9 Month old Lab suddenly stopped recall

[Nik_B 3,790]

Up to a couple of months ago things were going well with my Lab. I was focusing on recall and retrieving and virtually all the time he would come running back to me when I blew the whistle. Suddenly over the last few weeks he has completely stopped listening and now just seems obsessed with the smells in the park. It is like someone replaced my obedient Labrador with a little b*****d intent on driving me to an early grave.

 

I am trying to figure out what has gone wrong. There are people who have taken their dogs to the park while on heat so these are the smells that are probably driving him mad. Will he grow out of this eventually and how do I get him to refocus on me instead of the scents? Also some people have said this might be a Teenage phase and he is testing my boundaries.

 

I'm close to having his nuts chopped off but have been assured by a friend who trains shooting dogs that this isn't nesessary.

 

The suggestions so far are to keep him on the lead all the time and stop him playing in the park untill his obedience comes back.

 

I also bought a check lead so I was thinking I could let him run out while on it and then blow the whistle and give him a yank to make him return.....

 

At home he is fine and he hasn't forgot the whistle as I can do the recall in the garden without any problems.

 

 

Any advice would be appreciated as I am going crazy!!!!

[rickyspringer 15]

Nik, as realised you are now at that dreaded teenager phase, but remember when you were an exuberant lad and you were upto no good, imagine if your guardian wanted to cut your nuts off! Thats not the route to take...

 

I would come away from exercise in the park now and start settling into training with firm constant handling which will get results, when he doesn't respond to the recall there is only one thing you can do and thats reinforce the command, if he ignores get straight out after him and show him your displeasure, when the command is obeyed lots of fuss exactly like a pup.

 

This exercise needs training on in a fun manner, maybe in an enclosed isolated area... you will get results mate, just don't be too harsh and want to much too soon, concentrate on the recall thats the foundation

[Nik_B 3,790]

Nik, as realised you are now at that dreaded teenager phase, but remember when you were an exuberant lad and you were upto no good, imagine if your guardian wanted to cut your nuts off! Thats not the route to take...

 

I would come away from exercise in the park now and start settling into training with firm constant handling which will get results, when he doesn't respond to the recall there is only one thing you can do and thats reinforce the command, if he ignores get straight out after him and show him your displeasure, when the command is obeyed lots of fuss exactly like a pup.

 

This exercise needs training on in a fun manner, maybe in an enclosed isolated area... you will get results mate, just don't be too harsh and want to much too soon, concentrate on the recall thats the foundation

 

Thanks Ricky

 

I'm just shocked at how fast he went down hill, one minute he was doing great then he had a few days off with Kennel Cough then we went back to the park where I do my training and he just ran off. It doesn't help that people take dogs that are in season there leaving behind a trail of scent that drives him to distraction. My garden isn't very big but I do training exercises there where he is pretty good so fingers crossed it's just a phase as you say. My problem is now I feel I can't trust him off the lead. I took him somewhere more isolated and threw out the dummy for a retrieve nad he want out after it, then picked up a more interesting scent and then just buggered off on a jolly. I was so annoyed I just packed up and took him home.

 

I know I have to be patient and I try not to shout at him as it doesn't do any good.

 

As I have another problem with him being a bit nervous around people I think we'll focus on walking to heel and taking him to places where there are lots of people. This might serve both purposes which is to get him more used to people and remind him who's boss and to follow instructions. I'll try and find somewhere that is quieter than the local park as well for our training.

[Lab 10,979]

My 2 are 9 months at the end of the month mate and thats the age i will start to put in some serious training. I've done the basics like sit, stay and there recall is great. Are you over training and boring the dog..? Let the dog be a pup and dont pushing things, still plenty time yet. If you are planning to use him as a working dog he wont be ready this season anyway.....no need to panic

[rickyspringer 15]

agree with the above Time to crack on, but don't bore the dog

[Steve McHardy 2]

My 2 are 9 months at the end of the month mate and thats the age i will start to put in some serious training. I've done the basics like sit, stay and there recall is great. Are you over training and boring the dog..? Let the dog be a pup and dont pushing things, still plenty time yet. If you are planning to use him as a working dog he wont be ready this season anyway.....no need to panic

ricky is spot on with his advice its no good just standing shouting at the little sod. get after him a make him relise he can only do what you let him do. he is testing his boundaries and you need to show them to him and consistancy is the key try and find somwhere quiet where loads of other people dont go i know this can be hard if you live in a town. dont cut his nuts off my brother had his pointer lab done against my advice and it made not a bit of difference he still licks at my bitches when they are coming on. dont be to hard on him epsecialy if hes kinda nervous but make it plain that he can not get away from you and he has no option but to return when you want not when he wants also bein a lab he will be stomach orintated so try some seriosly tasty treats when he deos return i use cheese as dogs love or dried jerky. i mite take him to a shoot near the back end of the season just to watch. have you introduced him to the sound of the gun yet if hes nervous be careful my current bitch was a bit shy when she was young she will now buldoze through a brick wall if a shot goes off and is told to go. get his confidence up to the max with as much socialisation as poss when mine were pups i used to turn the telly up and down sudenly gettin them used to different sound levels labs can be bomb proof if care and time are taken. make youself as attractive as possible to get his attention lots of praise and a treat on return do this in the small space 1st so he knows return = treat then phase out the treats as he gets older.

atb with him

[Nik_B 3,790]

Cheers for all the advice.

