# 6 Month Old Labrador Help!



## AnnaEvans93 (Oct 18, 2012)

Hello, 

Our lovely little puppy Charlie is now 6 months old. We have finally mastered house-training, he barks when he wants to be let out which is working great so far! 

Our main issue is regarding walking on the lead. We walk him twice a day, once in the morning, once at night, around 2 miles each time. We live in Mid Wales so are full of rural surroundings where we are able to let him off the lead, he sits when we tell him too and goes in the grass when a car is coming. What we are struggling with while he is off the lead is trying to get him to come to us, we've tried tempting him with a treat but he just sits and stays put until we have to walk towards him as a car is coming! Does anybody have any tips that we can use to try and get him to come to us when we call? He knows when we are calling his name, as he looks at us but just insists on sitting down, lazy! Hehe!

However, whilst he's on the lead, he constantly pulls, I've tried holding a treat against my heal, saying heal in the appropriate tone, but he insists on pulling, it is driving me insane! 

Any help would be gratefully received!


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2013)

He needs to not be off lead around cars for sure!!

Put him on a long line until he has a recall. Tempting him with treats is bribing, and will quickly backfire. Which is probably why using treats for walking on leash isn't working either.
Treat training works fantastically well, but you have to use them as rewards, not bribes. 

Recall training should be done in increments, not just turn the dog loose and hope he comes 

There are some great links on here for teaching recall and teaching a loose leash walk, but honestly, I think you would have the best success working with a trainer. Have you taken your pup to classes yet?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

*Why can't I get a reliable recall?*

'Come' is no harder to train than any other behaviour but in real life it has a huge number of criteria that have to be raised one at a time in order to guarantee success.

Often when puppies are brought home to their new owners this is the first time they have ever been separated from their dam and siblings and so they naturally attach themselves to their new family by following them about everywhere. Owners find this quite attractive and wrongly assume that this trait will continue into adolescence/adulthood, whatever the circumstances. A dangerous trap to fall into…

At some point in time, usually from around 6 - 10 months, depending on the individual, "Velcro" dog will morph into "Bog off" dog (this is especially true of a breed that has been developed to exhibit a high degree of initiative). This is the time when owners suddenly realize that their dog will not recall when it sees another dog/person etc. Not only is this inconvenient but potentially dangerous as the dog could be at risk of injury from a car/train/another dog etc.

*How and when do I start with a puppy?*

My advice is to prepare for this inevitability from the day you take your puppy home. If you are lucky the breeder will have started this process whilst still in the nest by conditioning the puppies to a whistle blown immediately before putting the food bowl down during weaning.

Dogs learn by cause and effect ie sound of whistle = food. If you, the new owner, continue this from the moment your puppy arrives you will lay down strong foundations for the future.

By using the whistle in association with meals/food you need to establish the following criteria:

• Come from across the room. 
• Come from out of sight 
• Come no matter who calls
• Come even if you are busy doing something else
• Come even if you are asleep. 
• Come even if you are playing with something/someone else
• Come even if you are eating

Once this goal has been realized in the house, drop all the criteria to zero and establish the same measures, one at a time, in the garden.

Once this goal has been realized in the garden, drop all the criteria to zero and establish the same measures, one at a time, in the park/field etc.

To train this, or any other behaviour:

1. Make it easy for the dog to get it right
2. Provide sufficient reward

Do not expect a dog to come away from distractions in the park until you have trained it to come to you in the park when no diversions are around. Be realistic and manage your expectations; your sphere of influence/control over your dog may be only 20m to begin with, therefore do not hazard a guess that the dog, at this level of training, will successfully recall from 50m or more away. Distance, like every other criterion, must be built up over time.

