Not sure I should continue to post in the puppy forum now as Dexter is now nearly 15 months old but here is my final update (for any forum). Some will have read my ramblings previously, and it is 2 months since I last posted because you may remember I broke my ankle just under 9 weeks ago whilst walking him. Fortunately I have progressed quickly, and have got to the point that I have now started to walk him again though there is some concern (from others) about me coping with the pulling and lunging but I see it as part of the ongoing recovery process. Over my down time my OH has had to walk Dexter twice a day most days which I can see has been a strain given how challenging he is, with my son doing an occasional outing. Dexter, well what can I say, he is still the overly friendly lab with tremendous energy that gets over excited in about 2 seconds. His recall has clearly deteriorated over the 2 months I have not been walking him probably because they mainly walk him on the lead, and he is quite a liability when off the lead as you cannot predict who or what he will engage with and he charges off so far ahead this will be taken off the agenda for a while other than very early morning walks which have less distractions. He still pulls far too much lead walking and literally dives into hedges without any warning despite all the stop, stand, turnaround, walk backwards the way we came etc. Any other animal (cats, birds, deer, rabbits, foxes, squirrels) are fair game in his mind and he always wants to say hello to any dog he encounters. Being such an extremely strong dog we are lucky my OH is strong enough and positive enough to walk him as frankly there is little pleasure in this type of walk. OH won the neutering battle despite him not humping anything but she felt most dogs were growling at him when meeting them out on walks etc and that was done a month ago and of course there is no noticeable change as I expected. One of the cats is starting to get the upper hand on him in certain locations/situations which is good though the other one is still terrified. So, reflecting on a year of Dexter - well, it has been incredibly hard work which shows little sign of diminishing, I don't know how anyone with young children would cope with a dog like him for sure. The positives are that all the family love him, he is very friendly (some say cute), playful and always on the go, rarely chews/steals anything to destroy now (but had a roseate I won on Monday ....), and we now leave him loose in the lounge overnight and when we are out which clearly settles him more. From a personal perspective unfortunately I did not expect to be this far in and have a dog who provides no pleasure to walk, each outing feels like the next round of a fight or makes me anxious and that is worse when I take him somewhere to let him off the lead to get him properly exercised (once a day). We avoid going to new places as that increases risk, the length of walk and variety has actually diminished when off the lead as he charges around and so far when you do get him to recall he runs huge distances so gets tired over shorter walks. The next step is to have some 1-2-1 sessions with a local dog trainer as clearly we are failing to resolve this despite best endeavours. Being the one who spends more time with him than anyone else - would I do it again ? Sadly, the answer to that would be no, but we made the commitment and we have to try and sort him out. The rest of the family would not share the same sentiment but clearly they have less (or zero in terms of children) commitment to his care and it is easy to float in and out. It is hardly encouraging when so many lab owners you meet out say they are 2, or 3 or 4 years in before there is any sign of settling down etc...
So sorry to hear you have had a rough time!! I must confess it makes me slightly nervous to read your post. Our pup is only 11 and half weeks so makes me nervous to imagine at over a year it’s still that crazy!
Hi, I have really enjoyed reading your posts about Dexter, mainly as it encourages me to believe I'm not a complete failure! Our Isla sounds like she is as mad and excitable as your boy and walking rarely a pleasure, she leaps and bounds over to every dog she meets and recall (which once was brilliant) is very much on her terms! I consider us fortunate when we arrive home safe and am relieved. I'm also anxious she may pick the wrong dog to bound up to, so walk mainly on lead around the streets which is no where as nice as the park or woods. Pleased to hear your ankle recovered well. Keep up the good work, we will get there one day I'm sure! At least your not alone!
@Diablo I'm sorry that you're finding life with Dexter so difficult. It's great that you've contacted a trainer, but do ensure that they are a member of a 'force-free' organisation. Some practical suggestions: Pippa's book 'Total Recall' is an excellent complete training program for recall and if you follow it, it will work. Secondly, if you haven't already I would start teaching your dog games / activities to do with you both at home while you are out, so that an off-lead walk isn't just a time for racing around but for engaging with you. Retrieving is ideal - and done in a more controlled way than just 'fetch a ball' it becomes mentally tiring. So for example you drop an object (could be a dummy, but anything will do), walk n and then send your dog back for it. Or train him to fetch the object you point at - start with just two things, widely spaced. Tug is another great game and keeps your dog focused on you. When my dog Molly was around a year old, my walks (and whole relationship) with her was transformed by following advice to play together when we went out. We didn't need to go far, the important thing was to do things together.
@Diablo do you wear sunglasses when out on these walks? Take them off if you do. Eye contact has been a big deal with my 10 month old and she walks so much better when I remember to not wear sunglasses.
Well done , for keeping up your commitment to the dog. When it’s tough you it can really impact on you I know, then you pull through again... even if for a while. I have certainly been tested more than I anticipated by my pup and I have always had dogs and some with some behaviour difficulties as a rescue. Resilience comes from somewhere and for me i think it’s empathy for my dog. Hope your behaviourist helps and good luck with the work!
The thing that really helped me with Willow pulling to get to other dogs or cats ect was the perfect fit harness that has a clip at the front it's really easy to control a pulling dog. She hardly ever pulls on the lead anymore only to get to other dogs and I just distract her with treats this works well.
