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2year old behaviours changed

1K views 23 replies 7 participants last post by  Twiggy 
#1 ·
Dog Dog breed Carnivore Flooring Floor

This is my working Cocker spaniel ( Smiffy ) since he's turned 2 his behaviour has changed in short he seems to do exactly what he wants when out an I have no control of him . I keep him on a long line and don't let him off until it's safe ( enclosed field or straight path or cycle track ) my question is this . I've moved house and let up on his training ( first puppy class then dog training class to good citizen bronze award standard ) would this be the reason , in short will I have to train him every day for life as it were ?
 
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#4 ·
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This is my working Cocker spaniel ( Smiffy ) since he's turned 2 his behaviour has changed in short he seems to do exactly what he wants when out an I have no control of him . I keep him on a long line and don't let him off until it's safe ( enclosed field or straight path or cycle track ) my question is this . I've moved house and let up on his training ( first puppy class then dog training class to good citizen bronze award standard ) would this be the reason , in short will I have to train him every day for life as it were ?
No of course you won't need to train him everyday for life but from what you've said the basics need re-teaching and then thoroughly proofing against many distractions ie other dogs, people, cars, squirrels, birds, etc. etc. Loose lead walking, an instant recall, stand for examination, sit and down stay are all very important as is paying attention to owner/handler as and when required.
 
#8 ·
Have a look at kikopups YouTube channel. She has lots of good advice on training in general and those issues in particular. JoanneF has linked to her good leash pressure video above but the rest of her videos are worth watching too.

If it helps, I used to look after a neighbours dog who had no leash manners, recall and very little training. Following advice on here and kikopups videos after about a year his recall was generally quite good and loose lead walking was much better. He was 5 years old. I generally only had him for a few hours a week so with lots more input I am sure you will make progress much quicker than we did. :)
 
#9 ·
I think it would be helpful @Rincewind if you start your own forum diary thread a bit like my woodland tales one as we only seem to hear from you when you have a problem and never see your progress.

Last time you popped in, you wanted to know what would happen if you chanced turning your dog loose in open country and you were advised to keep him on a longline (sorry, i know i have worded that in a way that makes you sound irresponsible and, to be clear to anyone reading, i don't want to put over that impression as you were asking a hypothetical question, received advice and took it on board)

Anyway, you went from that on lead all the time point to (as you say earlier in this thread) being able to let your dog off in enclosed fields and on cycle paths. But we never saw or heard about your route of progression there so it is really hard to pick out the point where it all goes wrong for you.

I know our dogs are similar ages and have had similar recall issues but (at the moment) tilly is doing very well.

I started woodland tales mainly for my own use, thinking if i chart the ups and downs of her most difficult recall area, it will help me to see how she progresses.

From your thread title here, and to posters that dont know you, it sounds as if your dog's behaviour has suddenly changed since he turned 2.

But, if i remember rightly, your recall on this dog has never been good. Not from your previous threads. We need to hear from you much more often with success as well as problems!
 
#12 ·
Wow what an amazing bunch you are . The support that you offer is amazing so here goes .
I will deal with the post in reverse order , I initially started to train recall and loose lead walking in his puppy class that I attended as soon as he’s had his injections . The puppy class taught me to use a single command , I chose the word close and treat orientated , if I use that word he will walk loose lead perfectly but only for the duration of the treat delivery ( maybe 10 paces ) and he still does that to this day . When we’re on a walk if he’s on a short lead he will pull all the time but if I say the word close he will immediately come to my side and walk loose lead until the treat delivery is over i.e. around about 10 paces then he’s off pulling like a train again .ok it’s on to tablemabel can you tell me how to start a diary thread as I’m not very tech , and as for the behaviour change I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we moved house , at the old place the walks were on the longline most of the time when. But if we were walking along the cycle track or a footpath that was clearly defined while I couldn’t let him off the lead I could drop the long line and have a trail behind him and he would walk the path off lead as it were . So bumbarrel thread . in the house his attention to me is perfect in puppy puppy class is attention to me is good ( but still gets distracted by the other dogs ) it’s only when we’re out and about on our walks that I’ve become less of a focus and he just ignores me .
In really thinking about what everybody has said I do realise that it’s my training that is at fault. I can’t seem to keep the consistency needed to obtain what I would like . Let’s hope if I can set the diary up that it helps
Thank you once again everybody for your support
 
#13 ·
on to tablemabel can you tell me how to start a diary thread as I'm not very tech
Just start a new thread and add to it as you go with how you are getting on.

