When Harley was 8 months old she went through the stage of not listening, especially to my OH. Part of the problem was that if anyone told her to 'leave it' and it was in a cross or stern voice she would ignore them (even me)! Once I realised that she responded if I spoke in a very happy cheerful voice I tried to always us that tone even when I was really annoyed. I use a long line with my foster dogs as we don't know what their recall is like........I thought they would get tangle up, but it has en a brilliant tool to aid recall. Might be worth a try? Mine is 15ft long. It might be worth looking at what treats you are using - I find that if I change them up it keeps her keen as she never knows what I have. Makes her keener to come back to me It does get better.......at 2 years old Harley will jump up at some people (usually just good friends!), her recall is really solid - but very occasionally she will ignore me (usually when she spots a squirrel!). Day care is a really good idea.....might also be worth a try! OH's usually don't help situations - I had to put my foot down with some things but they do learn what they can get away with with different people - Harley will pull OH if having a walk around the block......with me she walks brilliantly! They do learn
I don't know if you realised that the long line trails on the ground (you don't hold it). It can be a safety net for you but allow Ripple to expend more energy than on lead. I used a 7 metre one in Molly's first summer when she was 8-12 months old at the beach, as there were too many picnics and toys for me to be sure she'd recall. By the next summer I didn't need it.
Many thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, and the moral support - sometimes it seems that everyone's dog has one problem but Ripple seems to have them all, now I can see that he's not the only one. It certainly seems a prime age for this type of behaviour, I must have been very very lucky with my last two boys as I'm sure they were never as bad as this.
I just wanted to come and say I feel your pain. Hubbie is going out tomorrow and I'm already feeling stressed knowing that I'm doing most of the day on my own. I feel as though he is not my puppy at the moment! I took him to a different park last week and he ran and ran and ran. No second look back. In the end I had to go and get him. If there are other dogs around I have no chance. We do have a training lead (10 ft) but I hate it. If Eric isn't tied in knots he's trying to run and my hands are so sore! He sometimes backs off if I go to stroke him. He won't come to me in the house unless it suits him. He won't move for me if he's plonked himself somewhere i need him to move (in front of fridge etc) however when we're out he can also be an angel. After the park incident when I finally caught up with him, 3 women were coo'ing over him. 'oh he's so cute' 'isn't he gorgeous' 'what a cheeky boy' blah blah blah lol He sat and wagged his tail, no jumping. walking on a lead can be a bit hit and miss but he is mostly ok. Lots of sniffing but eating and picking up rubbish is slightly better He is 8 months going on 18yrs! I have said to hubbie that he is the dog version of my son (18 yr old, autistic and adhd!) If i didn't laugh and make jokes I would cry HOWEVER I have just been away for the weekend and missed him terribly (even though he's pretty much blanked me after the initial wag of a tail) We WILL get through this and we will have cheeky puppies who grow to be cheeky dogs x
Please don't despair Steffi, when we rescued Charlie at 9 months we hadn't a clue what we had let ourselves in for as he was so badly behaved and used to abscond and I spent so much time in tears you wouldn't believe it Sometimes I think we become so overwhelmed with trying to sort every single behaviour out we don't see the wood for the trees. I took a deep breath and decided what was the most important thing for us to teach Charlie which was obviously his recall so we set to work, the next was his absolutely awful lead work and that was it for the time being. I just built it all up slowly adding things I wanted to train. I introduced clicker training to tire his little brain out and he loves it, I taught him all kinds of things i.e. taking the washing out of the machine, fetching my keys, sitting in a box, getting the post, identifying toys, putting toys away in a box, hand touch, every look at me etc. Please try to work through these times and we all promise you it does get better and Ripple will be a dog you will be proud of. I am of Charlie who is 5 years old now and he behaves better than a lot of the so called "trained" dogs in our village Consistency and patience are the key here, clear instructions and lots of good treats and praise for your boy will get you quicker results. Keep going and you will be proud of yourself for seeing it through and the envy of all your friends and neighbours when you take a well behaved Ripple out xx
@jools , I'm glad you've joined the thread, your tales of Eric always make me feel better . Eric and Ripple are definitely soul mates. @Beanwood - I taught Ripple touch ages ago but I've never thought of using it when I'm out, how stupid of me . I think I'm so caught up in the problems that I'm not using the things Ripple knows to achieve the behaviours I want. Everyone has been so helpful today .
