Hello all. Young brodick has hit the teens i think. Still a soft affectionate boy in the house, loves his sofa cuddling, and is very attached to me, to the extent that he has been known to shriek and throw a wobbler when i walked three feet away from him in the park with cuillin and he was left on his lead with my friend.very clever young man and loves doing training etc in the house, very focused on me most of the time...however ive noticed recently outside he will sometimes completely tune me out if he is looking at something excitibg. Like a rabbit/ bag blowing in wind/odd shaped bush. I was actually saying his name crouched down next to his ear the other day and it was like i wasnt there. I eventually lifted his large ear and spoke right t into it and he looked quite surprised and wagged at me....now cuillin has always been super focused on me even outside so im not used to this!! Is this teenage boy lab behaviour? Its coinciding with a surge in prey drive and a desire to leg it off after wildlife...any tips on how to increase his focus on me outside when things are exciting? Ive started doing a lot more interactive stuff with him outside to keep his mind off hunting rabbits...we do look at me in the house and he stares fixedly at me for ages but under distraction hmmmm.thanks.im a new dog owner so this mite b a daft question!
Re: unfocused teenage labrador Hello Debsie , I dont think ay question is daft I would really recommend that you read some of Pippa`s articles on the main site and maybe also get her book Total Recall, its available on Amazon and a brilliant eye opener and tool to work with . I think sometimes , we relax on the actual obedience training and, being the smart cookies that they are, they take advantage so it has to be a case of back to basics , reinforcing everything all over again . I hit a similar wall with Sam when he was about 10 months old , thinking it was the hooligan period until it was pointed out that it wasnt at all , it was me who had taken my finger off the pulse and relaxed too much
Re: unfocused teenage labrador I do think though that particularly male dogs go through a 'difficult' period when they hit adolescence and those hormones kick in. Just think about our teenage boys, and how wild they get and how they dont want to listen to ANYTHING their mother says for several years! :
Re: unfocused teenage labrador Well I think teenage girls can be just as bad having brought up two of them. ;D Lady was always testing her boundaries up until very recently when she pretty much steadied overnight. Her calmer character started to show through as she was coming up to 3 years old and now that she's 3yrs and 3mths it's most noticeable. So I guess we had two and a half years of testing boundaries. Up to 2 years old she was a complete nightmare. She's still a bit of a pup, though, especially when other young dogs are around. 6 months ago I wouldn't have dared do it, but this evening walked her off the lead at heal past the flock of sheep in the field behind the house. No probs. So I think time is a major factor in the mad dog stakes. (Note to self - better not try the sheep trick again for a while!)
Re: unfocused teenage labrador I think they all go through it. Just trying their luck. Juno had spells of it, Maia just overnight 'grew up', whilst Hebe is still pushing at five and half - although is much steadier and (whisper it) more sensible.
Re: unfocused teenage labrador It is not a stupid question and in my view it is not teenage behaviour, at least in the sense that it doesn't resolve on its own, and it doesnt tend to happen to dogs that belong to serious hobby trainers or professional trainers. The age most people have problems with their dogs ( 8 to 12 months), is the age that most dogs are reaching full independence, emotionally and full physical maturity. All their power, and instincts are coming together to make them an efficient predator. They don't actually need to be looked after and sheltered anymore. This makes the dog far harder to control. Unless the owner has restricted the dog's opportunities for self employment, and made him believe that the world and all its fun, revolves around them. This age is for example, the age at which gundogs were traditionally launched into intensive training, and very restricted access to free running. Whereas many pet dogs at this stage are exposed to regular opportunities to indulge their instincts and charge all over the county. Most people respond to this stage by getting some help, becoming stricter, joining a class, and so on. (Or occasionally by giving up) How successful they are may depend very much on how early they recognised the problem and intervened. Dogs which develop serious problems are usually dogs that have been given access to enormous rewards for hunting during this period or burgeoning independence. And by enormous rewards I mean being permitted to indulge in chasing and even catching wildlife. Your instinct to do more with your dog and keep him focused on you is exactly right. Pippa
Re: unfocused teenage labrador Pippa, I am one of those 'serious hobby trainers' and I must say, your comment is the best I have read on any forum for a very long time. Every owner of a gundog puppy whatever the breed should take note.
Re: unfocused teenage labrador hi there, thanks for the replies. Makes me feel better to hear others have had 'trying' times, and some fantastic advice too. while Cuillin has had her issues (mostly anxiety related) the one thing she has always been is extremely obedient, and while she is also very strong working lines, she hardly ever takes her eyes off me outside. Ive been pondering this and think that part of the reason for the difference is that she is a bit of a ninny and likes to keep me near, but also C s first had me all to herself, all my attention. I guess I was the most exciting thing in her life. Brods has had to share me, and as C has had a fair few nervous issues which I have been working on, Brods has maybe been left to bumble about under his own steam too much until now. but not any more! Im a bit of a geek so have been reading up on being a gundog owner a lot recently, including the great stuff on this site, and have been lucky in that my sister is a very experienced dog owner and has Brodick's big sister who has needed a whole lot of focus for her prey chasing issues but is now brilliant (nearly two). so Ive been picking her brains as well as yours! Pippa thanks for that really informative post, explained things really well. I've put a complete ban on chasing since he legged it up a big cliff after a rabbit a few weeks ago, he is on a very long line outside for now until I can get better control of him, and I am triyng to tap into the things that really float his boat - ie retreving from water. he loves this so we do lot of it now and am working through your Total Recall book plus introducing him to clicker retreiving which he also loves. Im booking them both in with a gun dog trainer after xmas for some hands on advice! Will also put Brodick through his Bronze Good Citizenship....well it will be busy walks for us from now on! Cuillin loves all of this too tho so its all good and great to see then enjoying themselves...I chose working labs because Im hoping to do a lot of mountain running with my dogs, they are both absolutely fantastic wee dogs, very clever, affectionate, and great fun to be around. They need a fair bit of work but they are worth it!!