I don't think anyone really has much interest in my woodland tales thread but it is interesting to me. If a problem crops up, i can go back on my thread and see the dates that lead up to that problem.

For example, if my Tilly starts ranging further from me in the woods, i will note it in my thread. I will be able to look back and see if there was anything that triggered it - did i slacken off with engagement, is it the time if year, the wind etc.
If the wheels come off completely, i have vids in my thread and other posters could look and say 'well, this was building from that point there'

To add a video onto here, you will need a you tube account. If you want to tag another poster so that they see your question, you need to use @ plus their user name @Rincewind for example.

Here is my woodland tales thread. I am away to the woods today with Tilly so if i might update it later today
https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/woodland-tales.516148/
 
#14 ·
Ps I only started filming myself with Tilly when i joined in sairy's training threads at the start of this year. I must say, it is something well worth doing if you can. Even for your own use.

You can hear the clarity of your own command and analyse the dog's response. It is also a good way to see how accurate the timing is of cues. It was a revelation to me!

It really spurs you on to improve, too:)
 
#17 ·
When you first teach a new thing you can use the treat and literally hold it right in front of the dog's nose to lure it into position. Because the dog is just following the treat and not understanding the task yet, that is a lure.

So, if you sit your dog at the side of the room and call it to you, holding out a sausage, you are using a lure. The fact the dog comes to you does not mean it understands - it just followed the sausage! So you use a lure initially to obtain the desired behaviour and then you can move on to treats:

If you have the sausages in the fridge. Same exercise, but the dog gets the sausage on successful recall, that is a treat. It hasnt been lured to you and just followed the sausage. It completes the exercise and then gets a treat (reward)

Once your dog successfully comes running over on your first call, you can drop treating every single time and treat maybe 3 in 4 calls. Then drop to 2 in 4. Then 1 in 4. And when the dog properly understands, you don't treat even that often. Phase out altogether or very infrequent.


Btw an excellent recall book is 'total recall' by pippa mattinson. On amazon. Takes you through step by step
 
#18 ·
Confession time again I have Pippa Mattinson book and got as far as recall from another room successfully, but then inconsistency struck again and training faded. I think I will re engage with that book.
Smiffy update......... we’re back to a short lead and training on every walk. And he’s forgotten a lot but remembers quite a bit . One question I do have is this . If I want him to do a specific task I ask with the known command word how many times should I ask , how long should I ask for before abandoning that particular exercise ? Thanks as always
 
#20 ·
Confession time again I have Pippa Mattinson book and got as far as recall from another room successfully, but then inconsistency struck again and training faded. I think I will re engage with that book.
Smiffy update......... we're back to a short lead and training on every walk. And he's forgotten a lot but remembers quite a bit . One question I do have is this . If I want him to do a specific task I ask with the known command word how many times should I ask , how long should I ask for before abandoning that particular exercise ? Thanks as always
I never ask my dogs more than once because (a) if they're well enough trained they will comply immediately and (b) if you ask more than once it's tantamount to nagging and teaching the dog he doesn't have to listen to you. If the dog truly understands the 'known command word' then I most certainly wouldn't abandon the exercise but I wouldn't give another command, rather wait until the dog obeys and then praise and treat with gusto.
 
#19 ·
Well you are asking 2 things in one here.

'Known command word' suggests you think your dog knows and understands the word. In which case ask once. Your dog should comply the first time of asking, and fast.

If you are teaching a new command, if your dog fails 3 times in a row. ie no success or glimmer of understanding on 3 turns, i would take it back a step.

Tagging @StormyThai for you as i think she does explain things much better than me. Both to people and dogs, judging by how good Thai is compared to my two:D:D
 
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