Puppy made me sad today

[wizzler]

Took Ddog for a walk this evening, at about 6:45pm. It was still light so I took him towards some woodland where there is a meadow where I can let him off the lead and he can run. Up to now he has always come back.

Tonight he did not want to come back .. he ran around in an excited whirl of circles, tail wagging and ears streaming ( like he does when he is havng a mad minute). I couldn't put his lead on as he raced off when I got near him.

I tempted him with treats to no avail, I couldn't walk home and hope he followed because he would be on a busy road. I couldn't go in the opposite direction because it was now dark, and I would have been walking into woodland

Had to phone DH and he had to get a babysitter to look after the DC so he could come to help. After 45 minutes in the field, I finally caught him ( DDog not DH)

So now I am that I don't feel I can take him off his lead any more , DH is with DDog ( and none too impressed with me either)

If anyone has any solutions, would be glad to hear, but really I just wanted to vent!

[redrubyshoes]

A long lead, treats and a clicker. Alternate with treats and clicker. It may take a few weeks but he is not going anywhere off the long lead until he learns recall. Reward when he comes back and do not scold if he takes a few minutes.

Good luck and I am sure someone will come on with some better advice

[Rhinestone]

Need some more info -

How old is the puppy?
What breed?
How many times have you been to that meadow?
How much exercise does he get a day?
What sort of training have you been doing with him so far?

[wizzler]

Hi, thanks for the advise Redrubyshoes

Rafa is 9 months old

He is a toy poodle

We go to that meadow very often... probably at least daily since he has been old enough to walk there ( its 5 minute walk away) . I do the evening walk and over the last week or so have been keeping to pavements in the area, as its too dark to go to the meadow, but DH will have taken him there in the day

He gets a walk in the morning and a long walk in the afternoon. DH is SAHD so he has the opportunity for lots of lolloping around the garden.

His training is not that formal. He will sit on command when he is walking on his lead and I reward with treats. I also have been rewarding with treats when he comes back when he is off his lead. I would not say he is well disciplined though! DH also rewards with sausages (!) when he takes Rafa for his walks

[Rhinestone]

Don't know anything about that breed but it sounds like he was having a wonderful time! From 9 months old dogs can go through a 'teenage' phase so he may just be pushing the boundaries a bit.

Like Redrubyshoes said, reward him for coming back and then let him run off again a few times. You don't want him to learn that EVERY time he comes back, you take him home and his fun stops.

Has he been neutered? You may want to consider that too. Will he fetch? Maybe try a game where he gets to run around but where he has to focus on you too.

[wizzler]

Thanks.. yes it was a bit like trying to coax a teenager... he was having the best game ever!

Yes he has been neutered

I think I am going to ensure that the next time I let him off his lead I have plenty of time to lure him back. Trouble is, in the daytime there are other dog owners around who look very if my dog starts annoying their dog, in the evening it was perfect as there was no one else around for him to annoy. He is very easily distracted!

[Rhinestone]

Oh, and if you start chasing him then the game gets even better! Next time try just sitting down and looking disinterested in him! He may just get bored and come over.

[EyesNEars]

High reward treats...sausage...cheese...may work better. He may be bored with what's offered. Only little lieces though or you'll have a fat pup!

[EyesNEars]

Pieces! not lieces.

[MiseryBusiness]

He is definitely in his teenager stage now. We had this with both our DDogs at about the same age. Recall, went to pot with them.

I just made the decision to go all the way back to basics and start from scratch, build up the recall again until I was confident they would come back.

[sleepymum50]

I totally agree with above - lots of recall on walks (and at home) - just for a titbit, cuddle. Use lovely stuff - primula cheese in a tube, bits of garlic sausage. They get so used to coming back, they don't even think about it.

Its a really good habit - stops all sorts of problems, approaching children, other dogs, finding dead things etc.

[Stoney666]

I was advised when same thing kept happening to try different routes, teendog knew the way we went with his eyes shut so just though he knew it all. I would blow whistle and when he looked run in direction he didn't know. Taken a few weeks of hell but we are getting there. I now try and go to different places for walks when i can to.
Also trainer suggested training him to come when I rattle a tin with pebbles and treats in , it's louder and I
Use it in emergency only