 

I think the main cause is that his balls have dropped recently so he's started being interested in bitches and marking where other dogs urinate so his hormones are overloading him at the moment. In the house he is perfect and knows all the commands I've trained him on but the minute that I take him to a park where there are other dogs he just wants to run off and play, and when he does he doesn't come back.

 

I wonder if I have given him the wrong signals by letting him off the lead to play every time I go to the park so now he associates grass and other dogs with being able to do exactly what he wants.

 

Does anyone else think that he shouldn't be let off the lead to play with other dogs?

 

Cheers

 

Nik

[Lab 10,979]

Cheers for all the advice.

 

I think the main cause is that his balls have dropped recently so he's started being interested in bitches and marking where other dogs urinate so his hormones are overloading him at the moment. In the house he is perfect and knows all the commands I've trained him on but the minute that I take him to a park where there are other dogs he just wants to run off and play, and when he does he doesn't come back.

 

I wonder if I have given him the wrong signals by letting him off the lead to play every time I go to the park so now he associates grass and other dogs with being able to do exactly what he wants.

 

Does anyone else think that he shouldn't be let off the lead to play with other dogs?

 

Cheers

 

Nik

Wouldn't think it would make a diff' mate. Mine haven't been on the lead yet(well once and never again) and they are free to run with my other 2 dogs. Just be stern with him until he realises you are the boss, still young so trying to push the boundaries with you.

[Mickey Finn 3,012]

Nik, as realised you are now at that dreaded teenager phase, but remember when you were an exuberant lad and you were upto no good, imagine if your guardian wanted to cut your nuts off! Thats not the route to take...

 

I would come away from exercise in the park now and start settling into training with firm constant handling which will get results, when he doesn't respond to the recall there is only one thing you can do and thats reinforce the command, if he ignores get straight out after him and show him your displeasure, when the command is obeyed lots of fuss exactly like a pup.

 

This exercise needs training on in a fun manner, maybe in an enclosed isolated area... you will get results mate, just don't be too harsh and want to much too soon, concentrate on the recall thats the foundation

:thumbs:Good advice here. When they are showing their independence. It's time for the formal training to begin. So, don't give any commands you can't enforce.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Mickey Finn

[PUG 3]

Up to a couple of months ago things were going well with my Lab. I was focusing on recall and retrieving and virtually all the time he would come running back to me when I blew the whistle. Suddenly over the last few weeks he has completely stopped listening and now just seems obsessed with the smells in the park. It is like someone replaced my obedient Labrador with a little b*****d intent on driving me to an early grave.

 

I am trying to figure out what has gone wrong. There are people who have taken their dogs to the park while on heat so these are the smells that are probably driving him mad. Will he grow out of this eventually and how do I get him to refocus on me instead of the scents? Also some people have said this might be a Teenage phase and he is testing my boundaries.

 

I'm close to having his nuts chopped off but have been assured by a friend who trains shooting dogs that this isn't nesessary.

 

The suggestions so far are to keep him on the lead all the time and stop him playing in the park untill his obedience comes back.

 

I also bought a check lead so I was thinking I could let him run out while on it and then blow the whistle and give him a yank to make him return.....

 

At home he is fine and he hasn't forgot the whistle as I can do the recall in the garden without any problems.

 

 

Any advice would be appreciated as I am going crazy!!!!

 

 

 

I have complete sympathy for the position your in. I was having similar problems with my GSP bitch a couple of months ago, I’d taken her to puppy classes etc, but you’d take her out and she just wanted to please herself, tried all the traditional methods like long check cord all to no avail.

 

I spent a fair amount of time training before I even let her off loose in an enclosed field, thinking that come the time she’s let off and with all the training I’ve done she’ll be obedient, well it didn’t work for me… Plus the fact if they're on the lead they’re not getting rid of their built up energy, they need free running exercise and you can only really do that off the lead and loose!