Some simple rules to follow when training the recall:

• Whistle/signal/call only once (why train the dog to deliberately ignore your first command?)
• Do not reinforce slow responses for the dog coming eventually after it has cocked its leg, sniffed the tree etc (you get what you train!)
• If you know that the dog will not come back to you in a certain situation, go and get him rather than risk teaching him that he can ignore you. (If you have followed the programme correctly you will never put your dog in a position to fail).
• Practise recalling the dog, putting him on the lead for a few seconds, reinforce with food/toy etc and immediately release the dog. Do this several times during a walk etc so that the dog does not associate a recall with going on the lead and ending the walk or being put on the lead with the cessation of fun.
• Eventually, when the behaviour is very strong, alternate rewards ie verbal praise, physical praise, food, toy and also vary the "value" of the rewards, sometimes a plain piece of biscuit, sometimes a piece of cooked liver etc so that you become a walking slot machine (and we all know how addictive gambling can be)!

In my experience recall training should be consistent and relentless for the first two years of a dog's life before it can be considered truly dependable. You should look on it as a series of incremental steps, rather than a single simple behaviour, and something that will require lifelong maintenance.

*What about an older or rescue dog?*

Follow the same programme as outlined above however for recalcitrant dogs that have received little or no training, I would recommend dispensing with the food bowl and feeding a dog only during recalls to establish a strong behaviour quickly.

Your training should be over several sessions a day, which means you can avoid the risk of bloat. It is essential that the dog learns that there will be consequences for failure as well as success.

Divide the day's food ration up into small bags (between10 - 30), if the dog recalls first time, it gets food, if it does not, you can make a big show of saying "too bad" and disposing of that portion of food (either throw it away or put aside for the next day).

Again, raise the criteria slowly as outlined in puppy training.

Hunger is very motivating!

For those of you who believe it unfair/unhealthy to deprive a dog of its full daily ration, not having a reliable recall is potentially life threatening for the dog ……………

*How do I stop my dog chasing joggers/cyclists/skateboarders/rabbits/deer?*

Chasing something that is moving is a management issue. Do not put your dog in a position where it can make a mistake. Again you need to start training from a pup but if you have already allowed your dog to learn and practise this behaviour you may need to rely on a trailing line until your dog is desensitised to these distractions and knows that listening to you results in a great reinforcement. Chasing is a behaviour much better never learned as it is naturally reinforcing to the dog, which makes it hard for you to offer a better reinforcement. If you want to have a bombproof recall while your dog is running away from you then use the following approach:

Your goal is to train so that your dog is totally used to running away from you at top speed, and then turning on a sixpence to run toward you when you give the recall cue.

You need to set up the training situation so that you have total control over the triggers. For this you will need to gain the co-operation of a helper. If you have a toy crazy dog you can practice this exercise by throwing a toy away from the dog towards someone standing 30 or 40 feet away. At the instant the toy is thrown, recall your dog! If the dog turns toward you, back up several steps quickly, creating even more distance between the you and the toy and then throw another toy in the opposite direction (same value as one thrown)..

If the dog ignores you and continues toward the thrown object, your "helper" simply picks the ball up and ignores dog. When dog eventually returns (which it will because it's getting no reinforcement from anyone or anything), praise only. Pretty soon the dog will start to respond to a recall off a thrown toy. You will need to mix in occasions the toy is thrown and the dog is allowed to get it ie you do NOT recall if you want to make sure it does not lose enthusiasm for retrieving.

For the food obsessed dog, you can get your helper to wave a food bowl with something the dog loves in it and then recall the dog as soon as you let it go to run towards the food; again if the dog ignores you and continues to the food, your helper simply ensures the dog cannot access the food and start again. (It is extremely important that the helper does not use your dog's name to call it for obvious reasons).

Gradually increase the difficulty of the recall by letting the dog get closer and closer to the toy/food. Praise the moment the dog turns away from the toy/food in the early stages of training. Don't wait until the dog returns to you; the dog must have instant feedback.

Once the dog is fluent at switching directions in the middle of a chase, try setting up the situation so that it is more like real life. Have someone ride a bike/run/skate past. (It is unrealistic to factor in deer/rabbits however if your training is thorough the dog will eventually be conditioned to return to you whatever the temptation in most contexts).

