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The doghouse

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Original poster

Today I was that Labrador owner who everyone dreads

68 replies

Bethanemethane · 01/01/2021 14:18

Hiya,

Any advice for my 8 month old Labrador please? She is our first dog and an exuberant character but today we really messed up.

We did puppy classes with her and since then I have worked on her recall a lot. We live somewhere where I can walk her daily and she can be off - lead (but on a long recall lead) and I regularly call her in to me and reward with cheese/sausage. She has been really quite good with this.

This morning my husband, two boys and I were walking her over a mountain path. She was on the long recall line and she was staying quite close. She saw a mum and son (age 8 ish so similar to our youngest) ahead and when we called her she looked at us and ran towards these people. The boy was understandably scared and my dog was jumping all over him.

My husband ran and grabbed the recall line and apologised hugely. No “harm” was done except for upsetting the boy and I am furious with the pup for not listening when we’ve worked so hard with this, and furious at myself for letting this happen. Needless to say she stayed on a close lead for the rest of the walk.

Obviously I need to keep working on her recall but I just felt she ignored us completely and it really upset us all.

Any advice or do I just keep going with the recall work?

She is one of those dogs who is over excited with all other dogs but usually ok with people. I’m working on keeping her focus on me but high reward treats don’t work.

OP posts:

LindyLou2020 · 01/01/2021 16:46

We were Puppy Walkers for Guide Dogs some years ago. Our puppy was a Labrador/Retriever cross.
We were instructed to use a whistle for recall. So, dog off lead, running free. We use the whistle, she comes running back, sits, and gets a treat.
It eventually worked brilliantly, no matter what distractions were attracting her. And she could be naughty too, so was no angel!
Definitely worth a try......

2021plans · 01/01/2021 16:50

You sound great with your training and these are her teenage years.

I would also work on getting her attention on walks as it’s a great way to train against distractions. For example - When you have people, kids, runners, bikes walking past get her in a sit & reinforce when she sits and watches you.

Also practise the immediate down. Do it closer to start & continue with a couple on every walk. To me having the ability to “down” my dogs immediately at close or distance is important. It does take a few months but awesome when you get it.

Also if she doesn’t react to a recall and you know she has heard but ignored you, ( choose a time perhaps with a distraction in the distance) I would calmly walk up to her on the line, gently hold the collar and say in an unhappy voice, no I asked you to come, let go and then just calmly walk away, ignoring her if she follows. It gives you the chance to show your unhappiness at the point she ignored you. Then on the next recall when she looks or recalls it’s a “jackpot” treat. You often don’t have to do many of these to be effective.

8 months is a testing time but doing the continued training with the line now will be rewarding. Good luck

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 01/01/2021 17:04

As a PP said, this has happened to every dog owner, and I 100% sympathise. As PP have said, you just have to keep at it with treats and toys and longlines and being one step ahead of them, and you will get there if you persist - the dog in question is 3 now and she's not really interested in people any more, other than known sources of treats...

Sometimes when she recalls (I use a whistle) she might get nothing, or a treat, or we might play a game, or do a bit of training, so she never quite knows what she's going to get. It keeps her interested.

Good luck. Persistence really works.

Motorina · 01/01/2021 17:06

Been there. Except with me it was a very small child in a brand new, pale pink suede coat. Complete with puppy pawprints, after my dickhead had bounced all over her.

Mortifying, isn't it?

Sounds like you're doing nothing wrong, but your dog is turning into a teenage dickhead. Keep up with the training. He will remember how to connect listening ears to thinking brain eventually, although it might not feel like it in the moment.

Original poster

Bethanemethane · 01/01/2021 17:11

Thanks again for the replies. I was feeling really upset about her training ((or lack of) but you’ve given me some really positive ideas to work with. I really don’t want to be the owner of a disobedient dog and I’m willing to put the work in.

OP posts:

MrsMiaWallis · 01/01/2021 17:13

No advice, my lab has awful recall despite every training class under the sun. I just keep him on the lead unless I am absolutely sure there is noone around.

MrsMiaWallis · 01/01/2021 17:14

He's 9 and I've given up. Tbh we live very remotely so it's not a huge issue. My terrier has almost perfect recall.

PragmaticWench · 01/01/2021 17:37

I feel for you, our lab is 18 months but at 8 months she legged it twice, both times across a huge field and jumped all over other dogs. I was mortified!! She came into season two weeks later and that pre-season time was definitely her most wilful.

Aside from the recommendation for the Total Recall book, we've done lots of work on getting her attention on us when we give a command. I click my tongue and she's rewarded with the clicker and a treat if she turns and meets my gaze. We started at home, then outside with no distractions, then on walks when other dogs appeared. Very handy to prevent them bolting before you can stop them. Goes hand in hand with the recall training.

Kiko Pup is on YouTube and there's a good video for this where she makes a kiss noise to get her dogs attention.

OchonAgusOchonO · 01/01/2021 17:42

@Bethanemethane - the only way to truly redeem your lack of perfection wrt training is to post a photo of the dog in question.

Saucery · 01/01/2021 17:44

I’m reluctant to tarnish the name of a certain colour of Labrador but a photo would help prove my suspicions..........

Btw, if she ran up to me I would be delighted. Not enough naughty Labradors run up to me these days.

MrsMiaWallis · 01/01/2021 17:49

@Saucery

I’m reluctant to tarnish the name of a certain colour of Labrador but a photo would help prove my suspicions..........

Btw, if she ran up to me I would be delighted. Not enough naughty Labradors run up to me these days.

Occasionally I meet a lovely person who is delighted to meet ddog. It's always a good day.