 

She was fine in the back garden but anywhere else and she’d go totally deaf. Even took her to a gundog trainer who said I had my work cut out as although she’s very sensitive, she does have a streak in her where she’ll please herself, which makes correcting any behaviour difficult. He suggested I would be better off with a Spaniel!!! Well to say I felt a little low was an understatement, you think to yourself where have you gone wrong and you blame yourself etc…

 

Anyway, after speaking to a friend he suggested I try a shock collar, now all the press I heard had been bad against them but after a chat with him and keeping an open mind I thought I’d give it ago as there wasn’t much else I could try. As all the methods I’d tried previously failed miserably. I sometimes think that the majority of people who totally right them off have never been in the position to need to use one or even seen one in use!

 

In my opinion it’s all well and good people saying it’s a phase they’ll grow out of it, but each time the dog gets away with a behaviour it’s thinking it’s ok for me to do this and what’s to say it won’t stop doing this unless it’s promptly corrected?!

 

Well what can I say, on trying it out for the first time I took her out to a field and straight away off the lead she shot off ground scenting, then digging and sniffing mole hills, as previously mentioned the long check cord had absolutely no effect on her what so ever. I started off on the lowest setting possible which had no effect, had to up it a couple more and got a response from her, she looked up and her attention was taken away from what she was doing, as simple as that! No more trying to pull her away, no more burnt hands, no more tangles and no more despair!!!

 

Subsequently I found depending on her level of excitement you do have to adjust the setting on the collar accordingly, enough just to get her attention!

 

You see so many dogs out of control nowadays which are a complete liability in my opinion; I think it’s like anything else which is open to abuse, so long as it’s used correctly and not abused then it’s a valuable aid when used in the right set of circumstances (not used to cut corners) it can literally work wonders. Like anything it's how it's used! I don’t use it much now and hope to be able to dispense with it shortly!

 

To sum it up it’s the best £150 I’ve ever spent!

[Steve McHardy 2]

Up to a couple of months ago things were going well with my Lab. I was focusing on recall and retrieving and virtually all the time he would come running back to me when I blew the whistle. Suddenly over the last few weeks he has completely stopped listening and now just seems obsessed with the smells in the park. It is like someone replaced my obedient Labrador with a little b*****d intent on driving me to an early grave.

 

I am trying to figure out what has gone wrong. There are people who have taken their dogs to the park while on heat so these are the smells that are probably driving him mad. Will he grow out of this eventually and how do I get him to refocus on me instead of the scents? Also some people have said this might be a Teenage phase and he is testing my boundaries.

 

I'm close to having his nuts chopped off but have been assured by a friend who trains shooting dogs that this isn't nesessary.

 

The suggestions so far are to keep him on the lead all the time and stop him playing in the park untill his obedience comes back.

 

I also bought a check lead so I was thinking I could let him run out while on it and then blow the whistle and give him a yank to make him return.....

 

At home he is fine and he hasn't forgot the whistle as I can do the recall in the garden without any problems.

 

 

Any advice would be appreciated as I am going crazy!!!!

 

 

 

I have complete sympathy for the position your in. I was having similar problems with my GSP bitch a couple of months ago, I’d taken her to puppy classes etc, but you’d take her out and she just wanted to please herself, tried all the traditional methods like long check cord all to no avail.

 

I spent a fair amount of time training before I even let her off loose in an enclosed field, thinking that come the time she’s let off and with all the training I’ve done she’ll be obedient, well it didn’t work for me… Plus the fact if they're on the lead they’re not getting rid of their built up energy, they need free running exercise and you can only really do that off the lead and loose!

 

She was fine in the back garden but anywhere else and she’d go totally deaf. Even took her to a gundog trainer who said I had my work cut out as although she’s very sensitive, she does have a streak in her where she’ll please herself, which makes correcting any behaviour difficult. He suggested I would be better off with a Spaniel!!! Well to say I felt a little low was an understatement, you think to yourself where have you gone wrong and you blame yourself etc…

 

Anyway, after speaking to a friend he suggested I try a shock collar, now all the press I heard had been bad against them but after a chat with him and keeping an open mind I thought I’d give it ago as there wasn’t much else I could try. As all the methods I’d tried previously failed miserably. I sometimes think that the majority of people who totally right them off have never been in the position to need to use one or even seen one in use!

 

In my opinion it’s all well and good people saying it’s a phase they’ll grow out of it, but each time the dog gets away with a behaviour it’s thinking it’s ok for me to do this and what’s to say it won’t stop doing this unless it’s promptly corrected?!

 

Well what can I say, on trying it out for the first time I took her out to a field and straight away off the lead she shot off ground scenting, then digging and sniffing mole hills, as previously mentioned the long check cord had absolutely no effect on her what so ever. I started off on the lowest setting possible which had no effect, had to up it a couple more and got a response from her, she looked up and her attention was taken away from what she was doing, as simple as that! No more trying to pull her away, no more burnt hands, no more tangles and no more despair!!!

