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Original poster

Total braggy moment (new dog owner)

58 replies

FuckingHateRats · 30/07/2022 10:35

Yesterday we were down on our local beach with our puppy. She's thirteen weeks.

We have been working incredibly hard with her, and have practised recall since day 1 of getting her. We have built this up, first in the garden going between us, then in the house where she can't see us, then out in enclosed spaces when she could be off lead. We've been reinforcing this through high-value rewards and she is very reliable, for how young she is.

We went for a coffee on the beach and she met another puppy who was eighteen weeks. They had a good sniff and greet and then we settled for our coffee. Afterwards we went back to the sand and water and she was off lead, doing some work on 'stay with me' amongst all the distractions.

This other puppy was back on the beach so they got a great go at puppy play - bolting, chasing, wrestling etc. Really good fun and enjoyable.

And then, in this highly stimulated environment with another puppy to play with, passers by, beach goers etc, I called time and called her back to me . She left the play immediately and bounded over, and then and listened to the 'stay with me' cue to walk closely with me whilst off lead. She handled it like a DREAM. The other puppy less so and kept coming after us (totally understandable) but Maggie sat at my request, waited until the owner caught up and then came calmly with me, ignoring the other puppy.

This was the highest stake situation yet - and all the input we've done in the last month totally came together.

I know we have much more to do, and I know she'll have regressions and teenage hiccups, but I also just wanted to celebrate how incredible she was and how proud I am. The other dog owner asked if I was a dog-trainer because he couldn't believe she was so young and so obedient.

Just wanted to share my win because none of my pals are dog people!

Total braggy moment (new dog owner)
OP posts:
FuckMeHesFitAintHe · 30/07/2022 10:39

Who cares? I'm not a dog person OP... but wait... actually I do care! Because even though I'm not a dog lover, this is really bloody cute. Good girl Maggie 😊💕

LadyLothbrook · 30/07/2022 10:52

Massive dog person here OP. Well done Maggie, clever girl.

Soubriquet · 30/07/2022 10:54

I’m glad she’s doing well but I’m going to be the cunt that bursts your bubble.

Puppies are extremely biddable. When they hit teenager, they suddenly forget everything you’ve taught them

Original poster
FuckingHateRats · 30/07/2022 11:02

Oh yeah I know, I do not think we've cracked it or she'll always be this easy. I'm fully prepared for her to push all the boundaries and become a wee dickdead.

I'm just chuffed that what were doing just now is working. I was really worried that we'd fuck it up and not do 'it' properly. My family have always had dogs but she's the first one I've owned, and I carry a real sense of responsibility to try and get it right.

OP posts:
MangoBiscuit · 30/07/2022 11:12

Lovely post, and gorgeous puppy. Thank you for sharing OP. Well done Maggie.

SarahSissions · 30/07/2022 11:13

young puppies are nearly always reliable in recall. Adolescence is where it gets tricky, make sure you maintain the momentum and don’t get complacent

BlueKaftan · 30/07/2022 11:16

You’ve done so well! A well trained dog is a safe dog! And Maggie is just lovely 🥰

Original poster
FuckingHateRats · 30/07/2022 11:19

SarahSissions · 30/07/2022 11:13

young puppies are nearly always reliable in recall. Adolescence is where it gets tricky, make sure you maintain the momentum and don’t get complacent

The other puppy definitely wasn't! The owner must have shouted his name about twenty times and he didn't even react to it, let alone respond by returning.

Definitely planning on keeping up the momentum, both inside and outside the home. We know it's a long game.

OP posts:
Milknosugarta · 30/07/2022 11:36

You've done brilliantly. We have a 2 year old, and he wasn't that good. The secret I think is repetition and consistancy. I also think it is better to use fewer words, just the command word. Ours watches for visual prompts also (I point a lot, it helps) 🐩

bangersandsmashhh · 30/07/2022 12:20

Well done! But agree with others just wait til the teenage years 😂

Saying that all the training you are doing means you’ll get the other side of the teen phase with a lovely dog and at that point you can be super smug

OldWivesTale · 30/07/2022 12:26

Congrats but don't get too smug 😁 my whippet was like this from 10 weeks until about 8 months - his recall was amazing - and then it all changed! Yours might be fine but the true test of recall are those teenage years!

herecomemydemons · 30/07/2022 12:36

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BiteyShark · 30/07/2022 12:50

Aww OP.

