Hi all! Need a bit of advise for my stubborn choccy lab Toki! She has been on the lead fine for weeks but just recently she has started stopping and does not want to budge! Literally digs her heels in! Sometimes its because she wants to go another way but sometimes its for no reason...that I can see! What way can I stop her doing this? Do I need a longer lead so that she will eventually start following me again? I dont want to use treats as this is making it look like if she stops she gets food. She has started getting a bit of an attitude and has also started to ignore me when i call her...again just sits and looks at me! Recall had been going fine until now!! How do I become more fun that she stops doing this?!!
Hi Gemma. I know the sitting and not moving thing is relatively common. I've not experienced it myself, so I'll allow someone else to address that, while I focus on the end of your post - which may help somewhat with the first bit, too, maybe. Basically, you have to make being with you more rewarding than not being with you. For recall issues, I'd recommend Total Recall, which has steps you work through. It's a great programme for setting you up for success. I can guarantee she's not being stubborn, nor does she have "an attitude", because dogs just don't think that way. The reasons that a dog won't follow a cue are basically: 1) They don't understand, 2) They're too distracted by something else or 3) The reward isn't good enough and they get more pleasure from doing what they're otherwise doing. 1) Is a biggy that's difficult for us to get our heads around. We think, if the dog has learnt that the word "sit" means to put its bum on then it should know how to do that anywhere. Not so. Dogs take in so much information when they're being taught and that all becomes the cue, until they are taught which specific bit they're responding to. Which means going back to basics in every new environment. To start with, this might just be the difference between having your hand hanging loose, or placed on your hip; or the texture of the ground under her feet. They take in everything and it's all part and parcel with that word, "sit". Only by doing the same beginning exercises with a lot of variations will the dog be able to filter out that one word to be the whole cue. 2) Distractions are a big deal when dealing with a puppy. The whole world is new and exciting. Sure, to start off with, they're very dependent on you and want to be by your side all the time, but don't be fooled into thinking you have a strong recall. I had the best puppy recall in the world, but then, suddenly, it fell apart overnight. Because it was just that - a puppy recall that depended on the puppy's instincts to stay close. It's a great time to work on the basics, knowing that you're the most important thing in the world to them, and setting up the patterns is really useful, but as they get older, they gain confidence and those darned distractions come into play. It may be a butterfly flitting across their path, or it may just be a really good smell (very annoying, because it's hard for us to account for these when we can't see or smell them ourselves). So, what you have to do is start over. Imagine that your puppy knows nothing, because, really she doesn't, when you add in the distractions. Get the behaviours really solid again in a low-distraction environment and gradually make it more challenging. Bit by bit. If she starts failing, it's because you moved on too fast. Take it back a step or two and start again. In a couple more months, you're also going to hit adolescence. This is yet another challenging time. The dog's hormones start to rage and smells that had no interest previously are now hugely stimulating, and therefore more distracting. So, you have to just go back to basics again, and work through from the very beginning. It will be quicker each time you do this, but it's important not to give up because you seem to be going backwards; with persistent training, and going back a step or two if you're hitting a brick wall. http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...250674-it-s-ok-to-go-right-back-to-square-one 3) Dogs are inherently selfish. This doesn't mean they're bad, or nasty. It simply means that they choose to do the thing that gives them the best outcome. So, if your dog is smelling something really good, she'd better know that, if she comes to your call, she's going to get something way better than that, or she just won't bother. She's not being stubborn, she's doing what is natural to her; choosing the option that gives her the best outcome. So, if you always give a bit of kibble or something pretty dull when she comes, she's going to put the proverbial fingers up if she has something more valuable. But, if she knows that she often gets a whole sardine, or a squirt of tube cheese, or a piece of dried tripe, or to chase a ball.... well, that's SO much better, and is worth leaving the smell for. You know what's even better? If a lot of the time (where safe, obviously), she gets that amazing treat and she gets allowed to go back to her smell afterwards again. Double whammy! Definitely a behaviour worth repeating. So, use high value rewards, but also make yourself generally more fun. Here's a thread which may help: http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...ining/260292-keeping-your-dog-close-on-a-walk
