Am I too late for training

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tonygold58
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Am I too late for training

Post by tonygold58 »

Elvis is now 15 months old. All is good with his behaviour - all except his recall.
he will happily follow us around the park in whatever direction we take but as soon as he sees another dog, he's off. he just wants to say hello and play but when the other dog and owner move off in the opposite direction, Elvis will just follow them or if he has returned to us (usually for a bribery treat), he will have the treat then spin around and run off towards his new found friend. I end up having to run after him and retrieve him and put the lead back on until we are far enough away from the other dog, then he will continue his walk / run with us.

i just yearn for the day he will trot along side us and come back when called from other dogs, but it seems a long way off.

- Would Elvis benefit from some formal training or classes or is he past the age that this would benefit?
- Would agility classes be a good aid to this type of discipline, or is he destined to have this behaviour ongoing for life?
- i've tried increasing the treat values to the highest he likes (chicken) but seems to make no difference so now walks do not involve the treats.

I tried the long lead and treat rewards when younger, which seemed to work, but once off the lead he would come back for the treat and then double back and run off to catch up his new friend. i get very envious seeing owners with their dogs that just seem to follow them around and come back when called or told to move on!!
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Schnauzer Sam
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Hi Tony, it's never too late! Things just get slower with age though at 15 months he's not old and is an adolescent, pushing the boundaries like a teenager does.

You say though that you used a long training lead in the past? Time to get it out again and take him back to basics and re-enforce his early training. I would keep him on a long lead and not let him off at all unless his recall was predictable. Let him go wherever he wants on the long lead, call him back and treat him when he does; shorten the lead to establish the recall if necessary but he will soon catch on again that selective hearing means no freedom to run off.
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Robin black mini
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by Robin black mini »

This is the classic age when a dog rebels and may forget prior training.
This is also the perfect time to reinforce your training..I would definitely do a formal obedience course ..you will be pleasantly surprised at how well he sails through this training..
I would use a long line,but let it trail when you are out...as if it's not there,but when he does the recall/ whip around you can grab the lead and also call him back..
Use a harness with the long line so you protect his neck..
I have found many of my dogs have settled at two..all the hard work you have put in pays off..my Sylkie terrier used to do the erratic run off up to 18 m...she would run up to strange dogs on the beach and then come hare tailing back to me when she met a big bad one..at two all seemed to resolve,but I did follow the steps above.
When you feel the long line isn't needed ,cut some length off...we started with a 20 m line for my st poodle,reducing by two meters every week we felt he'd progressed.tr
Training leads are costly from dog shops.....we used tape from decathlon,bought by the meter..and sewed a dog clip ( 2 euros from diy) which was a functional but cheap option.
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by zeta1454 »

As said above, it is never too late for training classes but you do need to be sure that the classes are run professionally, using positive reinforcement or reward based methods and the welfare of the dogs is a priority. Sadly there are some really poor training classes around where too many dogs are enrolled to bring in more money and/or harsh and aversive training methods are used.

I always recommend visiting to watch if possible before taking a dog to a class or at least have a detailed discussion with the trainer beforehand to make sure you are confident about their approach.

We have attended a range of different classes over the years with our dogs including Kennel Club Good Citizen training; scentwork; canine parkour and agility. With a good class whatever the type or ultimate goal you should find that they will result in a stronger bond between you and your dog, an increase in their attention to you and more responsiveness to you overall.

Without a doubt, Elvis is going through adolescence and testing the boundaries, forgetting his early training and "trying it on " with his selective deafness. It is a phase and should be something he passes through but it is important to try to prevent him from running off and refusing to come back ( good tips in the above posts) and training classes will help give him focus and you more confidence in getting Elvis to respond promptly to what you want him to do :)
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tonygold58
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by tonygold58 »

many thanks for the replies guys.
long lead is coming back out and basic recall training will re-commence!!

i am also going to look into classes as i had thought these would only benefit a puppy and that elvis may be a bit too old for them.

watch this space!
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by Dawnspell »

I had exactly the same thing with Barney :D As Jo said aged 2 his ears and brain started working again and it wasn't so urgent for him to go see every dog.

We wanted to start agility after he'd turned a year old. Our training club that does agility insisted on dog and owner completing their beginners obedience course. Its a good idea, it taught him better focus with other dogs around. At agility he always had to have greetings with the other dogs at any opportunity, but when he was actually doing agility he ignored them. He was more focused on where I was going if id told him to wait at the start :))
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red_swim
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by red_swim »

We also did similar with our 15-month-old mini - went back to basic training, starting with recall around the house following Pippa Mattinson's Total Recall methods. It's made a big difference. We've also found about-turn walking brilliantly helpful - setting off in the opposite direction when he goes past us to show that humans are unpredictable and he needs to keep an eye on them. He checks in on us regularly when we walk now, and we continue to do about-turn sessions on every outing.
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Re: Am I too late for training

Post by Violet Turner »

Its never too late for training. found this thread from a while back -viewtopic.php?t=3695&start=15
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