How lovely totally trying not to join in with the others pointing out teenage months are when they totally ignore you especially with recall and make you look like a shit owner 😀

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 30/07/2022 13:17

That’s brilliant- well done you and Maggie. She is sooo beautiful ❤️

Reallyreallyborednow · 30/07/2022 13:24

young puppies are nearly always reliable in recall. Adolescence is where it gets tricky, make sure you maintain the momentum and don’t get complacent

mine was the opposite. As a puppy smells, cats, chasy things had him off and running.

as he’s got older he’s realised we are his “safe” reference and he’s always aware of we are, stop checking, not going out of easy recall. If I recall him he comes back not so much because I have trained him brilliantly, more he realises it’s for his own benefit and safety (big dog around, coming to a road etc). Probably he just developed a very strong sense of self preservation!

sounds like you’re doing really well o/p! I am shit at training properly but manage wit the basics.

tizwozliz · 30/07/2022 13:40

We never had the nice biddable puppy phase so never went backwards with teenage behaviour😃

I think it actually was good in a way as it meant we never relaxed with reinforcing the training.

But well done Maggie and well done you. We had our pup off lead in appropriate situations from 12 weeks and so glad we took that approach.

user1489844432 · 30/07/2022 13:52

Well done. Just out of curiosity have you followed any specific training program/book etc. Getting first puppy pretty soon and trying to work out best method to approach this.

TheLadyofShalott1 · 30/07/2022 13:58

Well done! I presume he has had all of his inoculations, and had time for the last one to work?
Enjoy, and I am a tiny bit jealous, as our special boy is very old and rickety now, and we are too old ourselves to ever have another wonderful canine companion.

Ivedonethisthreetimealready · 30/07/2022 13:59

Well done also one of the posters that thinks this is pretty normal for a 13 week puppy and just wait until they are older as shown by the 18 week old puppy

Original poster
FuckingHateRats · 30/07/2022 14:03

user1489844432 · 30/07/2022 13:52

Well done. Just out of curiosity have you followed any specific training program/book etc. Getting first puppy pretty soon and trying to work out best method to approach this.

No, we didn't. We watched a lot of videos beforehand and then sort of came up with the principles that we knew we'd stick to:

  • set her up for success. We can't expect her to listen to us in a highly stimulating environment if she hadn't had the chance to rehearse it hundreds of times in quieter circumstances. We have done sit, recall to her name practise every single day since we got her at just over eight weeks.
  • high value rewards. We carry a little pot of something delicious (salmon, raw mince, cooked chicken). We remind her that we have it and reinforce her obedience all the time.
  • we use the same language and hand gestures. An exaggerated arm wave with 'come', pointing at our side when we say 'stay with me'.
OP posts:
Original poster
FuckingHateRats · 30/07/2022 14:04

TheLadyofShalott1 · 30/07/2022 13:58

Well done! I presume he has had all of his inoculations, and had time for the last one to work?
Enjoy, and I am a tiny bit jealous, as our special boy is very old and rickety now, and we are too old ourselves to ever have another wonderful canine companion.

Yes, she's fully jabbed. Seen our vet twice for second lot of jags and a weigh in /check up and we were given the go ahead.

OP posts:
Unforgettablefire · 30/07/2022 14:09

What a beautiful puppy! Brag away you've every right well done all of you! 🐾

Ilikewinter · 30/07/2022 14:28

Ah well done OP, its a great feeling when something pays off 😊 unfortunately we've hit the 15 month old teenage twat stage ....id give anything to have my sweet 'butter wouldn't melt' baby back 🤣🤣

lessthanathirdofanacre · 30/07/2022 14:57

I’m glad everything is going well so far. You may have an extremely biddable dog. They certainly exist. However, as an experienced dog owner I would also say that the behaviour of a puppy at 13 weeks is not necessarily a reliable predictor of how it will behave as an older puppy or an adult dog. I would also say that the owners of the 18-week-old puppy may have trained theirs in exactly the same way you’ve trained yours with different results, due to the puppy’s age, temperament, etc.

I don’t mean to rain on your parade. I hope everything continues to go well. Your puppy is lovely!

sunsetsandsandybeaches · 30/07/2022 15:14

I'm another who doesn't want to rain on your parade, but my puppy behaved VERY differently at 18 weeks compared to how he behaved at 13 weeks Wink

At 13 weeks he was an angel, very compliant, followed me absolutely everywhere and recalled in seconds. At 18 weeks, he was becoming more independent and finding his confidence. He didn't need me as much and was happy to go up to other dogs and meet them without me, and often ignored me completely because other dogs were so much more exciting than a boring human.

I guess what I'm saying is - please don't just rely on your puppy to follow you and stay with you without a lead. If you need them to come with you, pop their lead on. It won't harm them to have to be on the lead but it could well save their lives.