Recall issues for a friend with an independent Lab

[needastrongone]

Just that really.

Friends have an 11 months old chocolate lab. She's lovely and friendly, rather bouncy and energetic still obviously. Terrible recall. Friends have had boxers previously.

They observe that their dog isn't at all food or toy motivated on walks and very independent even in the house. Actually, they are quite sad about this as their boxers loved being on the sofa with them having cuddles, the new dog takes herself off to the back room. I am just providing this information for context about the character of the dog.

Today I met them on our morning walk and the dog followed myself and my dogs and would have done all the way home. She loves other dogs.

They have tried treats, walking in the other direction, sitting down, being highly exciting, toys but the dog just isn't that 'into' them!

Sorry, I was then at a loss, given I have spaniels who follow me if I so much as dare move in the kitchen to put the kettle on, therefore I have't encountered the problem. Which isn't anything amazing I have done, just their nature.

They also did puppy classes at Dogs Trust, when the dog had excellent recall. But fewer distractions.

Shall I recommend total recall? It's the independence of the dog by nature that is flummoxing them I think.

Yes, it's a great book but what they could do with is proper dog training classes. A few puppy classes is not going to ensure a well behaved dog for the rest of its natural life. They need the constant supervision of a good dog trainer to teach, proof and maintain proper training. Get them to find a good local dog club or even a one to one trainer if they can stretch to it.

Needs, Total Recall is a really good starting point, but there are a couple of other things they might consider from my own experience of a very independent working cocker spaniel, who is also not very treat oriented, and was generally, frustratingly good at training classes, and selectively deaf on walks!

I really get your friends sadness about their dog's independence if they've had cuddly dogs in the past, but they may be doing what we did, and just paying too much attention to Lab. Our trainer instructed us very firmly to be more aloof; Pup didn't value our attention because we inflicted it on him all the time!! We also stopped feeding from a bowl and only fed from our hands (dry food and treats, not tinned dog food!) so that he learned that being by our sides is valuable. He has to work for every piece of kibble, so he is called with a whistle, even in the house, and only gets it if he comes first time - we NEVER repeat a command (I also never feed before his morning walk, he only gets breakfast by staying near me). And finally, while they are going back to basics with recall, they may need to restrict her walks using a training lead - a 10 metre one will enable her to run, but maintain an optimum distance, and keep her safe.

It is quite a long frustrating process, esp when you see other people enjoying stress free walks, but at 11 months, your friends Lab is still a baby, larger dogs do take longer to mature. Pup is almost 9 months, and we are just about getting there (only one recall refusal this morning), but I would still use a training line anywhere I didn't know, or anywhere I thought might be more interesting than me!

Wish them good luck and endless patience

Thanks both.

Yes, I will suggest extra training. Ours did the good citizen awards, so were trained for the first 18 months of their lives. Probably reinforcing good behaviour.

sweet Many thanks, I am going to copy and paste your second paragraph, which I hope you don't mind. I suspect this might be the case.

They are lovely people and have changed a lot to accommodate a dog back into their lives, reducing work hours from full time etc, so definitely would be willing to put in the time and effort to change matters.

I feel a bit fraudulent as our dogs, although from strong working lines have been easy, so I wasn't sure what to suggest.

Please go ahead and copy, Needs, and to reinforce what Adorabelle said, the training needs to be ongoing, once they have it indoors, try an outdoors class - a whole other challenge, or look for a class like tricks or agility that builds up the dog/owner bond. Our trainer also pointed out that a dog will be more loyal to the person who trains it that the one who feeds, if these are different, again because the trainers attention is more valuable.

Pup is having to go back to the beginning with 'down' - he just looks at me blankly because we concentrated so much on other commands, he forgot what we meant!

This sounds very similar to my lab. I was also a but peeved at his independence as in the evenings he was never bothered about being with us but he is now 15 months and over the last 2-3 months I have noticed a massive difference.

he does now want to be in the same room as us and will follow me from room to room more. He can still dash off quite a bit on walks but recently I have been doing lots of sudden changes of direction which whilst a bit nerve wracking when he takes ages to notice has definitely helped. I also upped the treats as I had become a bit complacent. He's not perfect at all but certainly much better. I also find that if we are on an open playing field where he can see me from a long distance he is far worse at wandering too far.when we are in woods or somewhere with more obstacles he definitely stays closer. Hopefully for your friend the evening independence will also disappear but I think the recall has to be worked on rather than assuming it will improve with age.