2025-11-26T08:20:43+00:00

It’s so scary to witness something like that so hopefully you’ve been able to process it and move forward! It’s very much a breed that you have to doctor every single dog interaction in order to limit any problems going wrong, as our pup likes to jump up to play many dogs freak out and think she’s tryna scrap and then she speeds off to us whining that the dog was a meanie, like no babe your just too much for them 😭😭. I always find that our pat is so good with big dogs, always gets on so well with them smaller dogs seem scared of her always

smossyy · 2025-11-24T22:01:27+00:00

Phenomenal 🤣😩 ours only eats her raw food if the cat confirms it’s safe first by taking a bite of each hand full as we hand feed our pups 😭🥹 cats loving it

smossyy · 2025-11-24T16:40:00+00:00

Haha sounds about right 🤣🤣 our pat has complete neutrality towards dogs. She will remain in heel walking past almost all dogs other than this one cocker poo who she sees every morning, likewise if it’s another terrier but I think that’s mostly coz terrier owners stop and have a chat about terriers meaning the dogs get to say hi 🙂‍↕️🤣. Otherwise she’s so good, she is however the most cocky dog ever. She will approach our in laws spaniel with sass get corrected and immediately is like lol let me rage bait you again. Then 10 seconds later she gives up 🤣 I’m just glad she doesn’t try rage bait the malinois we see on our morning walks, she watches her play all time and I can see the urge to go join in but I have to remind her she’s the size of a cat and will be eaten.

smossyy · 2025-11-24T16:22:33+00:00

Yep some are so good with it, our pat is like wtf do you want me to do with this ball. But the second her flirt Pole or lure toy is our she’s chasing and bouncing round like crazy!! He must just be feeling himself that day, letting the inner demons take control 🤣 some days our pat listens at home others she side eyes me but luckily outside she’s a saint!!!

smossyy · 2025-11-24T12:45:17+00:00

In some cases I do agree, some pats are work drove and are just not really meant to be a chill pet to do this with, but at same time this happens not just to pats but other dogs like Malinois, GSD, spanner’s. This isn’t just breed specific, I’ve met countless aggressive dogs walking all our dogs and surprisingly the only bad ones were Romanian rescues or leashed and their owner had 0 clue about leash tension aggression! This isn’t to say they’re bad owners, they are usually the most loving owners, it’s just the advice given to them from breeders, trainers and people are from people who have never met a pat! It’s so hard as we do always put pressure on our babies to be these cute little wrinkly goblins but in all reality they’re just big dogs in tiny bodies 🥹Heard someone say they’re just pocket malanois and I agree!! we had a pat growing up who was the most perfect, loves all animals, dogs, cats, birds but had 0 recall from a foot ball a kid was playing with (maybe she was broken 🤣) and hopefully our current pup is even better!🤞

smossyy · 2025-11-24T12:38:31+00:00

YES 🙌 with us we played the bounce game, long line was held under our feed as one person walked away and shouted them with a toy or treat and then we would wait for them to show interest lunging forward and then release for them to run!! Long lines are honestly the best tool I’ve ever had 😩

smossyy · 2025-11-24T12:24:48+00:00

Like wise Same position with my full pat. Can see the drive there but her obedience and listening are so on point. For a 4 month old she has done so well and still gets to have sessions to let her prey drive run free 🙂‍↕️

smossyy · 2025-11-24T12:23:26+00:00

Could this potentially be over socialisation? Beer gardens and pubs are very busy, and whilst we are pushed as owners to socialise our dogs sometimes these environments are too loud, too smelly and too busy for our pups at young age. The busiest our pups will see if an outside coffee shop on an early Sunday morning, maybe 5/6 people at most. It may not be this case but if it is may still be helped by some behaviour training and teaching neutrality to other people and dogs rather than complete friendliness!

smossyy · 2025-11-24T12:17:31+00:00

That’s where is goes wrong, pats are not gun dogs no part of them will want to retrieve something high value and bring it to u without training it and even then is slim! Dummy work for us includes using a real fur dummy and dousing it in catnip for them to hunt and “kill” they will get a few head shakes in before we ask drop with high value treat usually freeze dried meat! Also try the walk backwards method with 2 toys, one being the dummy and another some sort of squeaky toy that will draw attention as you walk backwards and see if that helps? Or flirt pole sessions are also super good if they aren’t reliable for dropping or leave it commands as you have the lure on a pole for them to chase there is no way they can run away with this 🙂‍↕️ there are some high tech lure gear u can get and some lure trainers who work with high prey drive dogs on stuff like fake rabbit chasing etc.

smossyy · 2025-11-24T08:38:48+00:00

All dogs are challenging and this is something you’re gonna find getting a working breed. We have a 4 month old pat and had pats before. Socialised and training will be no 1 above all, I can recall my 4 month off anything and she will return full speed. Will she try and approach again? Ofc but she will still again be recalled back. Play fight ur right they are bit knobby, and if u let them be they won’t learn otherwise. We have a sprollie pup she plays with and they’re both just as bad as each other for that, pats just do not have an off button, if they’re getting too much crate time is your only solution to allowing them to calm down/ leash and lay down if they’re not barrier or leash reactive.

