puppy training issues

bunny&spoon

i have a 3month old setter and we're (obviously) still in the training progress. we've got house training pretty much done.

we live beside my sister and her two dogs and anytime i let him out he goes straight over to hers and i end up going over and carrying him back. he recognises his name and will come back eventually if the sister ignores him but 99% of the time he wont return when i call him. i've tried treats, tone of voice, putting the lead on him (when i can catch him) and everything else i can think of. he has his nose glued to the ground most the time so wont leave a scent when he gets one either.

and he chews everything in sight as well! again i've tried spray bottles, swapping the chewed item with toys, firm "no", anything recommened by the vet/pet shops.

i make him sound like the anti - christ but he has his good days i swear!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sigma Force

Hate to say it but our pup is a year old and is still a big chewer and he's only a toy breed size. Hard to keep things out of reach with a setter but that's the only way really and have the floor strewn with dog toys like kongs etc.

With him wandering setters are major houdinis and at 3 months unless you have a physical barrier ie fence or high wall he will be gone like a shot. Setters can scale very very high walls we had one years ago as kids and despite putting up 2 feet of fencing wire over an 8 ish foot wall she scaled that.

Setters are gorgeous dogs but they sure like to go walkabout.

Rather than buying stuff in the shops they wont work anyway, it's better to get him to puppy classes he's at the perfect age as well. One that uses humane methods only. Is he going to be a working setter? If so getting him out in the field asap would help, although he's only young and you don't want to over exercise him short regular walks during the day about 4 times a day might help.

He also probably loves the company, if you have a safe enclosed houdini area perhaps ask if you can borrow one of your sisters dogs so he can work of his energy by playing and running about with them.

jap gt

hi what type of setter is it, i have an irish setter myself very same age, are you training for hunting or a pet

bunny&spoon

Hi Jap,
He is a cross between an english setter and a gordon setter,(apparently he was an accident!) parents are both pure breed huntin dogs but i wouldnt be using him as a hunter, got him for company for our terrier cross.

Hi Guineapigrescue,
Thanks for the advice, as above he wont be a hunting dog but we have a large field out back of our house and he loves it out there, we bring him out twice a day for walks which does tire him out quite quickly. i've tried the "swap-out" method for the chewing, replacing toys for the current item of interest which seems to work most of the time. we are working on getting a walled in garden (moving house) but the walls are only 7-8ft high so might have to raise them if your setter could jump them!

peasant

Is there actually anything wrong with your's and your sister's dogs mixing and mingling?

To me that sounds like doggy heaven ...friends next door. As long as the dogs only get fed at their owners place, they'll soon figure out where they belong.:D

bunny&spoon

i have no problem with them mingling its the fact he wants to be over there all the time. making me feel like he doesnt want to be with us!

have just booked him into a puppy training class at DTI, everybody seems to be singing their praises so gonna check them out. Thanks for all the advice!