update on Bracken and questions

[rossibear]

hi haven't posted on here for ages , selling our house and family problems being the main cause !
I had posted before asking adviece for bracken as she had been horribly abused for all her life it was suggested i tried clicker training with her and it has really helped, so thank you. she has been with me now for 5 months and over the past few weeks there has been a slight difference with her and think she's being to realise that there is no abuse coming, so is starting to relax a bit. Positive reinforcement works too. She craves affection sometime too much ! LOL ! But she's a brilliant dog for all that she;s been thru , Questions now, we are thinking of getting a puppy later this year once we've all settled at our new home, it will very likely be a vizsla as I've fallen for this breed, and bracken being older will be retired over the next couple of years, she works under my hubbys hawk and it will take a couple of years to get a pup up to scratch. It will more than likely be a girl I'll go for, my plan is to continue the clicker training with Brackedo clicker training with the pup, but seperately and make sure that Bracken has some time without a pup bugging her, am i on the right lines and any suggestions opinions welcome.
thanks
Denise

[***Melissa***]

Hi

Well done for coming such a long way with Bracken

5 months isn't really such a long time...moving can be a huge thing for a dog...and a new pup too in the near future...
You obviously know Bracken 1000 times better that I do, but don't you think it will be a bit too much for her too handle in a fairly short space of time?

I'm not one of the experts though...it's just my thoughts.

If/when you do decide to get another doggie, I think you are on the right track as far as trianing them, etc, goes

[rossibear]

that's true, but she was used to living with 2 other dogs and does enjoy interaction with other dogs so the pup is being thought of partly for her, as i think she would enjoy having a do pal

[emmabeth]

Can you remind us how old Bracken is?

Have you seen how she is around pups?

I think its not necessarily a bad idea, I would be looking for more solid progress with Bracken, and ideally go for a male pup rather than a female as you really dramatically reduce the risk of problems as the pup matures with a boy/girl combination ( as a ***** matures you may well find she challenges Bracken and as shes already not the most confident dog this could be a reall bad thing).

[rossibear]

Sh's 9/10 yrs but very fit, she has had pups herself a couple of years ago and one of her daughters was kept by the previuos owner to replace her there have been no problems with any pups we meet on walks. She has come on a lot more than said in my post her confidence levels are going up in leaps and bounds thru I believe positve reinforcement ie her recall wasn't that good to start with, as if she didn't come when her previuos owner called she got battered so of course she wasn't keen to come and would cower, I alway give her a treat and lots of praise even when she was ignoring me, now she comes every time, tail wagging and smile on face, the cowering has virtually gone, has helped her so much, I feel she would benefit from canine company after being kept with others until we got her. i will certainly give thought to getting a dog

[emmabeth]

Given her age, I would be very wary of bringing a ***** pup in - you might well find that as the ***** pup hits maturity, Bracken slows down a lot and really starts to become 'elderly' and that can be enough of a weakness that a younger ***** will start throwing her weight around and challenging Bracken and trying to force her out.

That said... I have a 2 and a half year old ***** and a 15 year old ***** ... but they are not the same breed and the older one is a very forceful personality. Even so, the younger one DOES try to push her about and we do have to step in, and I no longer leave them alone together 'just in case' even though so far they have only ever had one minor spat between them and the rest is just playful 'teasing' rather than serious stuff - Im aware it could easily become so if the younger ***** decides theres only room for one of them.

I have no such worries with the boys and her, my youngest boy is 17 months old and the elderly ***** mostly ignores him and couldnt give a fig what hes up to, though she will tell him off if hes being a pain and he will generally respect that and back off.

[Mattie]

Pitty you never got to know Gracie Em, at 17.5 when she was pts she still ruled over the other 3 bitches, none attempted to try anything with her, they wouldn't dare.

Dogs like Gracie are rare, she controlled by mothering them, it they didn't want mothering it was too bad, they were mothered anyway. I had to stop her and not the younger dogs.