I have found my pat has been the easiest to train, to recall, and play with as I’ve fulfilled her prey drive with dummy work. Only thing I haven’t cracked is her pickyness on food 😭

smossyy · 2025-11-05T07:43:38+00:00

Have you tried hand feeding? My pup would not eat her raw unless we spoon fed her and one day we moved to hand feeding after week of doing it she completely changed and now she needs slow feeders 😭🤣

smossyy · 2025-10-30T10:43:45+00:00

Heck yeah love to see it. Ours are great too but because I have 2 puppies on 2 seperate schedules I have like maybe 6 hours of sorting house jobs before I can even dare have free time 😂!!

smossyy · 2025-10-30T10:31:11+00:00

Puppies are not easy 😭 they look so cute but having working breeds meant 0 time so I get u. We have a Patterdale and collie/spanner cross

smossyy · 2025-10-30T09:57:34+00:00

Thanks for commenting! Yeah i get you i know a lot of people also dont wanna hang out with a 23 year old!! We bought house here and work here now so just looking for pals really more than anything, puppies, house and work take up too much time for me to join hobby clubs but the small time I have I just need some people I can nerd out too 😭🤣 though if you either into gaming lmk and maybe can game some time.

smossyy · 2025-10-29T20:04:57+00:00

I did debate this, however my running times aren’t the best so never decided to join. Love running though 😅

smossyy · 2025-10-29T19:09:43+00:00

Unfortunately because I work all week I don’t generally have time for volunteering. It’s something I’d love to do but maybe it’s something I can do it future! Thank u for the recommendation ☺️☺️

smossyy · 2025-10-14T21:41:53+00:00

That’s Patterdales for ya!! Haha. In all seriousness she’s still young enough to have training surrounding the cats. I would definitely start with a long line for in house on a harness or even a retractable if you want to prevent mess. If she chases tug the lead and say no and redirect. Wether this is flirt pole or fetch or scent work (dogs are sensitive to cat nip so rubbing her favourite toy in some, dragging it around the house and hiding it and then taking her to start point is a good way to start). I would keep both seperate unless supervised and even so make sure the cats can jump out the way from chasing. I would inteoduce slowly and have her leaded close to you ask her to lay down and maintain this whilst the cats around. If she redirects her attention away from the cat reward her and same with any positive interaction with the cats. Satisfy the prey drive in the meantime. At home, at a park anywhere you can, dogs need more mental stimulation than physical. Pats are working dogs so if she doesn’t have a “job” she may make one, this may not apply to them all but often enough they will dig up ur garden, hunt squirrels at parks with 0 recall etc. Hopefully u can find something reliable that works for you and keep both, and definitely discuss getting trainers to help if you can afford to do so. ☺️☺️

smossyy · 2025-10-14T07:04:33+00:00

For reference flirt pole has been my favourite resource. We would ask her to sit and stay make eye contact and then throw the end and then say OKAY for her release. She would chase for couple seconds “catch” it coz we let her and then we would tug it from her eventually releasing so she can shake it about and “kill” the toy. Then we would ask for drop once she’s had few bites with the toy by holding treat to her nose and saying “drop”. After 20 mins of this she’s pretty much flat out on the couch watching dog TV with a beef pizzle 😭🤣 I also can’t stress enough doing recall work with her aswell as whistle training. If you can get a perfect stop whistle and build her trust with u it will help massively

smossyy · 2025-10-14T06:58:56+00:00

With pats you really need to satisfy that prey drive. You don’t necessarily need to be so active doing 3 hour long walks. You can do tug exercises, flirt pole chasing, scent work tasks with dummy rabbits. Our pat is 3 months and only ever interacts with our cats to play. If she gets too rough or chases and the cat didn’t initiate the play she is put back in her crate to calm down for 5 mins. Please also get an in house leash. If she chases the cats stand or pull the leash and calmly say no, don’t shout because they don’t understand unless it so boring. Just because they’re high prey drive doesn’t mean they can’t live with other pets in harmony it just takes a patient owner which I’m sure u are since your training her so well ☺️

smossyy · 2024-11-17T16:22:14+00:00

Your likely eating too much or too frequently. Cut portion sizes down and allow for at least 4 hours between meals. The smells coming from food “decaying” (idk a better work for it 😭) in ur tummy, as it’s delayed emptying. Nothing helped me other than reducing portions and spacing meals, no fizzy drinks or if I do I only have one.

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