Love my dog so much but.... he is 18 months old and has currently forgotten everything we have taught him. Recall is shocking and the worst/most frustrating thing is his habit of grabbing a shoe/teddy/my favorite sunglasses and running off with them. You can't chase him as this seems like a great game to him so the only thing I can do is sit on the floor with ott 'good boy, good boy come here' and go mad on praise when he drops it or, if we are in the garden, throw a tennis ball or food to get him to drop it.
I know that I shouldn't have left my lovely sunglasses where he could get them but am cross at myself and him that they are now trashed. What would you advise? He can do 'leave' and 'drop' in a controlled situation but I have no idea what I should be doing when he takes off with something belonging to the children or me. DH is especially frustrated by his fondness for slippers... I have read that this age is challenging so am not surprised but I'd love some real tips to help get us over it.
Any advice will be gratefully received.