I got a 4 month old chocolate lab puppy in July, my first dog, and I've become obsessed with googling everything she does! Since I've been reading here so much I thought I'd join in. She's coming up on 9 months now and has been alternatively amazing, mischievous, hilarious, exhausting, and sometimes just bizarre in our first 5 months together. I'm fascinated by her! I've been working on training lately, and really trying to get serious about it. I've been trying to clicker train her. Some stuff she's great at (little stuff like sit, down, "find it," and for some reason she loves to roll over???), other stuff is still iffy. Recall is my biggest concern, and her absolute obsession with other dogs. We're learning everyday how to work together, though. Anyway, it's nice to meet everyone and I thank you all in advance for letting me bend your ears!
Hello! Welcome to the forum Is that Mira in your profile photo? She is absolutely stunning! It sound like you have a wonderful relationship It's great to have you here
Welcome the forum! It's really common for recall to be a sticking point - entire books have been written on that topic alone The important thing is to make sure that you only work to the level of distractions that she's ready to deal with. So recall train solo until she's perfect, then gradually add in distractions from a distance, getting slowly closer over time. Anything she finds very distracting like other dogs should wait until she really gets it in less tempting scenarios. Also, make sure your rewards are really motivating - our Labs love bits of sausage and cold roast chicken. You can find lots of recall training help here too. Let us know how you get along!
Hi Lucy and Sara! Yes, that's her! She has funny ears for a lab, one stands up almost like a German Shepherd and the other flops over. But the rest of her is all choco lab. And I have to agree, she's a very pretty young lady. Distractions are the biggest thing! It's a little embarrassing (to me, anyway) to have her losing her mind over another dog that isn't even stopping to look over at her from across the street. I take her to a park to work on recall and I scan constantly for other dogs before I drop the leash. Otherwise, she's good at it, even outside with all the noises and smells. She'll sit and stay while I walk to the other end of the park and then fly over to me when I whistle and start waving around a toy. She definitely knows what I want (and loves to run free) - I hope it's just a matter of time and practice before she'll give up on trying to meet every four-legged thing in a mile radius. Although, I have to be honest - I do like that she's so friendly! I just want to add some manners to the friendliness. Thank you both for the kind words!
Hi and welcome from me and my 9 month choc lab pup Isla. I couldn't have written it better as this could be my pup your describing exactly!