Saucery · 01/01/2021 17:53

MrsMiaWallis I do help by asking them to sit before I make a fuss of them but if muddy paw prints end up all over my coat I really couldn’t care less.

MrsMiaWallis · 01/01/2021 17:54

Ah, now mine never jumps up! He'd just wag himself to death around you.

OchonAgusOchonO · 01/01/2021 17:59

A teenage lab bounded over to me the other day. I readied myself to stop him from jumping and was pleasantly surprised that he just waged his tail off and waited for petting. The owner was very apologetic about him "annoying" me. She was very pleased when all I did was praise his restraint and good behaviour.

OchonAgusOchonO · 01/01/2021 18:04

Dd met a lab tied up out of the way while she was swimming last week. She assumed the owner was in the water so started petting and chatting to the dog. The owner, who was beside her said "I hope she's not bothering you". I suspect she was asking the poor dog, not dd, as dd was definitely bothering the lab. Mind you, she seemed to be enjoying it too.

MrsMiaWallis · 01/01/2021 18:05

@OchonAgusOchonO

This is what mine does.

twinkletoedelephant · 01/01/2021 18:05

My lab is a good boy he has however started taking huge concern in men carrying children on shoulders... he now approaches from the front and attempts to stop them by lying down on the path a bit in front of them.

Its a pain in the arse although he is just blocking the way and had absolutely no reaction if they walk round him, I imagine it could be intimidating . I've just managed to train him out of wanting to round up small children back to their parents.

I think he just wants a small human of his very own. (His recall is brilliant and he is more then happy to return to me when asked, its like he sees it as his job to protect the smalls)

Nose boop/fist bumping todlars is his most favourite thing to do in the world (only if they yell boooooop with outstretched fist)

Whitepots · 01/01/2021 18:05

You have my complete sympathy! I have an 11 month old pup with near perfect recall... except, of course, when it really matters ie around dogs and other people. There is a magic window for me to recall him. If I miss it, he's off, particularly if it is another dog he's spotted.

Luckily there are walks I can take him on which are pretty quiet. It was busy where we went today though and he was on a longline...

I'm hoping that - eventually - his adolescent brain will get it. I'm not holding by breath however!

Chaotic45 · 01/01/2021 18:12

OP most of us have been where you are. I'm a dog Walker and have also personally owned countless labs. Their over enthusiasm and exuberant greetings is their Achilles heel, as you already know.

As others have stated your girl is now an adolescent and at this time their focus can shift more easily.

It sounds like you've been doing all the right things, but that today things went wrong.

I'd implore you not to relegate your dog to being on lead from now on. You should continue with the long line and the recall practise.

Training a secure behaviour takes time, don't stop now as it sounds like you have been doing really well, and it would be a huge shame to end up going from a dog who is almost secure in recall to one which isn't allowed off lead freedom. Being able to be off lead is a huge gift for a dog, as long as they can behave appropriately.

Tips:
As far as possible choose walks where you can see ahead, and keep a close eye out for any approaching people or dogs.

If you can't see ahead, pop on lead until you can.

If you see a person or dog approaching you need to decide whether to take an alternative route, or pop on lead. The goal is to work within your dog's capability. So don't expect her to recall from distractions which are very exciting to very close by. This holy grail is too much for the vast majority of adolescent labradors!

Practise practise practise
Reward reward reward

Read the book 'total recall' .

I hope this helps. I walk lots of labradors and many struggle with secure recall from distractions at this age. They mature at about 3 years old, and until this time I always attempt to manage the walks in a way that doesn't ask too much of them. It's a PITA at times but it's part of being responsible.

All my older labs went through this and are now reliably robotic, and can greet calmly and appropriately.

Good luck!

OchonAgusOchonO · 01/01/2021 18:12

@twinkletoedelephant - I've just managed to train him out of wanting to round up small children back to their parents.

Are you sure he's not part sheepdog? Pil's sheepdog used to do that if the grandkids went too near the electric fence or if the cows came too close. He was a lovely lad.

twinkletoedelephant · 01/01/2021 18:14

Hes 5th generation gundog... we got him as a pet although he does have a strong work ethic :)

Will be starting his training to be a pat dog this year. The joy he would have if he could visit little kids in schools would be amazing.

OchonAgusOchonO · 01/01/2021 18:14

@MrsMiaWallis - This is what mine does.

Can you take credit or is he just naturally wonderful?

DiabeticFirstBaby · 01/01/2021 18:22

Our lab was exactly the same till he was about 2! He was great at recall with no one else around but as soon as he saw someone in the distance he would run off and jump all over them. I feel your pain!
Just keep going with the training and a long lead is a good idea, also asking people you know to ignore her and turn their back on her if she does jump up, same with your family. That way she knows she will only get attention if she stays on the floor. They are very food orientated but i do think some are just immature and take a while to learn. When we took ours to puppy training early on they said he was too immature and he wouldn't learn at that point and to come back later. Our dog was amazing from 2 onwards and a delight to walk with no issues.

Gogreengoblin · 01/01/2021 18:26

At least you said sorry and are aiming to change how your dog behaves. You aren't ignorant and defensive which is how some dog owners are as we have seen.
You also don't need to beat yourself up

Original poster

Bethanemethane · 01/01/2021 18:30

Here is the offending article. She was doing really well on her walk as we’d seen lots of people and dogs on our way and we’d called her in to us no problems. Until she didn’t. There was a slight curve in the track and the Mum and son were closer to us when we called her than with the other walkers. I think we were complacent and should have had control of her before the curve in the track.

Today I was that Labrador owner who everyone dreads

OP posts:

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