Puppy advice please

[mumofthreesmallmen3]

Hi, we have a female puppy 18 weeks, Labrador. I'm looking for advice on how to further her training around distractions. Inside, or even outside if quiet/no distractions she is pretty good, I am using a long line training lead which for the most part I let trail on floor as she is quite good with her recall, I do practice some obedience commands when out so it all still applies in different scenarios not only indoors, she knows pretty much 95 percent of the time, sit, lay down, wait and stay (about 30 seconds) paw, drop it, leave it, spin, fetch, bring it, not always but I'm quite happy with what we've been doing and she's still very young. My question is how do I apply these to outside when there a lot more distractions, mainly other dogs she wants to get to or doesn't want to stop playing with if already playing, it's like her ears close up! Is it a time thing or is there any specific tips to help with the distractions, I found she ignored yesterday when playing with a dog in the park, luckily it was all fine but im not sure on how I compete with the allure of other dogs! Any advice, thanks

If you're adding distractions to your training go right back to basics and only attempt easy stuff like sit, eye contact, response to name. Check out Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy Steve Mann. His books are brilliant!

The best way is to avoid getting into those situations to begin with.

So, if you know she ignores you around other dogs (which is very common for puppies), don't let her run over in the first place. Keep her on a short lead (not a long line) and distract her while there's enough distance in place to do so.

As she gets older and more bombproof, you can decrease the distance.

Thanks, my next question,sorry lol, if I keep her on the short lead, if she meets another dog, do I just let her sniff say hello then move on then, I was under the impression she needed the socialisation whilst little still to have a play,if the other dog and owner are ok with it, do I restrict her a bit, and if she does have a little play I end up in tangles because the lead is short and I get tangled with the other lead or she starts to run and leap in excitement but because she's on a short lead I am worried she'll pull too hard on her neck whilst playing she will be hurt

Use a harness then it will be kinder when the lead goes tight( which it will at some point!)
I let pup say hello if dog looks ok and owners are happy then after a bit of sniffing and whirling round we leave!
I have taught pup two things for out and about. Recall to whistle and Reflex to name which I use to get him out of a situation be that coming away from a dog, or an interesting leaf or when a meet and greet is over. For these things he gets high value treats ( like salmon or chicken ) for other training sit down stay I use his kibble so he has training sessions 3 times a day instead of meals in bowls.
Today he recalled to the whistle like a bullet from running with another dog after pigeons. He's only 13 weeks so not hit the ignoring stage yet and he'll do anything for a great treat! I'm just trying to lay as much foundation as possible before he hits teenager phase!

@mumofthreesmallmen3 strongly recommend an acme whistle. It's unique, can be used by anyone in the family, really loud and is only used for "run back to mum who has a piece of salmon in her hand" so doesn't get diluted in the same way shouting pups name might do.

Socialisation is about getting pup out to experience as many different sights and sounds as possible, not playing or even saying hello to every dog they meet.
I never let my pup greet dogs whilst on a lead. It's not behaviour i really want as an adult.

I'm sure some of it is luck rather than judgement but we never seemed to have the issues with pup wanting to play with every single dog and therefore ignoring us that a lot of the fellow lab owners in our puppy classes did.

She does need to socialise, but socialisation isn't about letting her greet and play with every dog you meet. It's about making sure she's not afraid of other dogs but also that she's not determined to go and say hello to everyone.

Think about how you want her to behave as an adult and focus on that. You don't want a dog who's overly interested in other dogs and who has to say hello to every dog she meets, because not all dogs she meet will be happy for her to run over and play with them. You want to be able to walk past other dogs without her barking or lunging or pulling.

I never let my dog greet while on the lead unless it's a dog he already knows well as lots of dogs dislike on-lead greetings and it can quickly turn nasty.

Ok that's really helpful thanks, she is quite sociable and excitable, wants to greet every person/animal but I will try to not always let her and move on, now she's over the 4 months the main socialization period has ended? So now we focus more on behaviours for going forwards rather than good positive experiences with people/dogs?

I think I maybe become a bit overhung on the positive experiences with other dogs and people thing,but totally understand she needs to learn to move in as not every dog will be happy to see her so I will try now to move her on, it's hard with people outside,she naturally draws people and attention as she's small and cute, a lot of people we walk past want to stop and fuss her, seems rude to do a let's go with other people but she is a bit of a attention seeker!

Do you think it's ok if people passing want to fuss her, then move on, I understand especially kids they all go aww can I stroke her, and I've always let her have a fuss because of the socialisation thing and being happy around different people, it will probably change as she gets bigger and isn't as cute to other people? I've never spoken to so many people in my life in a short walk 😂

It seems really quite confusing what is right or wrong, I do want her to be sociable and ok with all sorts of people and comfortable with different scenarios,and nicely friendly rounded dog, but I think it could quite easily go in the other direction too, so is it best to try to teach a 'ok,let's go ' ? And I should sometimes try to limit her interactions?

It's worth trying to get other people on board even if it feels a bit rude, we did a mix of saying 'sorry we're trying to teach her that she doesn't get hello to everyone we meet' and a 'yes, you can say hello, but only if she can sit calmly first'.