Hi Gemma, I have an 11 month old choccy lab who used to do exactly the same as Toki. To be honest she will occasionally do it now. It's been a bad day today. Toki is still very much a baby and taking her surroundings in. The way I tackled it was literally stand with my back to Mabel very close by and wait without speaking, once she started to walk again loads of praise and a treat. Gradually the duration and amount of times she stopped decreased. Be patient it takes years to train a puppy. Do you have Pippa's Total Recall its a brilliant, helpful book. I have learnt so much from it, definitely worth the investment. When she does come to you give her a treat and plenty of praise. If Mabel's recall was slow I would walk in the opposite direction, arms flapping, silly noises anything really to get her to come to you. I also played a game. I put Mabel in a sit next to me then I would throw a treat when she had found it I would call her to me and I'd throw a treat in the other direction. Repeating this many times. On the last throw I'd call her to me and give her a slightly high value treat. I'm sure snowbunny once posted something similar on the forum. I'm sure she will read it and be able to explain how she did it. Good luck.
I would treat her when she walks well, while she's walking well. It also helps if you keep up a good, fast pace - it's harder for them to get distracted then. If she stops, just wait - but don't let her lie down. She will soon move when she gets bored and soon learn that stopping doesn't have any benefits.
Pilatelover is talking about the "elastic recall" which is a great game to play with young dogs for building their enthusiasm for running towards you. It's as she described; you take ten chunky, high-value treats. Bowl one of them away from you, so your dog runs for it. Once she has it and looks at you again, turn away and bowl another in the opposite direction. As she's running towards you, use your recall cue (I use a whistle with three pips). Same again on that side. You'll soon have her running at full pelt towards you to get the next treat. Using your cue whilst she's running towards you already strengthens the bond between the cue and the action. Once she's very strong at this, you start to move your recall cue to as soon as she has the treat, so she's still facing away from you and she starts to associate the cue with turning really quickly and belting towards you. On the last one, bring her into you. You don't want to play this game too much with a puppy, because it is hard on the joints when they're going full pelt, but once in a while is great fun for everyone. My two (14 months) still love playing it on occasion now. I pull it out of the bag when we need a bit of light relief in the middle or at the end of a more serious training session. If you use a clicker, you can incorporate that later on, but it's best to get coordinated with the throwing and recall cue first! Don't get hung up on the fact that she's not stopping by you - the idea of the game is that she gets used to accelerating towards you. Later on down the line you can introduce her coming to a halt, but if you start off with that, it can end up with a lacklustre recall. For a particularly good recall, I sometimes surprise my two by turning and throwing a ball away from them as they get to me, so they continue running. It's made a huge difference to the speed they run on the recall now. Sometimes I have two Labs hurtling towards me and I am just praying that they're going to stop or swerve in time
On the not walking forward thing, try and figure out why. Is the surface different and she is not used to it? Is there something she is scared about? Does she hate her harness? Or perhaps she is just really unsure about being attached to a human outside? In my boy's case, he would stop and remove to walk because he hated his walking harness. Now he does it because OH gives in and lets him go the way he wants to go (usually to the beach ). If it's about the lead and collar (assuming she is on a collar), and she is resisting a (hopefully very gentle) pressure on the lead to move forward, try separately training her when she feels a tiny tug, moving forward is a great thing to do. So inside, take hold of her collar, give the smallest amount of pressure in a forwards direction and then wave a yummy treat in front of her nose. Repeat so she is moving forwards expecting a treat each time you (very gently) move her forward with her collar. By the way, it's a useful thing to teach her to move back, and to the side in the same way in response to a tiny amount of pressure on her collar - it's super useful for a dog to move with gentle touches on the collar, rather than pull against them. Then you can repeat with the lead.
