[Teresa]

Hi All,

I am after some advice, our Buzz has been brilliant with his training, very responsive.....Unitll now that is (he is 5 months) he has got really bad with his recall when out on walks, if he sees another dog that is it he is gone and will not come back.
My husband came in this morning after their early morning walk fuming as he had had to trudge across a field and a half to get him back. Previously he would bolt to other dogs but would recall especially if you kept walking, now he does not care if you are out of sight.
Craig took him out mountain biking at the weekend, Buzz loved it and was very good and did not pay any attention to other dogs as he was so focused.
Is this just a stage and what can we do (currently are back to lead walking him) we have to be able to control him out on walks off lead?
Would having the snip help, he is due in for it next month?

Any advice appreciated

 

[S.Claire]

Hi Teresa

Nacho is 6 months and he has just started doing this too. Not out on walks (yet) but we have a rather large garden and field backing onto it and he keeps going off when he is supposed to be doing his business and not listening to me when i call him back. I end up trudging through the darkness with a torch in my dressing gown late a night!! I have literally just bought a flexi lead and will have to keep him on this until he re-learns that he must come back when called and will tempt with treats. I was extremely mad with him yesterday evening at midnight trying to lure him back in!! I've even bought him a bell that goes on his collar so at least i can hear him in the darkness - he's become a cat!

Good luck.

 

[colpa110]

Hi Teresa

I feel your pain - Betty is just Six Months old and is doing this too. We were in our local park this weekend which has large fields but also a childrens play area
which is not (unusally )fenced off. Normally I keep well away as Betty just LOVES to play with kids. However this weekend despite being th usual distance away Betty made a beeline straight for the kids area.. no amount of calling/whistling or running in the opposite direction could get her back. It was a LONG run over to the play ground for me where I found Betty was running around like a maniac from one kid to another - most of them were about 6- 7 years old and very squealy... Betty has a tendancy to be very bouncy and some of the kids were a bit frightened
I made the neccesary apologies to the parents but I could sense them thinking
'can't he keep his dog under control'...
I'm struggling to even get her to do basic commands like sit and down and I have invested so much to and effort in to training
Gwen Bailey writes about this in the 'Perfect Puppy' and says in is quite normal for the training to go out of the window at this age and not to despair it's effort not wasted and will return once the phase passes and just to keep at it..
Claire ( Jedicrazy) suggests using a long training line whilst recall is not good but think she only had to use it for a couple of weeks with Obi. I may give this a try!!

 

[Laney]

Hi Teresa and all,
Rocky started this at about 5 and a half months, after pretty good recall up until then. Now if he sees another dog...he is gone. It is so sad as now most of his walks are on lead. When we take him to the big park at the weekend, we let him off but we have to keep putting him back on all the time, its such a pain.
If we see a dog we know he can play with we take him over there ON the lead and then let him off in order to try to show him 1) who's boss, and 2) that we WILL let him play and he doesn't have to run off to do it. Its hard. I hope he improves as he's spoiling his walks for himself so much.
He is having the snip in January x

 

[Teresa]

Thank you all, its great to know we are not alone and it seems its a definate phase at this age. Laney we are the same with the lead walking and its such a shame as he loves to run but as Colin has said what with kids and other dogs who are not pleased to have a bouncy puppy all over them its crucial to be able to control....My Husband is just like you Colin feeling very dissapointed with Buzz as he invested soo much time on training him, I have told him to try not to take it personally, he isnt doing it to annoy him. We are going to try taking a ball and doing retrieve work to keep him occupied, I think his ususal park walk just doesnt stimulate him and see if that helps and otherwise ride out the phase but keep going with training...

 

[S.Claire]

Ahhhhhhh. Since my last post to you Teresa Nacho has run out of my office (never done that before) escaped out the door and across a busy car park before realising he'd even gone!!!!! I think i'm about to have a heart attack. Found him 200 metres away greeting strangers at a plant centre without a bloody care in the world that I wasn't there!!

Wits end!! At this rate he'll never be off his lead again! Feel like crying, he could so easily have been hit by a car.

 

[colpa110]

OMG - I'm glad he is OK - what a nightmare.
Deep breaths and a strong cup of tea (if nothing else stronger available)
required. It will be good to see how our dogs develop through these stages
together...strength in numbers and all that!!

 

[S.Claire]

OMG - I'm glad he is OK - what a nightmare.
Deep breaths and a strong cup of tea (if nothing else stronger available)
required. It will be good to see how our dogs develop through these stages
together...strength in numbers and all that!!

