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new with lab question

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:12 pm
by srs
I'm new to site and somewhat new to training. I have a 4 month old lab that im training. I have been doing alot of reading and working with her but have a question. When she is on a lead or im "working with her" she has her basics down nearly 100% of the time. ( heel, sit, stay, and come). The problem that I have is situations like when I let her out to do her business or play alittle she only comes to me about 50 % of the time. when she is distracted with something else she is alittle slow at listening. I know in the future this will be unexceptable but am i asking alittle to much from her now? Again when I have her full attention I feel like we are progressing well. Any help would be appreciated. Im sure i will have many more questions as we go. Thank you.

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:46 pm
by kninebirddog
Right now you are dealing with a baby...If the pup is completely distracted do not give a command until you are close enough to ensure some type of follow through.
Whether it is gently getting the collar and directing the dog to the place you called the pup
to having a leash on to also guide the dog to following through on a command

every time you give a command and do not have follow through you are teaching the dog that commands don't mean much
Be gentle and make follow through rewarding

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:54 pm
by EvanG
At 4 months old your pup is entering adolescence, and will gradually begin to question your authority...like a teenage kid. That's okay. Just don't put your dog in a position to refuse commands. Keep the dog on a check cord or rope when you let her out for a while, and don't give commands you can't otherwise enforce.

You would do well to consider CC to "Here", which I do with most of my 4 month old retrievers. Are you following any type of program?

EvanG
www.rushcreekpress.com

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:47 pm
by srs
Thanks guys, I guess i probably already knew the answer, but does that mean when you take them out for a good run/play you always have them on a lead or you just don't give a command and just let them get back to you when they want? I guess what I'm trying to say is I like to walk her through the woods or field and let her explore on her own off lead. So far she always stays close but sometimes I would like for her to come to me. Should I just let her be until she works her way back to were I can give the command and be able to enforce or should I just not let her off the lead at this time. Its just frustrating because like I said before, when she is "working" is very quick to respond but sometimes I like for her to have some fun and do some exploring. Oh yea, I have been using Water Dog by Wolters, and have a few other books if been reading for reference. I'm sure I will be back with some more questions. Also I meant to say that this is a great site, glad I found it. Thanks again.

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 4:32 am
by poudre river gundogs
Both comments are right on the money. First of all don't be in a hurry. Take your time and don't get wrapped up in the guidelines of what some authors have recommended. They are just that guidelines. Learn to tune in and read your dog and they will let you tell you when they are ready to learn a concept. As your dog becomes more independent you should start to reel him in a bit with structured training.

Evan has some good stuff worth reading. Check out his site.

I also have something in the works that may help you.

Good luck!

Gary

www.poudrerivergundogs.com

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:20 pm
by Bandito
EvanG wrote:At 4 months old your pup is entering adolescence, and will gradually begin to question your authority...like a teenage kid. That's okay. Just don't put your dog in a position to refuse commands. Keep the dog on a check cord or rope when you let her out for a while, and don't give commands you can't otherwise enforce.
At what age do they start to move past this defiant behavior? I've just started to notice it in my 7 month old pup.

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:16 am
by EvanG
Bandito wrote:
EvanG wrote:At 4 months old your pup is entering adolescence, and will gradually begin to question your authority...like a teenage kid. That's okay. Just don't put your dog in a position to refuse commands. Keep the dog on a check cord or rope when you let her out for a while, and don't give commands you can't otherwise enforce.
At what age do they start to move past this defiant behavior? I've just started to notice it in my 7 month old pup.
Each one is different, but usually around 4 months you'll see a definite change in how independent they become. They aren't mature yet, but are becoming more prone to selective hearing. If you have a variable intensity e-collar you can CC to "Here" easily, and with low pressure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDM78DYARc

The pup in this clip turned 4 months old the day we shot that footage.

EvanG

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:24 pm
by Bandito
So I guess I should condition her to the e collar. Any good tips for accomplishing that?

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:38 am
by Sprig
have the dog wear it daily for a few hours, associate it with anything positive, like a walk, training, a ride in the car.....let the dog learn it aint a bad thing to wear before you get to the stimulation part, which by the way comes after a formal obedience program.......

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:39 am
by Sprig
kninebirddog wrote:Right now you are dealing with a baby...If the pup is completely distracted do not give a command until you are close enough to ensure some type of follow through.
Whether it is gently getting the collar and directing the dog to the place you called the pup
to having a leash on to also guide the dog to following through on a command

every time you give a command and do not have follow through you are teaching the dog that commands don't mean much
Be gentle and make follow through rewarding

great advice

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:32 am
by RoostersMom
Get a lightweight rope (or checkcord) about 30 ft long and clip it to her collar. Let her wear it around all the time when she's off leash. Don't ever ask her to "come" or "here" unless you are absolutely positive she will do so - or you can force her to do so. Have some GREAT special treats for her when you take her on these walks so that she associates "here" with getting a very special treat. Just step on the cord and call her in, if she doesn't immediately respond, give her a jerk on the cord.

My pups have all worn checkcords until we transitioned to an e-collar. They wore them all the time when we were out in the field. I took a great training class on how to use the e-collar before I used it. The thing to remember there is that you do not use the e-collar to train new behaviors, only to reinforce a behavior the dogs knows.

Re: new with lab question

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:58 am
by EvanG
Bandito wrote:So I guess I should condition her to the e collar. Any good tips for accomplishing that?
Yes. Click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDM78DYARc and you'll see a brief clip that is part of our actual chapter on e-collar conditioning to "Here". The pup in the clip is a Golden Retriever that turned 4 months old the day we shot this footage. It's from the Smartwork Puppy Program DVD.

EvanG