Until your training gets to this level, don't let the dog off-lead in a situation in which you don't have control over the chase triggers. Don't set the dog up to fail, and don't allow it to rehearse the problem behaviour. Remember, every time a dog is able to practise an undesirable behaviour it will get better at it!

Most people do not play with toys correctly and therefore the dog is not interested in them or, if it gets them, fails to bring it back to the owner.

Play the two ball game, once you have a dog ball crazy. Have two balls the same, throw one to the left, when the dog gets it, call him like crazy waving the next ball; as he comes back throw the other ball to the right and keep going left right so that YOU are the centre of the game and the dog gets conditioned to return to you for the toy. Once this behaviour is established you can then introduce the cues for out and then make control part of the game ie the game is contingent on the dog sitting and then progress to a sequence of behaviours.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

*Courses*

How to Change Predatory Chase Behaviour in Dogs with David Ryan

When: Sunday 12th May 2013

Where: Otterbourne Village Hall, Otterbourne, Winchester SO21 2ET

Details: 10am- 4pm registration from 9.30am. £35 per person, lunch included

Throwing a ball for a game of chase is an enjoyable and rewarding experience for many owners and their dogs. For other owners canine chase behaviour turns into a nightmare when their dog chases cyclists, cars or sheep. When their dogs choose what to chase it can compromise owners financially, cause the target severe injury or even death, and threaten the life of the dog. This seminar looks at the reasons for the problem, the more effective solutions and how to control the behaviour.

David Ryan followed 26 years as a police dog handler and Home Office accredited training instructor with a postgraduate Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling, with distinction, from Southampton University, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for animal behaviour studies. In 2008 he was certificated as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist by the prestigious Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

He was chair of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors from 2009 to March 2012 and currently works as a companion animal behaviour consultant, being an independently vetted member of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses since 2008.

David has appeared in the internationally scheduled television series 'Crimefighters' focusing on his remarkable and fascinating work with police dogs, and as a guest on the BBC 4 programme "It's only a theory", discussing how dogs have evolved to bark. His dog behaviour articles have appeared in publications as diverse as the Daily Telegraph, Woman's Own, Your Dog and Veterinary Times.

He has been invited at various times to lecture to the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group, BSc Animal Behaviour Students at Bishop Burton College and Myerscough College, and Pet Rescue/rehoming Centres, including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Merseyside Dogs Trust and Wood Green Animal Shelter. He is currently a guest lecturer on Newcastle University's MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare.

David's unique blend of practical experience and theoretical knowledge of canine behaviour fuel his particular interest in inherited predatory motor patterns and the lengths to which pets will go to find a way to express them, usually despite their owners' best efforts

http://www.positivetrainingforcanine....php?id=events

*Books*

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Chase! Managing Your Dog's Predatory Instincts 
By Clarissa Von Reinhardt

Stop! How to control predatory Chasing in Dogs
by David Ryan

Teach your Dog to Come When Called
By Erica Peachey

Total Recall
By Pippa Mattinson

Training your Dog to Come When Called
By John Rogerson

*DVDs*

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Really Reliable Recall 
By Leslie Nelson

Training the Recall
By Michael Ellis

Your clever dog: Getting your dog to come when called 
By Sarah Whitehead

Does your dog whizz back to you as soon as you call his name?

Can you call him to you even when there are other dogs or distractions? Teaching your dog to come to you when you call is the cornerstone of training and the gateway to allowing him more freedom in the park.

If your dog has selective deafness, ignores you in the garden or the park, or would rather play with other dogs than come when you call, this specially designed training session is for you.

Ideal for starting out with puppies or rehomed dogs, and also for dogs that ignore you or are slow to come when called, despite previous training.

