Hi , my 6 month old mini labradoodle has been excellent off the lead since day one . I read advice on this forum about having him off the lead early on and from the first day he was allowed out to the park he was off the lead . He has always come to the whistle even if distracted . However , the past few days things have changed ! He wouldn’t come to my 15 yr old daughter when she had him out or to my mum this morning . My mums description of his behaviour was like another dog entirely ! He ran rings around her , bolted out of the park into nearby gardens and she had to get a neighbour to help grab him !!! My mum or my daughter won’t trust him to have him off the lead again until we know things are better . I am going to try and see if things are any different with me . Any advice would be greatly appreciated . He is very food orientated which I know has helped with recall - he still gets a treat when he comes to me . He wasn’t remotely interested when my mum had him though! I don’t want him to miss out on free running but at the same time I don’t want him to be in an unsafe situation . Thanks for any ideas of where to go from here .
I suggest the book Total Recall (also available as an ebook) as it gives you a complete training programme to follow. In essence you pair a whistle with food building an association in your dog's mind so that it becomes an automatic response, and then gradually increase levels of distraction. But the book takes you through it step by step.
Thanks for the reply Joy . That’s exactly what I have been doing from day one - pairing the whistle with his food - even now I whistle when I put his food down . He did have an automatic response to the whistle even when he was distracted he still came . However , he seemed to ignore the whistle with my mum and daughter and I think it became a game to try and catch him . I had him at the park this morning and I took chicken with me and gave him some before I let him off lead . I used the whistle when he was nearby and not investigating anything and he came to me . I then got him to chase me ( read someone had tried this on the forum ) and that worked too and I gave him the treat . I will take a look at the book you have suggested . I have followed the advice given by the author via YouTube and the advice she has given on these forums . I have the Happy puppy book too which has been very useful . Thank you
Hi Pamster, given his age it sounds like your boy is starting adolescence! Just like for humans teens, it's an age for pushing boundaries and generally acting up - and it's very normal for ignoring previously-learned cues to be part of that. The good news is, it's a phase, and he won't always feel like this completely different dog. Until he outgrows it, it helps to take your recall training all the way back to basics, and treat him a bit like a puppy again - exactly like you're doing in fact! Keep hanging in there
Also, this article might have some helpful points in it for handling the next few months: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-correct-a-dog-that-ignores-the-recall/ Good luck!
Thanks so much Sarah - that’s reassuring to hear that it’s a developmental thing and he will grow out of it . I guess it’s just managing / coping with it in the best way . I will take a look at the link you have posted . Much appreciated . He is our first dog so it’s all new to us !