Thanks Colin. I think a vodka and tonic is on the cards as soon as the hand strikes 5pm!!! Yes thank god he is ok. I still feel so sick. I really don't know what i'd do if anything happened to him - i wouldn't forgive myself - especially as my family lost a dog to being hit by a car a few years ago - never want to go through that again!

Deep breaths! - Nacho is currently in the corner sulking again as i raised my voice rather loudly at him. I'm a scary monster to him right now - probably shouldn't have reacted like that but it was more of the relief that he was ok - then anger set in - the pigs ear has been confiscated.... poor pooch!

 

[Teresa]

OMG Nacho you naughty boy.....these Cockapoo's they just know everyone cannot resist to fuss them and they are off to say 'look at me, look how cute I am' without a second thought.
I soo hope this phase is over soon, as you say its worrying when they are putting their safety at risk yet you dont want to squash their fun either..

 

[Rufini]

I don't know if Vincent is just an early starter but he's started to be a right little terror D:
Had a call from my boyfriend at lunch time (who has a chest infection ) that he had never been so upset and annoyed with Vincent as he was after his afternoon walk!
Apparently he would not stop pulling the lead, jumping up and trying to run off as fast as he could (we live in an area where non lead walking is not good...a bit dodgey really) and then everytime he saw a person he jumped up at them barking which he has never done! (he does jump up but never barked!!)

Poor boyfriend ended up picking Vincent up and carrying him home as he just couldn't take a step without him being naughty
Continuing to train heel x_x

 

[marzy]

susie
poor nacho must have given you a right fright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so so so glad hes aok and you ..... are now calm.....

i seriosly believe they hit the terrible teens before they are one....

back to basic training again and out with the liver i think!!!!!
marzy

 

[pixie]

Oh dear! 5 mnths seems to be the start of something! My mums poo Buffy is being really naughty,she has been having sneaky poo's upstairs,chewing and destroying,gets into my mums handbag and can open a pack of treats and has developed a way of getting them out with banging the packet with her paw she has cheekiness oozzing from her! Pixie's recall is getting worst too,and cheese just isnt doing the trick anymore when we see people up ahead on walks! So hard getting them on the lead again when they are off....and jumping up at people is my pet hate and Pixie would win gold if there was a competition for it,tough times and i think we have to wait until 18mnths before it gets better(i have read this somewhere,is it true???)

Glad Nacho is ok! What a nightmare for you,wish it was easy to train them road safety x

 

[ali-s.j.]

Izzy's behaviour has deteriorated recently - I thought it was because she can see since I trimmed her face! Recall still ok, although she is wandering further in the woods than before (but keeps coming back to check on me ). Our biggest problem is the jumping onto the table - she can now do it from a standing jump :jumping: and is so fast! Let's hope it's another quick passing phase just don't want to wish her puppyhood away!

 

[jackster]

Hi all,
Archie is now 5 months and 3 weeks and seems to be turning into a little devil. He ran off the other day in the woods and just ignored my call back. In the end i had to go get him by which time he was covered in mud and it took me 45 mins to get him clean. He looked so pleased with himself, i swear he smiles. Now he keeps jumping up at everyone. He seems to have changed over the past week, and now we have to keep him in the lead. He is so lovely but i think the hormones are setting in, he is like a stroppy teenager now!

 

[mrsmac]

How long does this continue?? Maisie is 7 months and yesterday her recall was none existant! I even walked away from here in the park and hid round a corner watching here. She just looked around and then went back to sniffing the tree, not a hint of panic that I had gone! !!

 

[MillieDog]

I would say its adolescence. A mixture of testing their boundaries and growing confidence.

Go back to basics. Take some very tasty treats out, cooked meat is a favourite. Even start to click and reward again if thats what you used to do.

Add a ball into the equation, that keeps them interested in you.

And my favourite, if they are away playing with another dog, call them back and run off slowly in the opposite direction. They love to play chase and you become fun.

It will pass, but keep working on Recall. Reward a good strong Recall - and set them up to succeed. Praise a slow Recall, but don't punish.

Millie went through a poor Recall stage for a couple of weeks. At 8 months it became apparent that Millie was a lot more obedient and listened to most commands. I think adult hood stepped in.

 

[colpa110]

Thanks Julie for giving us all hope!!

 

[Laney]

still waiting............

 

[S.Claire]

susie
poor nacho must have given you a right fright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so so so glad hes aok and you ..... are now calm.....

i seriosly believe they hit the terrible teens before they are one....

back to basic training again and out with the liver i think!!!!!
marzy

Thanks Marzy! xxx

 

[Denali]

Yup, Lucca is the same - has selective hearing when playing with other dogs. I do use a whistle which can get his attention; 2 sharp blows often does the trick, but certainly not always. He is booked in for the snip tomorrow so will see if this makes a difference