Losing confidence with walking a dog going through adolescence. Any helpful mantras welcome

[drivinmecrazy]

Have a 12 month old Weimaraner.
His recall has always been quite solid but recently he's decided he wants to run.
This in itself is not a problem.
The issue is that he's started jumping at other dog walkers and is being over enthusiastic with other dogs.
It's ruining our walks.
I'm losing trust in him.
I'm now dreading taking him out and have him on the lead more than not.
We've started hiring a field once a week to work on his recall and he is improving.
But it's my confidence.
Our trainer has also pointed out that my body language is affecting him.
How can I start a walk with a more positive mindset, instead of anticipating scenarios that might not even happen.

I'd go so far as to say it is eroding our bond.
He seems to behave so much better when DH takes him out.

I'm with him 24/7 and trying not to take it personally that he behaves worse with me 😞

I'm like a broken record with gundogs, but are you doing anything that will fulfil those drives that he has been bred for? I know a lot of Weims are more show-line than working line, but they're clever dogs. His bond with you will improve if you do training with him that lets him hunt under control, find things and retrieve.

That said, all the HPR breeds are bloody hard work as youngsters; they get better at about 3. Until then, just keep plugging away at basic obedience (which can be fun if you find what works for you) and do as much HPR stuff as you can.

Thankyou EdithStouton.
Yes we do lots of enrichment with him.
He is indeed super intelligent so we're aware.
Love him to pieces but my he's hard work.
I think the most difficult thing is when we meet other pups of a similar age who are seemingly far better trained and obedient.
It's always such a relief to meet some one on a walk that recognises his breed and understands the challenges.
Difficult not to feel judged by other dog owners who have no idea about HPR dogs.
I remember our trainer telling us when he was six months old, that if we carried on doing what we have been, that in about two years we'd have an amazing dog.
Just seems so long away.
Constantly two steps forward and one step back!!

Adolescence with any dog is hard. They push boundaries. Some obviously push boundaries more than others. Both our dogs have really pushed boundaries during adolescence, you just have to stay consistent and they will come through it. For the first dog, it was about 2.5 and we realised she was a really great dog. For the second he’s 3.5 and he’s just about coming it through it, it’s been a long slog!

Start a walk with a positive mindset by accepting that you don’t have to go off lead. Work on his heel with the lead, if he’s listening, working and then you can try some recall. If the recall doesn’t go to plan, stop, go back to practicing lead walking. That’s an important thing to practice too. With ours, we would do on lead for the majority of the walk, find a clearing that was safe and do some gundog work as our training which practiced their recall as part of a bigger thing, rather than just plain recall. We have also made a game of recall. You stand opposite each other and take turns calling the dog, which huge praise and fuss every time they recall to the right person. You can then build that up to bigger distances or hide and seek with the dog.

Adolescence with our beagle was an absolute bloody nightmare, honestly. His recall vanished, he insisted on howling at everyone and everything, he pulled like a train and all his manners went out of the window.

He's now six (today, actually) and his teenage years are genuinely a distant memory now. He still loves the sound of his own voice but his manners have returned and his recall is (mostly) there though we still have to be careful when and where he goes off the lead.

All I can see is - keep plugging away and "this too shall pass". We used to go out early in the morning or to really rural locations to keep him under threshold too - we found that if we went somewhere busy, he just lost all focus and we stood no chance of keeping him under control.

Hey, if it makes you feel better, my dog is 18 month old, he's not bad, but he's not perfect, and we work everyday, all the time.

Don't compare your pup to the other dogs you see:
First, your dog is probably likely younger than the other dogs.
Second, you're probably only noticing the well behaved dogs.
Third, it's also possible that these dogs' owners have lower expectations than you - Not saying that you should lower your expectations, but simply that these owners might just not care whether their dog is running towards another dog or not.

I think there's a misconception about recall which is that recall training is all about training your dog to come back to you when called. Yes it's good, but it's more multi-faceted than that.
When I look at well-behaved dogs in the park, most of the time they don't need to be recalled.
They just never really go far.
Or they always keep an eye on their owner and just get the hint via their body langage that it's time to go.
Or they seek "permission" via eye-contact to go and see another dog.
Basically recall is the outcome of having a great bond with your dog and having your dog focused on you. And building that takes time, but it's not just via off lead sessions in the park.

I know how you feel. 12 months was probably my lowest point so far. My dog lost all recall at 11 months, and worse, wouldn't come back to me at all (was prancing about just out of reach having a whale of a time for up to an hour). So by 12 months it was only lead walks, and I'd feel so upset watching other dogs running after balls and playing around off lead, thinking that was a thing of the past for us.

She's only 14 months now, but her recall has turned around massively. I can have her off lead in enclosed spaces and she is constantly running back to me after really working on engagement and staying engaged. Tbh I could probably have her off lead in not enclosed spaces, but my confidence was badly knocked and it's going to take a while to get it back.

I'm sure this will pass, especially if you've had recall previously. There's nothing wrong with keeping him on a lead for now if you're worried about him jumping up at people, sniffy walks are amazing for tiring them out, though she loves to run my dog was so chilled out on two long sniffy walks a day.

I know this was posted 8 months ago but I'm just reading it now and think it's a really great post. I could have written OP's post (except for the breed, I have a 13mo lab) and I've found this post about focus and bond to be really helpful. Not 100% sure how to get to that stage with that but at least I have my heading of where I want to be! All makes complete sense.

Thee are a lot of great points in that post, but HPRs are bred to range wide - 50 metres each side of the handler is normal. So they will bugger off, especially if they wind something

WOW! 50 metres?

I guess we're quite fortunate that he rarely goes that far, but far enough to get my heart racing!

Must admit the last month has seen a vast difference.
The only thing that we have done differently is to put him on a 10 metre line for a couple of weeks.

Just goes to prove that consistency is the key, although it's hard to believe when you're in the thick of it.

Still a LONG way to go, but seeing glimmers of hope that he's not completely broken 😂

They can easily go further. I've just my two back from a walk. They hunted a stubble field, and at one point the younger one was about 80m away (I know how big the field is from pacing out long-distance sit-stays).

Control at distance is really important with HPRs, and you can build it up by gradually increasing the distance you let them go, whilst also being conscious of how exciting the environment is. 50m on a sterile playing field is Not The Same as 50m on ground that reeks of hares and pheasants.

If you can find an HPR club or a trainer with HPR experience, that will really help. If you could let me have your approx location (pm if you like) I might be able to suggest someone.

I'm near Chelmsford and haven't found anyone closer than Southend.

I've been to a gundog trainer in Suffolk but after a few sessions it was clear he'd not much experience in HPR dogs.
Another local trainer was prepared to work with him but 'would have to do some research' 😂

They really are a breed apart and need someone experienced.

Normal training methods only go so far when your dog is sniffing, looking and hearing all at the same time.

It blows my mind quite honestly.
The only thing I can compare it to is a child with ADHD.

It's hard, but intimately hugely rewarding when something clicks.

Il have to work out how to PM you later, just about to take the beast out

You need to come on a residential with Helen Phillips from clicker gundog.
Positive reinforcement gundog training and she's and HPR specialist too. Worcestershire but you can stay over near her beautiful training facility.

Gundog training saved my sanity with my spaniel. Adolescent days were absolutely awful. He was naughty, disobedient, all the training disappeared and I was at my wits end.

Fast forward 2.5 years and he's a joy. We still go to gundog classes because it's good for both of us, and we practice what we learn on walks and outdoor training sessions.

@drivinmecrazy , I have PMed you.