Have an 8 month old puppy. I love him, he is my big fluffy bear and round the house he is well behaved and lovely.
He has always been obsessed with playing with other dogs but we worked hard on his recall and not letting him near others and prior to Christmas we were really getting there - he was coming away from our friend's well behaved stooge dog on a walk and it was all feeling very positive. Then over Christmas it all fell out of his ears and now is walked on a long line all the time because his recall is so hit and miss. He's suddenly way more obsessed with sniffing everything so just walking along the pavement is so long winded - I was having some success putting this on cue but at the moment it just seems like a losing battle and he just sniffs when he fancies. He's also impossible to call away from something he's sniffing if he's further away on a long line.
He has a good retrieve and at the moment we are having reasonable success with using a toy on a walk to keep his attention but it just feels like everything lasts for a few weeks then goes to pot.
I just feel like we are working really hard on this and I spend time every day practising recall, practising loose lead walking, but honestly the whole show is just getting worse and worse outside the house. I walk around my garden and my drive to practise with fewer distractions, my neighbours probably think I'm bonkers. I know it's a lot of work and it takes time and I understand that and I'll keep doing it, because I love him and I want to include him in our family life but I guess I'm hoping for some encouraging stories where walking your adolescent was hard bloody work then it DID get better???
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The doghouse
When did you start really enjoying dog walks?
22 replies
Chocolateandamaretto · 11/02/2021 15:42
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