I have a 4 month old black lab, we got him at 8 weeks and he has been excellent with his basic training such as sit, stay, wait, recall, even teaching him manners and respect with not barging passed us if we say open a gate or back door so he waits until we say "okay" and then he can go. Even great on the lead after alot of work but still working on him not jumping up at dogs who walk passed or visitors as they are the main ones he will get overly excited about and we cant seem to get him to listen at all once he is in that "zone". He is being crate trained and never left in there for any longer than 2hrs unless he goes for a long nap for up to 3hrs in the day and he's had dry nights since 12 weeks old but recently he has started to go backwards over the past week and has even soiled his crate relieving himself over all his covers and blankets as we put lots in so he would feel comfortable and safe. Even put a crate cover over so its like a little den for him so he doesnt feel too exposed but he has been completely soiling his bed overnight for the past 4 days which is unlike him and lay right in it which is not like him at all. We looked through if there could have been any changes we could think of but we have had the same routine daily which he was completely fine with before. The only thing that had changed was we got snowed in one day and he couldn't have his daily walk and only did some basic training out in the garden instead but that was 6 days ago that happened and it was just for that one day and we went back to normal the next day but he's not been himself and he chewed through his crate cover that he was completely fine with since 8 weeks old, he would usually always whine at the door or look at the patio window and look back at me and huff a bit to indicate he needs to relieve himself but this time he's not even giving a warning and been happening for a week or so now and today even walked across the entire front room (very large and luckily no carpet downstairs only vinyl) and just went a wee while he was walking with no warning and just looked at me the whole time doing it! He is also pulling on lead now and recall is no longer working as well, he will still listen to sit and wait, that's the ones thats never gone wrong but recall is difficult, especially out in the garden where he won't come in when I call him unless I have his food, he has a very sensitive stomach so we only use his food we buy from his breeder as it's really healthy and has enough nutrition in it etc. We just cut his food down when we use it as treats to train him so he doesnt get over fed. He is going backwards slowly on everything. Will jump at everyone that visits and dogs but wasn't always that excited. We try and teach him not to but because we have some visitors who just won't stop encouraging the behaviour or some people outside who encourage this behaviour it becomes difficult as we let them know not to engage when he jumps and starts to try and be mouthing and to just turn around and walk away but he seems to always make their hearts melt for him haha. I tell them all don't be too soft to not encourage it as he could do it to the wrong person and we'd get a complaint but not all of them do as I ask so I'm running out of options and just wondering if this is normal behaviour to go backwards? I understand he is teething now so we have as much chew toys as we can literally over a toy box full of them and we take some in turns so he doesn't get bored but it is like lately he is becoming stroppy with us and moaning alot more and just seems like he is trying to test our patience. I was prepared for teenage years but surely at 4 months old exactly today thus can't be anything to do with that! anyone have similar experiences? And know what could be done? Ps. He is also about to go into a 6 week puppy course but dreading it as I know he will pull the lead for his dear life and jump until I let him off the lead and no way am I doing that!

A couple of thoughts.

For the weeing, that does not sound normal so I would pop a sample along to the vets to check for an infection.  For the training, while I understand why you're using his normal food, I would try and find something higher value that doesn't upset him (cooked meat is usually the most effective).  At 4 months he'll be getting bolder and a little more curious and independent, and his normal food simply sounds like it isn't motivating enough any more!  Certainly for the training class I reckon you'll need something more enticing.

I would also make sure he's on a lead around other people for now, so that if he makes a beeline for them to jump, you can calmly move him away.  Get them involved by handing them a few treats and asking them to ask him to sit, and reward him when he does - that way sitting will become the best thing for him to do, because it gets attention AND food from people!

Oh dear, he's a 16 week old puppy & just because you got him onto a routine which was interupted by the weather, he's regressed a bit.

