Well, everyone told me it would happen and it has. We've never been terribly good at Pongo's training, but he was pretty much OK (except for his determination to run after and play with any dog he saw). As long as no other dogs around, he'd come when called or whistled, stay within range on walks, sit and stay nicely, keep his feet on the floor, walk quite nicely on a lead... basically a reasonably well-behaved boy. I'd heard about the 'adolescent' phase around 8 - 10 months or so... and I thought we'd escaped. But in the last ten days Pongo has suddenly become completely and entirely deaf to any suggestion he doesn't fancy following. It's like that episode of Kevin the Teenager when he morphs overnight from child to brat. Pongo's not 'bad' - still basically a lovely-natured boy - but COMPLETELY ignores us when we call him to come! Pongo is ten months old on Saturday. Big sigh.
Re: Ten month deafness So on my first clicker course, the trainer had us train a "capture the check in". We had 4 dogs off lead and did nothing but click and treat for attention. There was another puppy there, and the first time I tried it, I waited ages for attention and found it really quite stressful. : I have now done this, consistently, for 2 months. Whenever Charlie is off lead, I just wait for him to look at me. I C&T every "check in". It has made the world of difference to Charlie. I do it always, but especially around other dogs. When he is playing with puppies now, he is struggling to get them to leave him alone so he can come back to me. It's been the best thing ever - a dog that is checking in, and aware of where you are, is much more likely to be listening out for his recall cue. Use really good treats - they have to come back to get the treat, so make it worthwhile.
Re: Ten month deafness Penny went through a phase where her recall was awful! I just kept practising over and over again, and I find if i don't do some practise runs for a few days she develops selective hearing again do I make a point to try and do a handful of recalls every time we are out. I always make sure I treat her every time she recalls and she sometimes randomly gets a treat or a bit of praise for 'checking in' - similar, I guess, to what Julie mentioned above. The thing that made the biggest difference for me was the 'this way' exercise we were given from our behaviourist. It seems to have made her more responsive to other commands whilst we are out too.
Re: Ten month deafness Oh Pongo! ;D ;D I completely feel for you Rosie! I was in the same boat, which is why "smug" no longer exists in my vocabulary... : I was quite embarrassed by it, specially around other well behaved dogs, and, at the time it appeared that EVERYONES dog was better behaved, coupled with the fact Benson didn't look much like a puppy any more. We used the same technique as Julie T. Called his name and the second he looked...clicked and dropped a juicy treat about 4 feet way. Never gave him by hand, now for the life of I can't remember why in this instance it is more important to drop/toss the treat, Julie may know why. We combined this technique with more sudden changes of direction and tried to mix up walks a bit, adding varied walks. Another training method which really works well is with a training line, especially for recall. Ours is 15 metres, and we let is trail behind Benson, holding it loosely so it just feeds out through our hand. We would then recall, and gallop backwards..(this running backwards is to prevent laxity in the recall..) when he is running towards us we "click" rewarding the actual recall in motion so to speak, then a reward on the return. We also walked him when was a bit hungry, so his treats were also more appetising to him at the time. The other thing we worked on at the same time is the "stop" whistle, Again..we have found this is great to get his attention, and he mostly waits for our next signal. We used Pippas video to start off with The combination of the 3 approaches...focus, lead training and "stop "has helped enormously, although we still have a long way to go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9QFSRqJEE&list=UU4yO5YI_VhtdRWHJgDMCiAg
Re: Ten month deafness [quote author=Beanwood link=topic=8077.msg114021#msg114021 date=1412155818] Called his name and the second he looked...clicked and dropped a juicy treat about 4 feet way. Never gave him by hand, now for the life of I can't remember why in this instance it is more important to drop/toss the treat, Julie may know why. [/quote] No, I can't think why - I was taught that treat placement is "with you" "throw to set up" or "in position" - there are three reasons why you do this, and the dog returning "with you" for the treat in this scenario is desirable (capturing the check in is related to recall and staying with you). But I can't think of a reason to drop the treat 4 feet away. Tossing the treat increases the value of it for most dogs though, and it's important for the dog to value the treat highly here (he has to turn towards you, and away from what he was doing to get it) so that's perhaps what Kate's trainer had in mind....
Re: Ten month deafness [quote author=JulieT link=topic=8077.msg114049#msg114049 date=1412162909] [quote author=Beanwood link=topic=8077.msg114021#msg114021 date=1412155818] Called his name and the second he looked...clicked and dropped a juicy treat about 4 feet way. Never gave him by hand, now for the life of I can't remember why in this instance it is more important to drop/toss the treat, Julie may know why. [/quote] No, I can't think why - I was taught that treat placement is "with you" "throw to set up" or "in position" - there are three reasons why you do this, and the dog returning "with you" for the treat in this scenario is desirable (capturing the check in is related to recall and staying with you). [/quote] I think your first reasoning is probably correct. Logically thinking what the trainer was looking for is capturing the "check in" and differentiating from a recall. So Benson stays close, but is not recalled to hand and waiting for a release cue
Re: Ten month deafness Here is Donna Hill's version, which ends up being shaped into a recall (I hate the way she has the dog take his feet of the floor for the treat, but hey... http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u_BEXER4lGo
Re: Ten month deafness i use this way which works for millie when she goes up to other dogs to say hello when she is off lead i call her back to me often then treat but not always when i first got her she did recall but not away from other dogs but she is much better now but can not go out now as in season
Re: Ten month deafness It is very common for recall problems to appear at this point. Largely because the dog is growing more independent, the owner has often reduced time spent training, thinking quite naturally "my job here is done" and because most people don't proof their recall effectively, if at all. So the dog is given more freedom to go further afield (he's big and tough now, so you don't feel you need to keep him under your feet all the time) and encounters more distractions that he simply is not trained to cope with Because labradors are usually very 'dog friendly' coming away from other dogs is often the biggest issue, and this is something you can and should train for in a very structured way. There are several articles in the recall training centre that might help. And this is relevant too Faking it! A Labrador training strategy It is frustrating to find the 'wheels coming off' your training, but taking a step back and being a bit more methodical in your training sessions should see quite fast results at this age. The main thing is, you have noticed the problem arising and want to fix it. As a first aid measure, don't forget to 'stop calling' the dog unless a) you can ensure he comes (using a long line) b) you can virtually guarantee he'll come (cos he isn't that 'busy' right now) or c) he is already coming
