Hi, I'm new to this so bear with we have got a 7 month old choc lab who we have had since 8 weeks. His only fault is when he is off the lead and sees someone(Human or dog) he bolts over to them completely ignores our recall and jumps ups...he is friendly just gets over excited but we still want to get him out of this habit. At the moment as soon as we see someone we put him back on the lead, we would love him to enjoy his walks and have a good run. Any advise would be much appreciated.
Congratulations on having a completely normal labrador There are a few things to think about. He's still young, a good recall is months if not years in the making. It's important not to break the recall you have established by using it when it won't work. You will need to train and train with other people and dogs as distractions. Use a long line if needs be to stop him legging it. There may be a moment where he goes stock still before running. Keep the line so he can't go any further, if he looks at you say Yes!!!! and do a happy dance and reward his attention. You may even find he'll come back to you. Any attention he gives you should be rewarded heavily. I've been to trainers just to set up scenarios like this as it can be hard to achieve out and about. Pippa has a great recall book out called Total Recall which has a step by step approach to building a solid recall. It's brilliant and worth every penny Good luck!
It sounds very familar to me too. Everything is so awesome and distracting for pups just keep at it and use the advice and get the book they are all really good. I found that stuff I did months ago with my young dog is only just now starting to become part of his behaviour. Its seems like i laid out the ground rules but only when he's got to a certain age has he been able to put the lessons into action.. Bascially he now has the time to listen because all the fluffy bunnies in his head have stopped leaping around so much. Hes really suprised me and I'm glad i did a lot of work with him at the beginning even though at the time he couldn't seem to put it into practice.. He was just too much of baby but now the patience is starting to pay off and he's getting much carlmer and more responsive. It just takes time
So he is normal we're just worried that one day he will run up to the wrong dog!! once he has said hello he is pretty good at coming away - he just loves everyone and he just needs to learn not everyone will love him. Will defiantly try the book. Thank you advice
Still time then thats put my mind at rest, he gets so excited and not everyone understands he is still a pup just a rather large one and looks at us as if to say can you not control your dog. how old is yours?
A couple of suggestions, things that have helped me: 1. Carry delicious food treats and reward every time your puppy comes near you without having been called. This will get him checking in on you. 2. Play with him - tug, catch, retrieving etc and make it fun, fun, fun! You want to be more fun than other people. 3. Try the about-turn walk when he's off lead. As soon as he gets a couple of yards ahead of you, turn and walk in the opposite direction, WITHOUT calling him. When he realises you're heading away he'll hurry back. I found this worked really well woodland as I could keep heading in different directions and not be easily seen. It does take a while to train but they're all like it, so try not to worry.
Yep I always carry treats he is a true lab in that sense , will try the other suggestions. Thank you. I'm sure he will get there in the end. He was so good when we 1st let him off and wouldn't leave us I guess his confidence is growing now.
His confidence is growing and he is hitting adolesence so consistency is really essential. My girl doesn't really do treats when out and about, but she loves a ball. I used to wave her ball around, run away from her making squeaky noises and she would soon stop and come to me. Nowadays (aged 2.5) she rarely runs up to another dog or person, she looks at me and waits for me to say 'go on then'. It did take months, but we got there, and so will you.
