Monty is a 6 month old working line puppy and is our first ever dog. I want to keep this log in the hope that it will show some improvements as we continue to work on his training, and it would be lovely to hear from other labrador owners who may have similarly excitable dogs...to know we're not alone! Our ultimate goal is a dog who has good manners in the house and outdoors, who we can safely take off-lead on mountain walks in the UK, and to visit friends' houses. We took Monty to puppy classes when he was around 12 weeks old - he was really excitable and struggled to concentrate in classes. Since then we have done some training with him at home and he knows: to go to his mat; leave it; sit; down; recall (with limited distractions); watch me (again with limited distractions. We've taught him a release ('free'). Things we need to work on: getting his focus on me, even with distractions; counter surfing; improving recall with distractions; nicely meeting other dogs and people (he boings up/strains on lead/gets super excited wanting to play and get attention/can't take the hint when another dog doesn't want to play). Monty was really good at toilet training, and hasn't gone indoors since he was 10 weeks old. He's also crate trained and sleeps soundly from around 21:30 to 06:30 - we know we're really lucky in this sense. He's also crated a few times a day, with lots of breaks for play/training when I have a work break (I work at home). Last night was his first KC Foundation course class. We did leave it and mat training. With other puppies and people around Monty was massively excited and it was difficult to get his attention, even waving smelly high value treats in front of his nose. Today I've been clicking and rewarding every time he looks at me, plus asking him to look at me whilst sitting before opening doors or giving him anything else he wants. We've also done some 'sit' work in the garden...until he spotted a stick which was far more entertaining than training. We tried some 'watch me' training in the park, but there was another dog at the far end of the park and I couldn't get Monty's attention as he was so focused on the dog (so far away I could barely see it!). Next class is in a week's time...
Sounds a great start, well done Monty and you. Don't worry about the lack of focus, it's age appropriate and with consistency it will come. Stick with the KC classes, they are just brilliant to ensure you have a well rounded dog. Keep at it .
Thank you Edp, the KC trainers are fabulous, and so helpful. Monty's new double ended lead arrived yesterday, which was recommended by the KC to use with his harness. He immediately set to eating it
It was Monty's second puppy class last night and it was great. The trainers had noted how excitable he is and made sure we had a place in the hall where he was as far as possible from other excitable dogs. Over the last week we have played lots of on/off the mat games and 'leave it' with increasingly higher value foods. We're also asking him to 'watch me' for longer periods of time when he wants something - it feels a bit odd staring intently at Monty before he gets to go through a door, but it seems to be paying off as his attention is far more on me when we go out for walks. He's getting a lot better at sit/stays in the park (with no other dogs/humans around), and did around 10 seconds whilst I walked in a semi-circle around him this morning. We used to do a lot of recall on walks, but over the last few days he pretty much sticks with me off-lead, so little opportunity for recall training - unless I recall him from a 'sit'. At last nights class he remained on his mat (with lots of treats), and only tried to get off when another dog came near him. It felt great having a puppy who wasn't pulling my arm out of its socket for the duration of the class and I was so proud of him. We started on leash walking last night. It turns out we haven't been treating Monty often enough, so he hasn't fully learnt that being by our side is the best place to be. On our short walk to the park this morning I treat streamed him and if there were a few seconds when he didn't get food, rather than bouncing off at a smell/feather etc, he was looking up at me. We also covered counter surfing last night...which he does all the time despite us keeping the counters as clear as we can. We were told that when he boings up, to treat him on the floor. I tried that this morning - attempting to treat him before he boinged up....and no counter surfing at all! He just followed me around the kitchen looking at me and waiting for his next bit of kibble. All in all it's been a really good week, and we're so pleased to have found such a good training class for Monty.
Third puppy class last night and there was lots of barking from the other dogs, but Monty didn't join in thankfully. He is getting a lot better at 'watch me', but is still leaving his mat if another dog/person comes within a few paces - the difference from the first/second week is that he will turn and look at me when I ask him to. The trainers commented on what a difference they are seeing in him. Over the last week we have done a lot of loose leash walking, treating a lot, and this is getting better, but he has developed a habit of jumping up for the treats, so I need to get better at delivering the treat lower down. I timed his sit/stays this morning - he did 30 second off lead at around 10 paces at the park (no people/dogs around), and a minute in the kitchen a few paces away. I've never timed before, but heard the trainers comparing notes about their puppies last night and thought it would be a good way of measuring progress. He's still counter surfing...and we aren't great at remembering to keep the counters clear. We're still treating on the floor, but his 'trophies' this week have been an old dishcloth, and banana skin. The trainers have recommended getting a training dummy for him, and to start doing some basic scent work.
