Teen pup - what do you do when they ignore all of the commands

[OranginacanonlybedrunkinFrance]

We have an 8.5mo cockapoo. He’s always been a fantastic dog. We got him at 9 weeks and he was already able to ring a bell when he wanted to go out for a wee (we had two days of nervous wee accidents inside and that was it) and knew “sit”. He continued to learn at a similar pace, had good recall, the basics of stay even when out etc. And then he hit adolescence. He doesn’t even reliably sit now! All walks in situations where we might encounter another dog (so pretty much all of them!) are on a long lead as, as soon as he sees a similar size dog, he’s off and has no intention of coming back; loose lead walking is a nightmare unless we’re only familiar streets; I haven’t even tried “stay” out of the house for a week. We do do hoopers as it was the only dog training thing that I could fit which fitted in to our schedule and he’s really good at that.
So what do it do? I had tried to go back to the real basics so we could still be positive but, if he’s not even going to sit, I’m not entirely sure what to do!
And what do I do on the occasions when he eventually obliges? We were out early in a quiet spot yesterday so he was off lead and he did come, eventually. After a bit of a detour and a sniff but heading generally in my direction. It was very similar in attitude to teen DS being asked to do something like empty the dishwasher. The dog will do it eventually but likes to demonstrate that they are independent and have a bit of attitude!

Its a phase, just perseverance and patience.

You up the value of the treats - tiny bits of salami are good and like a teenage child keep saying the same thing over and over again and eventually they get it.

Agree with above posters. You basically just keep going. Basic training, high value treats, no off lead until recall is back to where it was and patience, patience, patience. It won’t be long before he starts listening again, you just got to wether the storm in the meantime.

as above. But I also tighten up any privileges that the dog has learnt in the home as I find that speeds up the phase, Boundaries and compliance starts in the home after all - an hours walk is such a small part of their overall day. So just as one example …. sit is expected to obtain access to the garden - I don’t ask. I just wait for the dog to offer the preferred behaviour and don’t open it until they offer politely’asking’

Use the long lead to “force” the recall but reward anyway to remind them of the value of treats. Stop any incidental treats and reward the basics again. We were v lucky that DDog who is now 9 months only had a few days of “cloth ears” and then reverted back to being decent… though maybe he’s a late developer and this is still to come…

High value treats and keep going exactly as everyone has said. if you don’t persevere you will seriously regret it so keep going!!! (Imagine it’s one of your teen kids. Same principle!) x

Thanks for confirming it is just a case of keeping going with the basics and waiting for him to come out the other side…

As above and be prepared for it to last a while. My male Lab became a total arse at 9 months and didn’t start to see an improvement until he was 14 months. He’s now 18 months and doing much better but we still have a ways to go! Although I know labs take a while to mature. This was despite me training absolutely every single day and using a training lead etc etc

What is hoopers?

It is a case of keeping firm with the basics and upping the treats to something really tasty. Praise when he does come back even if you feel like throttling him. Boys can be incredibly stubborn. Work on rewarding him, for example whenever I see a cat I bring my girl into heel and treat her very frequently, if she gets distracted I call her back and keep treating her while she is next to me. I keep her on a short lead the whole time. Now she is 16 months and she has started to look to me for a treat when she sees a cat. It’s not 100 % reliable don’t get me wrong and she will still pull on the lead occasionally but it’s working in the right direction.

Hoopers is a newer sport to the UK. Like agility but lower impact. Dogs runs a course of hoops,barrels to go round and tunnels ls too I think

Actually I recognise this and without wishing to hijack a thread there’s a question I would like to ask other dog owners. My 9month Lab who was previously very good on his commands is now only good if there are no other distractions. As soon as he sees another dog he is off. Generally will play for a bit then return. We live near a very large area of open land and so have continued to walk him off lead putting him on lead when we see a dog. Occasionally a dog will just appear around the end of a hedge or from a copse of trees and take us by surprise. Off he goes. Is this acceptable or should we only exercise him on a long lead? He has such energy that I worry this will lead to him being more unruly at home.

Dog trainer here. Use your long line. It will be 100 times harder to train him a solid recall longer term if he keeps self rewarding by racing up to other dogs. Not to mention the unfairness of putting other dogs and owners in that position. Regardless or whether your dog has friendly intent, it is completely unacceptable to allow him to charge around bothering other dogs and owners, whose dog may be ill, old or reactive

edit to add - hire of a secure field to allow him full freedom and proper recall practise without worry will serve you well at this point in his life. It’s a phase - but only if it’s not practised! Otherwise it’s an annoying habit for life