Evening all,
I'm in desperate need of help with my Patterdale/Lake land cross.  He's 9 months old, he's been with us for around 6 months. To be honest, I didn't do my homework on Patterdales before I bought him, I just fell in love with him. His behaviour changes so much. There's days when he's so lazy and just snuggles into you and sleeps. But his recent behaviour seems to be peculiar. He lies on the sofa and pushes himself into you, shows his teeth and has a nibble and makes a weird inhaling noise,  fairly aggressive. His recall is atrocious, no matter how hard I try. He's toilet trained, unless we leave him alone somewhere in the house. If I shut him in the living room and pop upstairs for 10 minutes he urinates. Hes started humping our legs in the last couple of weeks. Tonight, since I got in he's whined almost constantly for attention. I get the impression he's not getting enough stimulation. But a walk never tires him, he used to play in the garden but now if we leave him out alone he whines to be back in. We bought them toys that you hide a treat in and he doesn't seem overly enthused by that. He's driving me crazy. My partner has mentioned rehoming him tonight, but even though I'm finding him sooo infuriating recently he's my little boy and I love him.
Has anyone got any tips/tricks/advice please?
Russ

I think he needs mental challenge. Training, obedience, tricks, tracking, hunting will tire him far more than physical exercise IMO.  Terriers are meant to hunt and work things out for themselves so games like hiding treats round the house and garden  help them use their natural instincts.  Increasing physical exercise just makes them fitter (and can damage them if too much too young)

At 9 months of age he will be at the worst possible teenage age, with testosterone levels being several times higher than normal -hence the humping, marking indoors etc. This will drop in a few months time.

It sounds like you need to be working his brain.  Patterdales can be very hard work - with exceptions, of course, most are very high drive, working type dogs so you need to get to work!  And as goldmali says, he's a teenager on top.

Anything you can do is helpful as long as it makes him think; even just training pointless tricks (although a lot of tricks do end up being very useful, such as putting objects in a bucket = helping you tidy up!) is fine, as it gets that little brain going and that will tire him out better than a walk.  Learn about free-shaping - the method of teaching a behaviour without giving any clues or luring him into position etc - with a clicker, that is the best way I've found by far to calm a dog down, because they have to do ALL the thinking.

I would also have a look at doing some mat work with him, to teach him to relax on cue - two books that come to mind are 'Control Unleashed' by Leslie McDevitt and 'Fired Up, Frantic and Freaked Out' by Laura VanArendonk.  Both are geared towards calming the more wired dogs, and not necessarily fearful ones - the latter protocol especially can work for any dog regardless of the reason behind the behaviour.

We have 2 Patts, a male and a female and they are adorable. They are joined at the hip and have never had a fall out ever, however as you say, they are either very lazy snuggled up under the quilt of my bed or else they are hyper. They need to fulfil the hunting instinct or else you need to provide a good alternative. We are lucky as we have a couple of fields and woods that belong to us and that is well fenced in, here they run, dig, chase rabbits and other creatures and do everything they were brought up to do. We also have several old barns where they go ratting. After several hours they come in and climb into bed and get warm and sleep.
You need to find something for him to do that replicates this, the ability to run, chase, dig and find. How big is your garden, can you hide or bury things for him to find. He has a very active mind and you need to find things for him to do that interest him. Ours are not food orientated, so a kong with food would not interest them at all. I'm sorry to say it but they are little killers by instinct that is why they are ideal for rat catching, but watch out any other creature, chickens, pigeons, sparrows they don't care as long as they can chase and perhaps catch their prey.

Read up as much as you can about the needs of a Patt and then see what you can do to occupy his brain. They are wonderful little dogs but were born to work not be a house dog, so if you can find a way to keep him busy then you will have a great time ahead, with lots of laughs, because they really have a fantastic and entertaining character.

> At 9 months of age he will be at the worst possible teenage age, with testosterone levels being several times higher than normal -hence the humping, marking indoors etc. This will drop in a few months time.

I immediately went to the same place with this.   Plus you don't have a purebred Patterdale and unfortunately this may be relevant.   People who mess around with established breeds don't always (rarely!) use good stock, which means certain aspects of the dogs go missing, from conformation, to temperament.   Terriers can be a challenge as they need a job, and are not only needing loads of physical exercise, but mental stimulation too - they are usually very intelligent.

I think you have to keep up the training, increase the exercise bearing in mind he is still a puppy so don't 'overdo' it even if a tired dog is usually easier to live with.   And if you've been spoiling him (as happens with puppies!) you'll have to establish yourself as 'the boss' or he's going to continue to be a young hooligan now.

We have mice in the garden that our little lad (patterdale) tries to get, but I'm sooo protective of him. I'm petrified of him getting hurt or getting bitten and getting disease. Could anyone recommend their preferred mental stimulation techniques please? Thank you so much for your help so far. Much appreciated.

He is only young but if he tries to get to the mice then it shows he has the instinct. My little girl Patt had a fight with a rat nearly as big as her, she had her nose split in two but she didn't notice as her need to kill the rat took over. Once it was dead she wasn't interested in it any more. I bathed her nose with diluted hibiscrub and now you cannot even see a scar. They are brave little souls but my Patts seem to get a glazed look when going in for the kill. I would never encourage them but in the barns there are rats and it keeps them working their brains and they are very happy little dogs. They go days and days without catching anything but the chase is exciting for them, they come out covered in cobwebs but with waggy tails.

