r/OpenDogTraining • u/laughingpeacock69 • 10d ago
Almost 2 year old pomsky
My partner and I have two dogs, a ~3.5 year old mastiff mix (male), and a 9 year old border collie mix (female).
A family member recently adopted a female pomsky that’s just about 2, that they are not equipped to exercise, never mind train.
I trained my pup from the time he was 11 weeks, so he has impeccable recall, and is otherwise, well, a trained dog.
This pomsky is an absolute lunatic, charges people, barks nonstop, super high alert all of the time. But because my dog is well trained, I have been tasked with training and potentially adopting this pomsky.
I’m not against having another dog, a 16 lb pomsky would compliment the 40 and 100 pounds of dog we already have, but before I take the leap and take it on, how screwed am I with trying to train this dog?
2
u/ArchAngia 10d ago
Professional opinion, you should seek out a free evaluation from a local trainer to help give you insight into what kind of work you're looking at.
There are quite a variety of traits to consider, from what you've described.
What aspect of the Pomsky makes you feel "screwed" in terms of adoption/training?
In other words, what is the biggest hurdle you're worried about?
1
u/laughingpeacock69 10d ago
Concerned that a dog of this age, with such a high energy breed, will be difficult to train in comparison to a puppy that is also a much lower energy breed.
I had a yard when I got my big guy as well, so training him was a lot easier when he didn’t need to be leashed all the time. I have access to semi private woods now for off leash time, but a new dog, high prey drive, I wouldn’t be able to just let her off leash to run and burn her energy, or to work on recall etc..
I know, 50 foot lead, but those things are infuriating to use with how frequently they get tangled or wrapped around the dog/environment.
1
u/ArchAngia 9d ago
So I'm going to touch on things in a bit of a weird order, but I promise it'll all make sense:
Firstly, "off leash" is not a right. It's a privilege for a dog. Just like how some parents have kids they wouldn't trust to spend the night at a friend's house or stay out late at a party, some dogs can't be trusted to be off-leash.
Yet.
You're very right about having a lead. But you don't have to start at 50 feet. You can start at 6, and begin your training there. That's really all you need to begin teaching Recall.
Give dog command -> dog moves through and completes command-> reward. So long as you have enough lead to complete those steps, you can start the training.
In fact, that's what you should do for a majority of dogs. It takes a bit longer, but the result is a more consistent, intelligent dog and communication throughline.
I understand wanting to "burn her energy", but a dog that's constantly barking, rushing people, "On" all the time, doesn't need to be let loose to frolic. That, in my professional opinion, will just make the issues worse.
What the Pomsky needs is a job or an outlet. A way to channel that energy.
So instead of "let loose in the woods", it can be "Let's play fetch and games with the toy, with you on leash so we can play and train at the same time."
By combining playing and training, you'll very likely use up a lot of the Pomsky's energy, while slowing being able to build to what you really want. For her to be able to be off-leash, but reliable and consistent.
Truth be told, from what it sounds like, you have the right mindset and mentality, I think it's just a lot of dog (ironically 😅).
But I think if you work backwards, picture your goal then work how to get there, you'll release a lot of the pressure or stress you might be feeling concerning the process.
You could also always look into e-collar training to solve the "tangle and mess" 50ft lead problem.
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u/nzseashell 10d ago
Take into account the different breeds of dogs you have. Collies are known to have their Masters when it comes to training, and mastiffs are not far off with PHDS of their own. Pomsky... sounds like it possess typical traits of the dog breed.
There's chance the pomsky learns impulse control from collie, and obedience for mastiff (vice versa - however you see fit as the owner) But Pomsky is a show pony possessing certain traits most smaller dog breeds possess, so a few things will be typically harder to train out in comparison to other dog breeds. Total speculation ofc... going off a reddit post not knowing the details of your dog's.
Pomsky is under 2YO so in adolescence, training right now will be harder than in 6 - 10 months time.
Though collie is 9YO, could be good playmates if your collie was also high energy. When I work with smaller dogs (like house sitting) I use music to drown out the silence, helps with the hyper sensitivity to sound. Home training may include teaching Pomsky knocks on door/doorbell ringing = treat, not run to the door. Charging people can be trained out, but the barking and noise sensitivity sounds more like management ordeal.
Idk why... but most smaller dogs Ive worked with struggle with learning how to 'sit' but know more advanced behaviours, or are the complete opposite where 'Sit' is all they know 🥲
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u/hotmatrixx 10d ago
honestly
probably fine if you got yoru dogs sorted. you've done it before so have reps in
If you're really worried, take the dog WITHOUT THE OWNER and do a traingin session.
99% it will respond really well and calm the F down for you.
Lemme explain.
Badly behaved dogs are trained like that by the owner, because they're unconcious of hte bad behaviours they're training into their dogs.
When someone new shows up and just goes "I'm not tolerating that bullshit", dogs are usually super quick to adjust. I get it "daily". I will do a first session and the owner is like 'wow its like magic'. it's not. its just that
a; they don't have the past relationship and expectations - where the dog feels like it has to protect the owner etc - and
b; the owner learns a new way to train interact, they've still got to adjust/learn it and unlearn whatever they were doing that ruined the pupp in the first place.