Hello all, Captain has all of his shots now, and we're spending as much time outside as we can. We've done loads of training in the backyard and in the house, but now we're travelling the world! Well, the part of the world that is our neighborhood anyway. Small steps, right? He is doing well on his leash. He rarely pulls, and when he does he almost always responds appropriately when i follow up with "Heel" or "come here". I stop randomly, and expect him to sit down next to my left side and look up. He does this nearly every time as well. Im happy and proud. A long leash, though. I'm not sure i really understand why we might use them. Admittedly, his recall outside of the house and backyard is not strong, and i think the long leash may be able to help with that. Any tips, thoughts, pointers, etc would be greatly appreciated.
Hi @Anthony Abrao If he is less than 16 weeks of age, then I would concentrate on socialisation. Needs to interact with the world in a confidence building way. Let him have fun interacting with new things. If he is frightened, then back away. See whether he is willing to go say one metre closer to that trigger during another session. Play with him if he does. The long line is used for training recall. But that can come a little later. https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/attention-new-puppy-owners-let-your-puppy-off-the-lead.1333/ https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-socialise-your-labrador-puppy/
Michael, He is less than 16 weeks, and socializing is definitely a priority. Thanks for the tips. I'll keep reading and making sure i'm doing it the right way when its time.
He is in the best phase of socialization, and the basic commands you taught him can greatly help you to train your puppy about socialization. People automatically think that means socializing them with other humans and dogs. And that’s incredibly misleading. puppy socialization means having a puppy experience the outside world. The goal is zero reaction to the distractions around them. Rather than focusing on other people and dogs, the puppy must focus their attention on the handler. This type of socialization branches into obedience training under commands. The puppy must look to their pet owner for the rewards and positive praise. When you are out with your puppy, it's natural for people to approach the dog. Even though it’s hard to say “no,” tell people they cannot pet the puppy because they are in training. A retractable leash can shorten the distance with strangers if your pup hasn't mastered how to greet others. You could lengthen the leash and take the rewards (like kibbles or treats he likes) in hands, which can always attract your dog's attention and let him focus on you. Then you could recall him by some cues or commands (like "come"). If he obeys your commands, give him the treats and try to gradually lengthen the leash. However, we can exclude to encounter someone during walking our dog, so I suggest you could also teach your puppy how to behave gently when facing other people and not jumping to people and sniffing everywhere. If you can travel with your dog worldwide, I guest your puppy is a service dog in training? You should know more behavioral requirements for service dogs before accessing to public places. Both both you and your puppy will have a nice trip!
@BennyG Since the topic is so important I feel the need to say something. I don't wish to be confrontational because I realise your intention is good. But I am sorry to say that you have misconceived the concept of socialisation. May I be bold enough to ask you to re-read some of the literature on socialisation, including Pippa's piece (I linked it above)?
I've never owned a puppy but having rehomed 2 adolescent dogs I often find myself thinking what I would have done differently if I'd had them from a young age. One thing I would definitely do is get them used to wearing a harness and long line so it's no big deal for them. Even if it was just putting the harness on giving them breakfast and taking it off again, or trailing a house line while playing a game indoors. You don't know what your dog's going to be like when he's willful and 30kg, maybe he'll have perfect recall and you won't need a long line but maybe you won't be so lucky and if that's the case your life will be much easier if you don't have to do battle with him to get the harness on. I'm assuming by long leash you mean a trailing line not one of those awful retractable things. The kennels I use insists on a trailing line for off lead exercise and we also use a short (2m) one in Hoopers classes so it's a good thing for your dog to get used to.
https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/attention-new-puppy-owners-let-your-puppy-off-the-lead.1333/ See above link. Puppies are pretty slow and like to stay close to you, so this is a good time to not use the leash at all. Pippa suggests only using the long line if your dog absconds completely...and I would agree from my experience. However, attaching a trailing line to a harness on your dog (especially when they get faster) is a good idea. I used a 3-5 meter long line with no handle; when your dog fails to recall, you can just walk over, grab the line, and pull them in (it avoid the dog playing 'catch me' with you).
Before using a 10m long-line, I like to use a 2.5m puppy house line out and about - it allows for more freedom of movement from the pup to explore things but also means I have a hold and it's very lightweight for pups still getting used to having a leash on them. As for socialisation, it depends on the pup concerned - that is why many of these things are so complex. For eg, if I had a pup which was a bit of an over-confident pupster which had already met many people and other dogs and wanted to get to every dog and person passing, without any caution and with the goal of jumping on them when reaching them, then I absolutely would be teaching more control and focus on the handler and keeping away from people and dogs and not letting the pup learn to do this more. If I had a less confident or 'average' pup, then I really would continue letting the pup meet people and other (safe) dogs during the socialisation period.
@Ruth Buckley i do not mean a retractable leash. I am asking about a leash that is 15 feet long. We havent gotten him a harness yet because his pulling is very short. My wife has stated she wants a harness for him for her to continue walking him, so we are looking into them. @Michael A Brooks i am certainly prioritizing his socialization. WE go for walks around the neighborhood, and there is so many distractions that i cant rely on his recall. It's not strong enough yet. During these walks i work on his leash manners. I reward him for checking in, rewarding when i stop he turns around and comes to sit in front of or next to me, rewarding for "leave it alone" or "drop it", and i do work on his recall, too. We go to a free puppy play time at a local pet store which he enjoys. We work on leash-free training, too. There is a park nearby that has very subtle distractions like birds, sometimes different numbers of kids playing basketball, on a playground, a couple other dogs, etc. We do long throws and fetch, and it certainly strengthens his recall, we work simply on just recall while we walk around, and 'stay' as well. @BennyG our goal is not to have no reactions, but for him to not react to anything. My wife enjoys how attentive and alert he is on our walks, in the house and both yards. Our front isnt fenced, but our back is. We dont want him to chase, bark, jump or pull, and want him to be obedient when given commands. During our outings he gets exposed to different types of vehicles, sounds, surfaces, people, animals and weather. I really make an effort to safely expose him to the world we live in so he can be comfortable and happy. @alsbos Captain is beyond the age where he is slower than any of us. He's about 17 weeks old, so hes not full-grown fast, but he can certainly out run any member of our family. Sometimes the areas we do off-leash training are busier than normal, and i see Captain being distracted before we even begin. We still do the work, but i am more careful about when i give different commands, and he trails his 6 foot leash the entire time. Ha, my wife hates it because it gets wet from the ground or full of grass or other debris. We may get a longer lead to use as a trailer, but so far his 6-foot leash has provided us plenty. @Jo Laurens Captain is not overly confident. He isnt exceedingly skittish either. It's clear that he is new to many sounds, environments, etc, but he takes them well. He will usually raise the hair on his back and come closer to me as he observes whatever it is thats making him uncomfortable. I talk to him in a calm voice, and let him work out his challenge. When he becomes comfortable in the situation i usually move on for a fw paces to see that he truly is comfortable before i bend down and pat him a few times with some more encouraging words. He reacts very well to this reinforcement, and it is a behavior i use as a reward during his other trainings so i believe he relates the actions to a reward.
I didn't think you meant a retractable one but one of the replies you got seemed to imply it. I used a 5metre trailing line quite a lot with mine (about 15ft, ithink, im not very good with feet and inches!). 10metres is more useful but more unwieldy. 5m was enough to stop him from messing around - he'd recall but not let me touch him to put a lead on when I first got him.