 

Subsequently I found depending on her level of excitement you do have to adjust the setting on the collar accordingly, enough just to get her attention!

 

You see so many dogs out of control nowadays which are a complete liability in my opinion; I think it’s like anything else which is open to abuse, so long as it’s used correctly and not abused then it’s a valuable aid when used in the right set of circumstances (not used to cut corners) it can literally work wonders. Like anything it's how it's used! I don’t use it much now and hope to be able to dispense with it shortly!

 

To sum it up it’s the best £150 I’ve ever spent!

i totally agree with the above had to rosort to one of those with my brothers pointer x lab but ony thing is u may have to run the dog with it on for the rest of its days as my brothers dog knows when its on, take it off an say bye bye to him, but what a difference when its on. i would explore very other avenue first.

[Nik_B 3,790]

Quick update.

 

After the advice from a freind who trains his own dogs for shooting I have stopped taking him tot he park as I think I have built up an association that will be hard to break.

 

I am walking him on the road and to the shops alot to try and get him used to people more and to get him walking to heel pefectly.

 

After our walk I now take him to a local tennis court where I do three exercises. The first I make him sit in the middle and I give him the stay comman. I then walk in a large circle around him and if he even looks like moving I give him a sharp warning I also try to make sure he is looking at me. I can now walk right around the perimeter and he sits where I told him without moving. I then either walk back to him to praise him or I blow the recall wistle and he comes running to me. For a treat I throw the ball and he sits and stays untill I give him the command to retrieve.

 

Today he was good as in the next tennis court there were two dogs playing and he bolted towards them so I told him off and made him go back to his spot and told him off. After that he did all the exercises well without any slip ups.

 

So the controlled environment is working and I am avoiding setting myself up for failure but doing the exercises where there are too many distractions.

 

My other concern is the nervousness with people when on the street. If someone were to try and stroke him he would bolt away from them. He isn't as bad as he was before as he used to bark. When I take him tot he shops I sit him outside the entrance of the busiest shop so he gets used to people walking past him and behind him. I treat him frequently when we are in those situations as I am trying to break the bad association with people.

[PUG 3]

Quick update.

 

After the advice from a freind who trains his own dogs for shooting I have stopped taking him tot he park as I think I have built up an association that will be hard to break.

 

I am walking him on the road and to the shops alot to try and get him used to people more and to get him walking to heel pefectly.

 

After our walk I now take him to a local tennis court where I do three exercises. The first I make him sit in the middle and I give him the stay comman. I then walk in a large circle around him and if he even looks like moving I give him a sharp warning I also try to make sure he is looking at me. I can now walk right around the perimeter and he sits where I told him without moving. I then either walk back to him to praise him or I blow the recall wistle and he comes running to me. For a treat I throw the ball and he sits and stays untill I give him the command to retrieve.

 

Today he was good as in the next tennis court there were two dogs playing and he bolted towards them so I told him off and made him go back to his spot and told him off. After that he did all the exercises well without any slip ups.

 

So the controlled environment is working and I am avoiding setting myself up for failure but doing the exercises where there are too many distractions.

 

My other concern is the nervousness with people when on the street. If someone were to try and stroke him he would bolt away from them. He isn't as bad as he was before as he used to bark. When I take him tot he shops I sit him outside the entrance of the busiest shop so he gets used to people walking past him and behind him. I treat him frequently when we are in those situations as I am trying to break the bad association with people.

 

Might be worth taking him to some puppy classes, would help him socialise with other dogs and people in a controlled environment. Would recommend it!

[michael.f 3]

Up to a couple of months ago things were going well with my Lab. I was focusing on recall and retrieving and virtually all the time he would come running back to me when I blew the whistle. Suddenly over the last few weeks he has completely stopped listening and now just seems obsessed with the smells in the park. It is like someone replaced my obedient Labrador with a little b*****d intent on driving me to an early grave.

 

I am trying to figure out what has gone wrong. There are people who have taken their dogs to the park while on heat so these are the smells that are probably driving him mad. Will he grow out of this eventually and how do I get him to refocus on me instead of the scents? Also some people have said this might be a Teenage phase and he is testing my boundaries.

 

I'm close to having his nuts chopped off but have been assured by a friend who trains shooting dogs that this isn't nesessary.

 

The suggestions so far are to keep him on the lead all the time and stop him playing in the park untill his obedience comes back.

 

I also bought a check lead so I was thinking I could let him run out while on it and then blow the whistle and give him a yank to make him return.....

 

At home he is fine and he hasn't forgot the whistle as I can do the recall in the garden without any problems.

 

 

Any advice would be appreciated as I am going crazy!!!!

dont take him to a open field keep him on the lead had same trouble get down a tight alley or small lane and go back to basics reatreving he will come back to u after a while perserve and plenty of encouragement good luck mate