Monty spent pretty much all of last night's class staring at me - it's a wonder he didn't get a sore neck as I was at his side. He got off the mat 2 or 3 times when other dogs were really close, but came straight back when asked. We did more loose leash walking in class - weaving through obstacles for the first time. Monty did really well, only being distracted when I didn't change direction before getting to another dog in time. He's so much better at loose leash outdoors now - I can leave treating him up to 10 paces, and he's really good at sitting and watching me when we come to a road to cross. This week we've been asked to practice recall - taking a step back and the dog following you then sitting. He didn't really get it in class but we've done a few short sessions in the kitchen today and he's nailing it. Probably a lot later than others I have taught him to shake a paw. He got it really quickly, but I never see the tiredness after training that I did when he was 12-16 weeks old. After class last night he struggled to settle at all until he went to bed. We've also been asked to groom them/brush their teeth every day to get them used to it - and for the dogs not to mouth at us. Monty isn't great at this - he liked the taste of his toothpaste and bites on my finger when I clean his teeth trying to eat the toothpaste. He thinks the brush is a game, so mouths at it. This afternoon I put some kibble on the floor, asked him to leave it, then brushed him, and he was good as gold - so bribery works! He's still chasing the cat and counter surfing...
Quick update - yesterday Monty was playing off-lead in the same field as a car boot sale, and this morning he was off-lead in the same park where there was another person with their dog - focus on us the whole time - massive progress
Another puppy training class last night - partly went well, partly not. What went well: Monty did a sit/stay in a room with 3 other dogs and their owners plus trainers, and was rock solid with focus on me and allowed me to drop the lead, walk several paces away then return and pick up the lead without moving - so proud . On the not so good side - we did outdoor lead walking for the first time at the class, and I've apparently been inadvertently training him to jump up, so we got some really helpful tips on how not to do this. He was also incredibly excited/jumping up at anyone that came near him. He's always been very excitable, but now he'd a bit older (almost 7 months), it's difficult to hold him back. On counter surfing - we're trying to get him to stay on his mat for longer periods by making him wait there for his meals whilst we eat ours. There's still a lot of time spent putting him back on his mat when he wanders off (we do treat him regularly for staying there), but it is reducing the counter surfing, if only because he isn't getting as much opportunity. Watching him like a hawk constantly is very tiring but fingers crossed it will all be worth it!
It was kind of an assessment last night at class - next week is the last week of puppy school and the assessment concludes then. Monty did really well on most of the puppy school tests - recall, sit, down, sit/stay for 10 seconds, readily give up a toy. He was awful at meeting a person though (boinging up), and loose leash walking having to walk past a person (pulling to get to them despite me trying to tempt him with sprats). So I'm not sure he will ever pass The trainers kept saying how much of a difference they are seeing in him, and we are seeing it too, so I guess he just needs more time. There is a local trainer who does organised puppy walks on Saturday's for socialisation (I appreciate the socialisation period for Monty ended months ago!) and training - so I was thinking of using it to help train Monty to pay attention to us around other people/dogs. Any thoughts on this approach? I'm thinking that hot roast chicken will be necessary as training treats if we go...
Keep going, don't be despondent. He is still super young and making great progress. He's at a tricky age with behaviours not proofed . Meg was exactly the same at that age, a bit of a distracted tigger. At 1 she passed her bronze and silver obedience awards. At 7 months, I would have laughed if you said that ! I did lots of walking in relatively busy places, always when she was a tad hungry, with very tasty treats in my pocket. Slowly her focus changed with patience, practice and maturity. You will get there too .
thanks - he's such a handful in busy places we tend to avoid them, and most of his walks are where we know it will be quiet. Yesterday morning we walked a different way from home and he was massively distracted because it was bin day, so every bin had to be sniffed. Busy places will now be priority for some of his walks, starting this evening with a trip to a lake that has lots of people/dogs/bikes going around it. Wish us luck!
we popped to the local park at lunchtime with Monty on lead on his collar. Rather than avoiding the kids playground area we headed straight for it armed with liver treats and other than boinging on the lead when another dog ran over to him (understandable) he was really good - attention on me the whole time despite there being around 5 kids with parents playing noisily. A good start
Big news - Monty passed his Puppy Foundation assessment last week and we started bronze classes last night. The instructors keep commenting on how much progress he is making, and his focus on us is so much better than it was when we started the classes (when it was almost non existent). He will be 8 months old this week and I think he's becoming a teenager. He's started jumping up at us in the house, which he didn't previously do, and when he's over excited on walks he'll jump at us and snap his teeth - there have been several times in the last week or so when I've had to stand in the park with my arms above my head so he can't bite them - embarrassing. Hopefully it's just a phase and if we ignore/turn our backs on him it will pass. We've also been to the local puppy walks a few times and walked a little distance from the other dogs so Monty remains focused on us. This is helping a lot with 'watch me' training and asking him to do sit/stays. We have a constant supply of roast chicken in the fridge - mostly this is used to keep him on his mat when the cat is around as he is STILL chasing and barking at the poor cat.
