It seems like I make a weekly post on Arnie's age. 16 weeks now and becoming more confident and independent. His recall has gone down the gurgler too. I gotta start from scratch with that I think and use a long line. We moved into our house now and because there's no fencing up we've had some accidents in the house. It's hard, because we let him out to toilet, and sometimes he goes, and then we comeback in and 10 minutes later he does it inside. Any advice for me in this regard? The independence and unwillingness to recall is getting me as well. He was really good a week or two, before we moved, but now he comes when he wants and sniffs when he wants. Is the best idea to start from scratch with this? I'm thinking long line and if he doesn't come kinda just making him remember he has to with a little tug in the right direction.
I would say you've answered your own questions! The best thing to do when you find a dog "regressing" on their training is to go back to the beginning. The early stages will go quicker, though, so don't despair. Your pup is still very young and has lots to learn yet. A new environment means he has to learn that all the things he learned before in the old place still apply here. Deep breath and some patience and you'll help him get settled.
Yeah after I posted I read it again and thought, I've just worked this out myself. Arnie is loving the new place tho. Plenty of room to run around. And plenty of stuff to put in his mouth that doesn't belong there. He's a champ tho.
We moved at the end of November/early December and although Juno appeared to have coped well on the surface we did have a minor blip on behaviour when seeing other dogs when out for a walk for which we consulted a behaviourist and resolved very quickly. Arnie will be fine once he's adapted to his new environment and all the smells and distractions are no longer 'new' .