How long do you walk him for everyday ? Do you do any positive brain training with him ?   I wouldn't expect perfection in such a young puppy. Do you train him to walk with you at home or just on walks ? Do you feed him at set times ? If he can't now go through the night clean set your alarm & get up & take him out & stay with him till he"performs" & reward him when he does & gradually make the time later & later. Do you react if he makes a mistake ?

I think you are expecting way too much of him too soon. Puppies' attention spans are very short & any training sessions should be short & always end on a good note. If he gets something right first time, stop it & play.

Ok thanks he is 18-19 weeks 4 months exactly but I understand he is still very young and attention span is poor due to his age etc. His meals are all set at certain times of the day with his training in between using his food. The only treat so far his tummy has been able to have is chicken but any others the vets suggested, it irritated his tummy and had runny stools after. He has brain games at certain times of day, training inside in all rooms, outside in the garden and in public on walks also but start off in a quiet area and slowly go into a more public area. I don't take him very far and I was always told by my vets to do 5mins per month of their age so would be 20mins now but I do admit I do a bit longer at 25-30mins now but it was 15-20mins before just because he still wants to do more training with me and have a play with his chew toys. I don't react when he makes a mistake as I made that mistake with my first dog but have had 3 now and understand it is best to never react. When he makes a mistake instead I don't even make eye contact as of yet and just ignore the behaviour and usually get him to do something else positive instead. I praise when he does do something good in training or if he is quite patient and performs good manners etc anything positive i witness. It may be strict for others as people have their own opinions etc and always different things for different vets or behaviourists etc but I'm following his breeders methods, as they are gundogs/working dogs and they explained the earlier I train him the more likely he will calm down in the long run. As long as he gets 17-19hrs sleep a day which I think could also be a problem as he doesn't get near enough that much sleep but I do try to encourage him to so he can rest and not be over tired as I've noticed it can increase the mouthing. I'm not expecting perfection, I was wondering if it was normal for them to go backwards in such a short space of time due to a change that happened for that day. Unfortunately I didn't get the experience with my first dog but I understand all breeds are also different so I was just hoping he wasn't having any health problems like the weeing while he walked with no warning which surprised me as it was all during the times he started to go a bit back in training so I wasn't sure if this is normal behaviour or if he needs to be seen incase of an infection.

I was worried it could be something to do with his health! But thank you I will definitely get a sample to give to them as I didn't think it sounded right at all! That sounds like a good idea with getting visitors involved in the training! I will give this a go as I know it will definitely get his attention and focus more thanks for the advice!

I wouldn't do more than the 5 min per month of age, doing more puts added stress on the joints & can damage the bone being produced in the growth plates especially with a biggish dog like a Labrador.

15 mins of clicker training is the equivalent to doing a 45 minute walk without the stress on a puppy's body. I know that my pups can be tired out mentally after a clicker session & having Border Collies that are going to be working sheep full time when adult, it makes my life easier using a clicker for basic training, even teaching them left & right, stop etc with a clicker at first & later adding the words & whistle as well as walking to heel, recall, sit, down when they are very young is the grounding on which to build control & focus in them for the future

Ah I see yeah that makes sense. Thanks for the advice. I will keep with the 20mins a day then for now as may explain the behaviour also probably stressed and becoming too overwhelmed. Clicker training is great. Not sure I could have did training without it at all. Recall seems to be the hardest at the moment and was always told recall is one of the important ones so he is able to be off the lead without running away towards danger but I would never take him off the lead in public until I definitely know he is safe so there's no accidents. Thanks for the help!

Just a thought, have you still a lot of snow and ice around? Mine are bad for eating snow and ice thus making them need to wee more often and more urgently due to the cold.

We had it for one day but it didn't all go away until a couple days. The weather has been like spring now for the past few days! Very dramatic weather we get here. I was thinking maybe it is due to the cold but it was still happening when we've had warmer days of 9 degrees. It was -5 only 6 days ago! So who knows it could have affected his bladder the way the temperature has risen in such a short space of time