Help! my seven month old Standard Poodle has suddenly become really willful about coming back to me when called. I thought she was trained to come to call and have always rewarded her with a tipbit and clicker. We are very lucky because we live on a farm surrounded by our own land and so she has always had free range, together with our other two dogs. She does worry me because she doesn't appear to have any respect for cars, but I have usually managed to get her into the house if there are any about. However today when the postman came (he always drives too quickly down the drive) she refused to come to me when I called, and bounded off towards his van. She looked at me knowing full well what I wanted. She then did exactly the same thing when a neighbour called, running around the car refusing to be caught, and she's much quicker than me! My inclination is to be cross, mainly through my fear of her being injured, although I realise this is not going to encourage her to come to me again! Has anyone any advice - she knows exactly what she should do, but has suddenly decided it's more fun to disobey!

Hi :)

You're having a bit of a time of things by all accounts but fear not, we've all been there before and many will be again!

At 7 months she's still pretty much a baby and with the best will and experience in the world, she's not remotely unusual for being unreliable on recall ;)  Training is only ever as good as the lack of irresistible attractions that abound with a youngster - the opportunity to chase off after a moving object is clearly winning over any treats you may have and if she also has the enjoyment of you in hot pursuit of her the game has become even more worthwhile.

The chase instinct or prey drive can be quite marked in some breeds - although can be so with any dog of any breed - and needs to be put to use towards something infinitely safer than moving cars, runners, cyclists, horses, basically anything that is outwith your control.  I'm guessing that as you have your own land for exercising her she has had much of her training done there too so there have been very few distractions during training for you to overcome?  It's worth going along to a training class where she will be doing her obedience exercises with other young dogs present and where you can both slowly but surely learn to work together and keep focussed on one another regardless of what's going on around you.

Youngsters quickly pick up on things which amuse or frustrate us so in the meantime I'd avoid letting her have the opportunity to take off on her own agenda.  Perhaps until such times as you have a training class place booked and organised you should exercise her on a long line so that you can safely reinforce commands and break the cycle of her chasing off after things.  Have particularly tasty treats that are not part of her regular diet such as roast chicken or cooked liver/kidneys - keep high value rewards for training alone.  Introduce her to a toy which she can chase and retrieve - it may take some time to find one which really gets her going but it's definitely worth puting in the effort at this stage :)

>My inclination is to be cross, mainly through my fear of her being injured, although I realise this is not going to encourage her to come to me again!

Great!  You're completely on the right track here :)  Infuriating as it may be, we all have to grit our teeth and sound chirpy even when we want to strange the little blighters because we're soaked through, loaded with the flu and running an hour late for an important meeting :rolleyes: :D  Take some comfort in the fact that you're definitely NOT alone!

Oh, and just when you think you've covered all the bases, along comes puberty and we're back to square one

regards, Teri   
 

 

Hi Teri,
Thank you so much for such common sense advise. Although I have trained her to the basics I know I shall have to take her to some classes. I have been putting it off for two reasons. When she was a little over eight weeks old she was 'bulldozed' by an unruly black labrador and broke her leg. She now has big issues with strange dogs. She only has to hear one barking to become absolutely terrified, and then all the training goes out the window and she tries to run or wrap herself round my legs. Unfortunately I have only recently had a knee joint replacement so feel a bit precious about trying to reassure her when I'm also trying to protect my knee! Not ideal I know. Her fear manifests as hysterical barking and snapping at any dog that comes near her - understandable, but I feel a difficult case for training classes 'cause I'm sure she would be very disruptive. Any advice would be very welcome.

Hi again,

sorry your girl had such a bad experience as a small puppy - unfortunately we can't always avoid negative situations and of course all dogs are different so what upsets some will not necessarily bother others but having her leg actually broken was naturally an extreme shock to the little mite and would test the confidence of most youngsters when out and about again :(

I'd still recommend going down the route of a training environment - perhaps your vet or someone local to you can put you in touch with a reputable club/trainer.  At just 7 months she is certainly not going to try the patience of an experienced and competent trainer - the behaviours you describe her showing are not necessarily going to be novel to him/her as many youngsters through no real fault of their own can lack confidence around other dogs, people, strange objects, sounds etc.

I'm sure with patience and perseverance you can bring your girl round to being less anxious / interested in other dogs - the trick is not to push her or add any pressure to the situations in the early stages (which may take weeks or months but remember will be manageable :) )

Do you have a large public park or common nearby where you could take her for on lead exercise and other dogs around but supervised?  It would help you both gain confidence if you could allow her to see other dogs at a distance but not be forced to interact with them - this of course requires that you may have to be a little firm with other dog walkers as unfortunately not all prevent their dogs approaching on-lead dogs :rolleyes:    Over time your girl can be desensitised to other dogs but I think you both need the support of an understanding trainer to help point you on the right path for her specific issues.

I hope your own mobility is soon improved - you've both been through quite a lot of trauma in a short space of time!

best wishes, Teri

Teri, many thanks for your kind advice.