Including:
• How to know what's rewarding for your dog and what's not
• Five times when you shouldn't call your dog!
• Using your voice to call versus using a whistle
• What to do if you call and your dog doesn't come to you
The pack contains: A clicker, long line (worth £10), training manual, instructional DVD: 55 mins approx running time including Bonus trick, Bonus Training Session, Intro to Clicker Training, Q & A with Sarah

http://www.dogtrain.co.uk/shop/prod...ducts_id=80&osCsid=elhrbh99gea40atbk7j4let2v3

*Website articles:*

How to use a long line properly here (under information to download)

www.dogspsyche.co.uk

http://www.apdt.co.uk/content/files/training-tips/RECALL.pdf

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/reliable_recall.pdf

Deposits into the Perfect Recall Account

List of Reinforcers

http://www.clickerdogs.com/distracti...yourrecall.htm

http://susangarrettdogagility.com/20...call-collapse/

How to Create a Motivating Toy

http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_f...e recall.pdf

Teaching Come « Ahimsa Dog Blog

http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-...y-dog-chasing/

http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/recall.pdf

Train a

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/te..._to_you_on_cue

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/be...me-when-called


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Smokeybear, your link for the Clever Dog dvd doesn't work, just so you're aware 

I bought the Total Recall book the other day and have started working on the first exercise in it. It's basically a step by step guide on how to teach a solid recall and what I've read of it so far is good. Spencers recall isn't dire but it could be a hell of a lot better.

Why is your dog off leash near cars though?


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## WhatWouldSidDo (Nov 17, 2012)

How about changing to interactive feeding? This means not giving him a bowl of food for free but getting him working for his food via training and games.

He will pay a lot of attention to what gets him his food.


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## GermanShepardOwner (Aug 20, 2012)

First of all please do not let him off lead near roads if he does not come back to you, it is dangerous who everyone involved. 

I would get a long line so he can have freedom but is still under your control. Hes only 6 months old so you cant expect too much of him too soon, hes bound to be excited. There are many different ways to train re-call, way i did mine is start in house, use a whistle, whistle, treat, whistle, treat and repeat. Then everytime i whistled he would come to me expecting a treat or praise. You can then take him in the garden to practice this and outside on long line where there are more distractions. If he doesnt come to you,you can then bring him back in because he will be on lead. You need to use everything possible to be exciting and for him to want to come to you, toys, food, whistles, noises etc. Teaching re-call can take months, its a very hard thing to teach with some dogs so just practice lots. 

With the on lead issue, alot of labs do pull, especially at 6 months. If you find him hard to handle you could use a gencon, worked wonders for all mine and really does give you control. But your best option is just to work on lose leaad walking. Pulling back and saying heel doesnt really work IMO. You need to spend more time in the house first working on getting him to understand what you mean by "heel" and what position it is. Get him to stand between you and a wall, that is the position you want, next to you. Get a clicker and clicker train it. But pulling him back and saying heel really doesnt work very well.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Here are some resources for loose lead walking

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/loose_leash_diagramed.doc
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/letsgoforawalktogether.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/strolling_on_lead.doc
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/walkingyourdogwithheadhalter.pdf
http://www.apdt.co.uk/documents/Looselead_000.pdf
http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_files/factsheets/Pulling on the lead.pdf
How to Teach Loose-Leash Walking | Karen Pryor Clicker Training
Leash Walking « Ahimsa Dog Blog
http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/LLW.pdf

Look under loose leash walking here:

ClickerSolutions Training Articles Contents

Books:

My dog pulls what do I do? 
By Turid Rugaas
Help, my dog pulls on the lead 
by Erica Peachey
Can't Pull, Won't Pull 
By Alison Rowbotham

DVD

Your Clever Dog: How to stop your dog pulling on the lead
Sarah Whitehead

Why dogs pull: the secret your dog doesn't want you to know; How to stop pulling instantly; What you need to do before you even attach the lead; Why the type of walks you go on matter.
Includes: Training DVD, training manual, clicker, tote bag.

Dogtrain.co.uk


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