Ha ha - you should see the way my neighbours look at me now, it's definitely . They all cross to the opposite side when they see me coming.
Helen, you hit the nail on the head here. Coco came with so many different difficulties in the beginning, they were overwhelming. There were many tears. With consistent, gentle training he is becoming better & better. Looking back, tackling ONE thing, often has a good effect on others. Hang in there Steffi, things WILL turn a corner & you will feel on top of the world. We have a long way to go, but it gets easier..and more enjoyable.
Yes @SteffiS they definitely are! I have just put Eric in his crate after he has spent the last hour mooching, backing off and glaring at me whilst plotting how to kill me off (ok he probably isn't but it feels like it) He is over tired and I should have put him to bed ages ago but like I said earlier I'd missed him lol Tomorrow is another day and I will be using the advice you have been given today. I think I'm a bit too boring for him some days! X
One thing that I think is worth adding to all the (excellent) advice above about hanging in there, and training (both very critical!) is building your relationship with your dog. Learning to work together as a team, letting your dog feel he is a success, having fun together..... I know in the teenage months this can feel like a challenge...but it's very important. Probably also important to the dog too, who too often finds himself in trouble (having little idea why...), and confusingly distracted by the world...
Oh yes fun is just so important. It's amazing how your dog responds if you start being silly and start running around the garden or the park. With Juno I only have to stand in a Sumo wrestling type stance and for her to become excited because we're going tp play and be silly together
Fun is probably something I have difficulty with, when I had my previous boys my daughter was still at home and she gave them the fun times - obviously something I need to work on. This morning Ripple was like a different dog - well once he'd cleared up the remains of a mouse (left by the cats) and the poo in the garden (cats again ). He was so much better on his walk, 'touch' worked really well, I managed to get his attention away from a loose dog and get him to drop some rubbish. I decided not to stress too much about any icy mud he decided to try to eat. Much more relaxing this morning . And he didn't touch the empty cats bowl when we got home .
Well, the others are absolutely right, fun is really, really important. If Ripple doesn't think you are fun to be with, and you don't have fun with him, then recall is bound to be a bit difficult. Try and think about what you can do together that you might enjoy. Can you take him somewhere where you can have a nice off-lead walk with a game of fetch, and then go for a cup of coffee somewhere? After a walk and a game he will probably be nice and calm and you can enjoy a peaceful moment together. Try to look at things from his point of view - if you play games with him and do stuff that he enjoys; if you are the MOST INTERESTING THING AROUND then he will be much more likely to come back to you.
Glad things went better today Don't feel bad about getting cross.... It's hard to remain in a zen-like state at all times with a young doggie in the house You care about wanting to do a good job and you are looking for ways to do things in a different/better way and that says to me that you are a really good owner.
There you go!You are going to get through this just fine,you know the score. ,you've just got in a tangle ....I totally get you not wanting to 'break' your recall........I have struggled to proof Dexter in some areas....He's 3 and to some friends amazement I still won't blow when he goes on the initial run after a deer.....when they think I should blow it most It's no biggie if they fail one,they all do. If Dexter did when I was working through Total Recall....I used to behave like a nutter to get him back...star jumps,throwing food in the air while doing star jumps ,sprinting across the park away from him and holding my nerve to not look back shouting Bye!!!! squeaking toys,pretending I'd found something in the bushes far more interesting than he had ,lying down on the floor playing dead true story! Then I'd just go back a few steps or do some really easy recalls .....I can't say I didn't get frustrated or disappointed but we got better and you will too xxx
I did that once and nearly got knocked out as the dogs were so excited to find me and leapt all over me!