Monty is just over 9 months old and is really starting to settle. We are tackling his counter surfing by having him on lead when we eat our meals, so he can't spend his time jumping up at the counter tops - Kennel Club trainers advised us not to let him practice what we don't want him to do, and we don't know how else to achieve this, as he won't stay on his mat if there's a saucepan waiting to be washed up he can sniff. He's also barking at the cat a lot less - although does still chase the poor thing - we're trying to keep him on his mat but it's a battle and there's only so much roast chicken we can feed him in a day! We went on holiday last week and Monty did some great recalls on the beach - when playing with other dogs, which was the first time we'd tried this, so super happy. He's still jumping/biting on walks if he goes over threshold. We've started asking him to walk to heel when off lead in increasingly distracting areas - no dogs/people, just interesting sniffs, then follow that with some sit/stays. We also taught him 'middle' on holiday, which he's slowly picking up. His focus is so much better now, and we can do longer training sessions which thankfully seem to wear him out so we get to relax in the evenings a bit more.
Hi sounds great progress, recall progress is awesome. We had a child gate on our kitchen door for a while, it was just easier for us when they are still impulsive. We took it off after a year or so. Things will just get easier now, well done to Monty, and you. Keep it up.
Thank you EDP We also have a child gate - the cat's food is in the hall so it allows him (rather than Monty) to eat it! We had a Bronze training club session last night...his sit/stay was rock solid for over a minute with other dogs/people all around. His 'meet/greet' isn't great as he boings up so I am learning to manage that by putting my body in his way. On the recall the trainer held him before I recalled him - so embarrassing as he just bounced up at her. We're finding this difficult to practice at home as people find it really difficult not to interact with Monty, which gets him even more excited - they think we're being mean not letting them fuss him when he boings at them - I've tried explaining but he is very cute and people just want to fuss him. On walks outside/around distractions I've learnt that trotting with him keeps him focused on me...and not on the autumnal offerings on the floor (nuts, berries etc)...so I'm getting fitter trotting up several hills (not running...I know that's bad for their little joints at this age). On the cat front - hardly any barking now, and chasing a little less since the cat swiped him on Friday and made the skin near his eye bleed. Still chasing a bit though - a big white fluffy thing is just to hard to ignore apparently!
Big news - last night Monty passed his Bronze test - 1 day before his 10 month birthday! Half the dogs in the class passed, the others struggled with the 1 minute stay. We're so proud, and it's onwards to Silver class now. The recall test was hilarious - I called him with such enthusiasm that every other dog in the room tried to bolt towards me He did get a bit excitable in the walk around other dogs, but because I kept him under control the examiner said that was okay. I got an 'advisory' (like on an MOT??) saying to work on 'watch me' around other dogs. So this morning we've been at the park where there are lots of dogs doing lots of watch me training with sprats and gammon. We now eat gammon every week just so we have high value rewards for him. We've started getting him used to a 10m training line as if there's a big distraction he bolts and ignores his whistle So far he's chased deer, squirrels, other dogs. So he's not getting as much off lead time as he used to whilst we increase his training, but I guess this is his adolescent age. He also sniffs everything on walks - I dread bin day when every house has a smelly bin and food bin outside it! He's still chasing the cat...not sure that will ever end...
Well done Monty, that's fantastic. The 1 minute stay is super tough. Great work though, bring on silver and the cat chasing will stop.....eventually!
It was our first Silver training class last night - it's combined with Gold so there are some really well behaved dogs there. One of the trainers is working with Monty on his excitability - lots of rewarding for calm behaviour (of which there is very little at the moment). Really enjoyed the class and having some new things to practice. He did the recall fairly well...with the help of some chicken - the new dogs in class were a big distraction. Thought we had conquered the cat chasing on Saturday eve as they were both in the lounge and Monty passively watched as the cat strutted around him. Then we realised Monty had a tummy bug, so it was illness that stopped him chasing the cat. All back to 'normal' now
