Lab problem

[robc89]

Rite so ill explain my sistuation in the hope someone can help me!

 

My black lab is now 7 and half months old, he seemed to be an amazing puppy requiring not much training and hes real quick to learn. Ever since day one iv been making him sit to the command "sit" and sticking my hand out flat. He got the hang of it very fast and has been doing it ever since. We then moved on to "stay" this time me holding my hand out and saying the command. Stepping back a couple of paces then returning and praising and reapeating. Didnt over do this but he got the hang of it. We moved on to fetching things and he loved it, he'd do it anwher, inside, outside, in the water etc. I thought i was flying with this dog training business......eh ur wrong!!

 

It seems now hes older he doesnt want to do these things he knows. I can tell he knows what i want him to do and he thinks about it but he seems intent on hunting!

 

So we returned to basics back to sit, this time same command but with a whistle. easy...untill we are in the field! He then decides he wants to hunt again making me quite reluctant to release the lead which has introduced the problem of pulling on the lead now.

 

I am very fortunate to live in a house next to sea, so we often go swimming and down there i couldnt ask for a better dog, retreiving, sitting on command, returning to me. Just seems like once he gets the scents in a field thats it!!

 

Is this a case of him not thinking of me as the Pack leader?

 

This is my first dog as im reletively new to shooting and Im kinda stumped at what i should do so any input would be appreciated!

 

Rob

[casts_by_fly]

more reps. He knows that you can't enforce the command you're giving in the field so he's thinking about it. Do more repetitions of the commands with him on a long lead. Start close, gradually let him get out to a full lead's length. Give the command and make him do it. He needs to get it into his head that the command means 'do it now, don't think'. Then in the field it will just be a reflex for him to react to your command.

 

There is a good drill with a whiffle ball bat. I should explain the bad before I describe the drill. Whiffle ball in the US is like baseball but the ball is plastic, hollow, and has cutouts. The bat is ~2-3" in diameter at the barrel end and the normal length for a baseball bat. It too is made form hollow plastic. Whiffleball is baseball that you can play in a back yard and no matter how hard you hit the ball it can't leave the yard because of aerodynamics.

 

The drill is to walk with your dog at heel (say on your left) on a lead. You give the sit command, wait a half second, and pop him on the butt with the bat if he hasn't already sat down. Wait a few seconds and start walking again. Repeat. Do that for 5-10 minutes a day for 2-3 weeks and the dog will be sitting before you can get the 't' in sit out of your mouth.

 

The same drill is described using a riding crop. I don't know if you've been hit with one, but a riding crop hurts no matter how soft you get taped with it. With a whiffleball bat, it doesn't matter how hard you swing it doesn't hurt, which is good because you're not trying to hurt the dog in any way. The dog is reacting to the tap of the bat and the hollow pop sound it makes when it hits their bum.

 

Thanks

Rick

[DaveK]

It's a case of HE's A PUPPY and it's normal. Back off for a while and always make it a game. Consider it as the puppy equivalent to a child having the terrible two's.

[cracker]

Good a rationale as any for letting a pup (dog) get away with something it already knows, one supposes.

 

Rick's addressed it better--in a word: "reps," repetition. Basic obedience isn't a game, especially when a pup already understands the commands and has demonstrated it with behaviour.

 

The problem is, dogs are "situational learners," and the dog (pup) must learn to sit ("stay" is implicit with sit) in a different situation, i.e., afield. When something's situationally different for the dog, as in going afield, always have it in a controlled situation--on lead or checkcord--so you can impose the command instantly--and manually--if the dog fails to obey.

 

It may be barbaric to strike a dog if that's what you want to read into Rick's comments about a wiffle ball bat, but use of a heeling stick, as it's called, is for guiding and shaping a dog's behaviour--not knocking it for six.

 

And Rob, just so you know: Stay is a redundant command for most, when a dog is told to sit, the dictum is "sit means sit"--with "until commanded otherwise" implicitly going along with it. Thus sit is the only command you need for turning a dog stationary.

 

MG

[Boromir]

He is getting bored, make it more exciting for him.

[SteveH]

It's not uncommon for a dog to lose focus when his hormones start to kick in (around 7-8 months I think). If this happens I go back to reinforcing the basics and ease up on training new stuff for a few months.

[activeviii]

It's not uncommon for a dog to lose focus when his hormones start to kick in (around 7-8 months I think). If this happens I go back to reinforcing the basics and ease up on training new stuff for a few months.

 

 

this is just what my cocker did and i was warned about it as well.

 

i've done basics with him and he then shut down and would do anything... someone told be it is just like my teenage son, when you say to do something that just come back at you with 'WHY?'

 

He is 1 now and i have just started to go into more training with him and he really whats to learn and is getting wound up when he is not sure whats happening he bite the grass like a bl00dy cow. still a bit head strong but coming back in line again so happy with him.

 

 

best thing since slided bread my cocker is.

 

Phil.