Cannot control puppy

[puppydisaster]

I've changed name for this, as I'm fully expecting to get my arse handed to me, but I'm completely miserable.

Some background:

Puppy is 6 months old, and a standard labra/goldendoodle, weighing 22kg already.

She is incredibly friendly - but massive. We have been working hard on keeping her paws on the floor at home to prevent jumping up (all bets are off with visitors).

She pulls on the lead massively if she sees small children or other dogs. Again, she's friendly, but obviously I don't want her going over to people/dogs we don't know.

She's much better off the lead when there are no people or dogs around, although recall appears to be getting worse, not better.

Yesterday we were out for a walk in a field, and she was off-lead as I had 100m of visibility in every direction and there were no people or dogs. Then suddenly, she just ran, and wouldn't recall. I chased after her, but she'd sprinted 100m to a path and knocked over two toddlers, and when I got there a few seconds later, she was still jumping up at the mum (who understandably was furious - I would have probably kicked her if I'd been the parent, so fair play to the woman who just shouted at me). I came home, shaky and tearful and could barely look at the dog.

So today I took her out and only allowed her on the long lead so we could do some recall practice (no off lead, as I can't trust her). I was picking up a poo, whilst holding the lead, and she suddenly started to run again, towards another dog. I stamped on the lead to stop her, but she pulled it out from under me, got away and jumped all over the dog. Thankfully the owner was fine about it (dog is very friendly - it would be a different story if she wasn't).

I've tried the Halti head collar and she just escapes from it almost immediately. I've tried double-leading her, which is fine for short walks but doesn't help me practise recall. (We have tried whistles, clickers, treats - it feels like everything.)

She is better with my husband who uses a much sterner tone than I do. But he can also physically control her - she can pull me off my feet.

I just feel I've bitten off a lot more dog than I can handle, especially as she's only going to get bigger, and I'm hoping someone can give me some advice other than "you shouldn't even have a dog", which is how I feel about myself right now.

Also Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy Steve Mann . Great books!

You’re hitting adolescence train train train
1 year on lead (or long line) = 10 years off

find a decent trainer and keep working on it, you don’t need gadgets just consistency

We have a lab. From 8weeks to5m he was hard work . From 5m to 15m he was a total dick. We did the standard puppy training didn't really help as he just lunged and barked and the trainers only had their stock advice. When he was 10m we saw a behaviourist she was great and basically help us make some changes. Now he's nearly 2 and lots better. Some things that helped -
Canny collar- literally no pulling
Ball play on walks massively helped with recall
Ignoring/turning back for jumping barking etc

The secure field/running away tactic is a good one.

One tip (if I may): Do NOT call a dog until you are sure it will come to you. Use any other words or noise instead.

What you absolutely don't want is that they inadvertently gett the chance to hear you call them and then they do not recall. It risks the recall word/phrase becoming less relevant for them.

Use any other phrase until you see reliable recall. Then introduce your recall word/phrase as they are recalling. It'll then soon become a strong cue for them.

A wise lecturer of mine used to say: never use your cue word until you would happily bet £50 of your own money that the dog is going to do the thing you want them to

PainlessPup will be a year old next week. He's a Lab. And my goodness he is trying my patience. Heelwork perfect to non-existent, recall ditto. None of my previous three were like this. Or perhaps I was just younger and coped better.

UNtil she has excellent recall and other obedience training, never let her loose in public . Anything could happen with other dogs, livestock, wildlife, cyclists, runners , children who scream etc. If she runs far enough she'll find traffic.

Forget harnesses and halti's and extending leads; I use an adjustable neck collar, attached to a strong lead about one yard long. Use that for all her walks so she stays close, safe, under your control and feels the positive attachment from her to you. Close, she feels your reassuring presence and listens to your voice . Chat to dog as you walk. You're teaching her to listen to your voice and (eventually) recognise a select number of words. Starting with walk, stay, come, good dog.

When on lead, every thing you do together is preceded by a clear command word . Every time you stop to cross a road, or let someone pass, you say stay. Every time you're ready to move on, you say walk.
As she walks beside you, reinforce "walk". If she pulls, say her name, stand still and don't move. She has to stop. When she stands still and looks up at you , you say "walk" and step forward. You will have to repeat this every few steps or so but with practice even the bounciest draggiest dog will soon grasp that pulling is unwelcome, and walking is good dog. The aim is a dog that happily walks at its human's pace on a slack lead, enjoyably comfy for you both.

When she naturally pees or poos, you say "busy busy". Eventually, she will pee or poo when you tell her that word (very handy skill) When you open the car to get her out, hold lead, say stay ; and she stays in the boot until given the word "come ". Use a limited number of words, be consistent every time; and whenever she does the right thing, say "good dog". After endless repetitions and reminders she will learn to recognise those words.

Inside the home, every routine is also prefaced by one consistent word. I train mine to " stay" (wait attentively) every time I prepare their meal; and then remind "stay " while I put the dish on the floor; dog waits for permission word " good dog" before eating. Put her out for a pee, say busy. Start to teach recall " Name, come" in the house and garden (call her from another room, or out of sight) and reward with "good dog " praise.In the house, say "sit" whenever she sits.At this stage, everything is geared to encourage eagerness to please.

Don't play tugging games with pups, that is making feisty human-oppositional challenge behaviour into a fun game ; a confusing message.
When she has something in her mouth that she shouldn't, and wants to keep it, growly possession/tugging is risky behaviour.

When you teach "fetch", is the time to also teach "drop it".

The reward for pleasing you, is your calm verbal confirmation she is "good dog" . I don't use treats in training because I want the dog's attention to focus on listening.