I'm not sure what else you could offer him to satisfy this need, but I am sure there are some excellent trainers here that could help you.

Hi again. He's been good as gold tonight. My partner now takes him on a morning walk as well now, which we never used to do. We've been taking him out in the car with us the last couple of days (the other half's,  not mine. Them claws are coming nowhere near my leather!)
He seems much more settled. More playing too. Been trying to teach him to catch. He's bloody awful at it!
Just been thinking, does anyone think another dog would be beneficial or detrimental to his development? If anyone thinks it's a good idea, what breed, sex, size would compliment him? I read somewhere that they're better in packs and hate being left alone. But you see conflicting opinions everywhere.
We both work, and he is currently alone from 7.45 until 9, then 3 til 5. Occasionally my partner has a training day or staff meeting, meaning he only gets let out briefly, but this is only approximately once a fortnight.
Thanks again
Russ

I would never get another dog just for a "friend" for the current dog - only get one if you yourselves actually want another dog.

I have three dogs, one of which is a Patterdale and all three dogs are rescues. Apart from my GR who was just a puppy when he came to us the other two arrived with their own problems.  My GR is mister sociable and has great dog manners and happily mixes with the other two dogs. My Patterdale is very, very active and would spend all day playing with the others if he could but has no concept of social manners and bugs the life out of my GR. When my daughter bought her own house she took our Patterdale to live with her and as the only dog in the household he is totally chilled and so much happier because he no longer feels the need to be on the go all the time and has learnt how to settle and relax. When he is at my house he reverts to his manic self and badgers the others to play incessantly.

My third dog is a rescue BC who never wants to play and has no interaction with the other dogs at all. He ignores them completely, doesn't play with them and when he lies down he always makes sure he isn't actually touching the others.

So - there is no guarantee that your dog and a new one will get on nor that they will interact in the best of ways which is why I would only ever get another dog because I wanted one for me and not just as a companion for the others.

As mentioned I have 2 Patts, but they were litter mates and have spent their lives together. Unfortunately Patts have a bad name for aggression with other dogs sometimes, although I have never found this with my two. I have heard of Patts being stolen to be used as fighting dogs, which makes me feel sick but there are some bad people out there.
Our two are part of a gang of 7 dogs, all rescues and all shapes and sizes and they get on really well together, but you have to be very careful on the temperament of a new dog if you plan to bring one in. It could work if they are suited character wise, but at the same time it could go horribly wrong.
Even though our Patts are part of a gang, they tend to go off on their own to do their own thing ( hunting) and very rarely play with the other dogs, so if you get another dog then A) choose wisely b) make sure you are doing it for you and not your dog.
You will need time to make sure they are ok together, which means not leaving them alone together when you are out etc etc, so you need to be aware of the extra time you will need to find in your life with an extra responsibility.

I would not have thought it necessary to get another, but it really is your choice, but please think well and hard first.

I would never advise a second dog until the first is fully adult and behaves as you would wish. 

A two to three year gap is best, less than that and they may just be naughty together, more likely to compete/fight.

As others have said only get a second then, as you want another.

As for which sex, opposite sexes rarely if ever fall out, so a  bitch would be my choice but you would have to make arrangements for at least one season, preferably two, (around 4 weeks to be on safe side)before getting her spayed.

Contrary to what many vets try to persuade people (because so many idiot owners will let their dogs breed) early neutering before full physical and mental maturity is not a good idea.

What's your opinion on neutering? My partner is very keen for our dog to get done, but it seems so cruel to me. I just picture myself getting my nikky nakky noos getting trimmed off, and it doesn't sound to appealing. Is there any real benefit other than controlling breeding?

Current research show that leaving until after maturity or long to better unless there are medical problems associated with seasons. Early neutrino decreases some cancers but and it's a bug but other cancers increase substantially also there is evidence of ligament and joint problems ,spay incontinence , and sometimes increase in behaviour problems . What it doesn't usually do is reduce behaviour problems  as is often said .All in all I woudl definitely leave until after 2 years at the earliest

Current research show that leaving until after maturity or long to better unless there are medical problems associated with seasons. Early neutrino decreases some cancers but and it's a bug but other cancers increase substantially also there is evidence of ligament and joint problems ,spay incontinence , and sometimes increase in behaviour problems . What it doesn't usually do is reduce behaviour problems  as is often said .All in all I woudl definitely leave until after 2 years at the earliest

There are more negatives than positives in getting males done from a health point of view, as this report concludes: http--www.naiaonline.org-pdfs-LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf so on balnce they should stay entire unless there is some strong other reason to neuter, as you say the only thing it guarantees is no breeding, but a responsibly owned male should not be producing puppies, after all bitch owners should not be having their bitches loose when in season.

Champdogs Blog: The Pros and Cons of Neutering

I'm in desperate need of help with my Patterdale/Lake land cross etc, etc, ect. 
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Has anyone got any tips/tricks/advice please?

We all make innocent mistakes more then once in a lifetime. I think this is one of yours.

Based on everything you've written I doubt if this dog will ever be compatible with your needs & worse I think you will simply tire of him to the point he will become an unwanted burden.

The only 'tip' I can think of is to get in touch with a patterdale rescue or breed club and see if you can make some kind of arrangements for someone who wants one, preferably with experience, who might wish to have him, best 'tip' i can think of. These are bred for work & when that outlet is missing it's like trying persuade Attilla the Hun to take up knitting as a hoby!
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