Dog not listening

[Fizzlestix]

Please help!

Have got a 5 month old puppy
Spent a ton of time on training
Had it all pretty much perfect (as could be at 4 months) and we were just building on it and improving (longer stays, training with more distractions etc)

Got to 5 months and I think adolescence hit

now recall is absolutely non existent.
If she’s out of reach she won’t do anything,
Before she would sit or lie down as default as that was a good chance of getting a treat. I didn’t even have to do more than look at her and she would sit
But now if she’s more than arms length away I’ve got zero chance
She will do non of the ‘tricks’ she could do unless I stand right next to her when I ask, and even then she stares at me for quite a while as if deciding or just acts as if she can’t hear me at all.

She’s always been a bit reactive to people and dogs (mostly when on lead)
But had thought we were starting to get it a bit more in check but now it’s worse than ever

I’ve tried training back at basics and trying to be one step away / 2 steps away etc
Moving her away from people to a ‘safe’ spot
Using higher value treats
New treats
Changing the tone of voice
Giving her more reward and praise
but not getting anywhere

It’s like puppy blues, but now with a dog who actually knows what she isn’t meant to do, and seems to only have interest in doing those things.

What am I supposed to be doing here?

Sorry that was so long, just wanted to give a full over view

I’m obviously missing something and/or doing something wrong.

It’s like I’ve got zero control suddenly
And it’s just not safe or fair to her either

Adolescent time can last many months so be prepared for that.

All you can do is to continue to train and reinforce everything. If you are struggling then I would get in a 1-1 trainer to support your efforts.

We had a nightmare with recall and did lots of things to try and reinforce it, playing hide and seek, walking away so they don't know where you are going, whistle training, walking where there were no distractions, trying to be more entertaining etc. Eventually it came back at around 1 year of age. I didn't use one but lots of people use long lines during this time.

Ah, doggy adolescence! Far, far harder than the puppy stage imo.

It is hard. Really hard. My dog had me in tears several times when he was about this age - he was stronger and it felt like nothing I did or said would sink in! It lasted until he was about 13-14 months old and since then he's gotten better and better.

He's two now and yesterday I took him out with a clients dogs (I'm a dog walker) and his behaviour was perfect. No reactivity to other dogs, perfect recall, sat/stayed when I asked him to every single time - and this was with the added distraction of two strange (to him) dogs and being off the lead.

You will get there - perseverance and repetition really do pay off in the end - good luck!

The training will come good again post teens, so long as you are consistent and persistent.

The reactivity may well be youth and/or fear stage related but you may need some help now while she is so young to prevent it getting worse. I would work with a good trainer on how to handle that - more as a precaution than anything else.

Don't despair, you will get there. Most dogs are very food orientated, so if you have a pocketful of small tasty treats, that should help. Practice recall with your pooch away from distractions at increasing range), with a treat ONLY for good behaviour. I also find that if you crouch down a bit (nearer to doggy height) when calling them, that seems to help. We also got a doggy whistle and rewarded her with treats, only when she came back. I know it is frustrating, our pooch used to just wander off with anybody who seemed more interesting, but now she really is fairly well behaved, you just have to be consistent and persistent.

My worry is that when she actually FINALLY does what I asked I reward her still
But am I not just teaching that you can go do what you want for a bit
Then eventually come back and do what I asked and there’s no consequences and you still get the rewards just the same

She isn’t food motivated at all. Nor toy motivated.
May try the hide and seek thing though as she’s quite prey driven. - feel like you’ve got to put a fair bit of trust in them though to do that and at the moment I have zero trust.

feel like you’ve got to put a fair bit of trust in them though to do that and at the moment I have zero trust

I used to drive to a place where there was no dogs and it was wide open for miles. I then did the walk in the opposite direction each time he eventually came running past. It did take trust not to stop and turn around and panic which is why I did that in a specific area but it showed me that actually he did keep an eye on me and was unsettled when he realised it wasn't me that would follow him and he started to always look to see where I was going.

It's very bloody hard to not get upset if they come back after pissing about. I used to practice recall at the beginning of the walk and if he was really really bad I did sometimes curtail the walk and go back home and come out later.

My worry is that when she actually FINALLY does what I asked I reward her still
But am I not just teaching that you can go do what you want for a bit Then eventually come back and do what I asked and there’s no consequences and you still get the rewards just the same

By rewarding her when she does come back it reinforces to her that you are a great person to be around. Go to Fizzlestix nice things happen I will go back to her more often

It is tempting to be cross but in your dog heads that means got to Fizzlestix and bad things happen so I will not risk going back to Fizzlestix.

So do as you are doing always reward her for coming back to you with a big smiley happy voice (inside searing to yourself!) it will get better.

Many trainers will offer classes for the adolescent dog because it is so common for training to break down.
Practice training at home again without all the distractions and reward your dog with things they love. Have a think about what your dog likes to do, chew, sniff, run, play search games, etc. If your dog has a high prey drive look at getting a flirt pole. Many prey driven dogs love this toy.
It will get better. Be patient, teenage hormones are a bugger but they don't last forever.

She’s always been a bit reactive to people and dogs (mostly when on lead)
But had thought we were starting to get it a bit more in check but now it’s worse than ever

While you are working on recall training please do not ignore this and hope it will get better. It rarely does without intervention and it much easier helped at 5 months old than later down the line.

There can be different reasons for it (frustration, fear) and a good trainer can help you figure out what and how best to help her.