Lab/Pointer Puppy Training

[CatManLee]

I have a Lab/Pointer cross that is about 6 months old. The puppy can sit, stay, retrieve and lay, but only indoors. Once outside the dog will not pay any attention to me. If he's not tied up or leashed, he'll take off and won't come back to me. Once I get near the dog he'll stay, just until I'm ready to grab him. What can be done to cure this or is it a stage he's going through? How and should I punish him for running off?

it just seems like if I were to punish him after I get him, he might think he's being punished for coming to me?

Please help me out someone, I have no idea what to do.

Thanks.

[Ole #1]

If you don't already have the book "Game Dog" by Richard Wolters, buy it. It's the best advice I can give you. Step by step instructions that worked great for me.

Ole

[Snag]

Get a few books or videos. Start working on the here command. You will also want a check cord and whistle.

[SportFishin']

Like Ole said get Wolters Book.

Also when he runs away from you call the come camand & haul A$$ the other direction. This will freak him out & he will want to be with you and follow.

One other word of advice is if you tie him up to the house or a tree all day? STOP!! This might be what is triggering him to run away? Think about if you were tied up all day & someone let you off you would want to go check out the world too. Granted there is a place & time for the check cord, but when at home it is all a matter of repeating commands & trust between you & the dog. This trust will build in the dogs mind & he will learn his boundries or limits with the family. I have used this on 3 of my dogs over the years & now when we leave & forget to shut the fence gate or something we will find the dogs laying on the front step waiting for us to come home.

Hope this helps & good luck!!

Chris

[BLACKJACK]

Catmanlee, you're correct, you don't want to call him to you and then punish him! It won't take him long to figure out that lesson!!! Praise him heavily every time he does come to you. At 6 months, you're a little behind the eight ball because he is going to be headstrong and energetic.

At about that age my first lab pup decided he wasn't going to come to me. I went in the house and put on my tennis shoes and then commenced to run him down. After about 20 minutes he jumped in the back of the truck, I shook him up a little, blew the whistle in his face, and told him in no uncertain terms that when I blew the whistle that he was supposed to Come! Then I put 25 foot check cord on him and we went for a long walk, every 25-50 yards I blew the Come back whistle, after a couple times of reeling him in and praising him heavily, he knew what was expected of him. Then I just let him drag the check cord, still calling him back every few minutes, heavy praise when he came back. I never had to use the check cord again, but we worked on Come a lot the next few weeks, and I never had another problem. Good luck. Patience and repitition is what you need now.

[nolte]

Best advice I can give you is this. Never, Never give a command you can't enforce. If you want him to come every time then put a check cord on him and let him run around. When you want him to come, have the cord, call his name, and if he doesn't reel him in and praise. After a few times they get the drill. After awhile, do the same thing with distractions, ie. other dogs, smells.

If your dog learns that he doesn't have to obey a command all the time he won't. He'll do it only when he wants to. Don't expect perfection now but that should be the ultimate goal. Lab puppies are easy compared to a hound puppy.

Also you are right, Don't punish him after he comes to you. Would you come to someone after they called your name and then got after you when you finally got there.

[CatManLee]

Thanks for all the advise. I'll try the longer cord. It sounds like it should work pretty well.

I don't leave him tied up all day, just when he needs to go to the bathroom. I live in town, so it's hard, because I'm worried about him getting hit by a car.

I regularly take him to the country and walk him without the leash and he listens fine, but in town it's a different story? I suppose he's distracted by other dogs and people.

Again, thanks for the info. We'll give it a try and stick with it for a while and see what happens. Wish me luck!

[Walleye Guy]

I think your dog is just overwhelmed by the smells that are outdoors. Put him outside on a long leash for half an hour before you train with him. Let him smell, sniff and whizz on anything he wants before training. He will get used to the smells and then respond better to your commands. Puppies are inquisitive and they have too many things on their minds the each time they step out the door. Give him room to get his inquisitiveness out of the way. He will be more focused once you do this. Training will be a new challenge to him and he will respond better. Better but not perfectedly. Only time will bring him up to your standards. Once he gets old enough get a training collar.

[CatManLee]

Thanks, I'm gonna try all this stuff and see how it works, I know it's just going to take time and patients. One more question. Does any one have any special tricks to stop a rambuxious puppy from chewing on the sofa? If we leave him in the living room by himself too long, he'll take the cushions off the couch and start chewing away. The funny part, if there is one, he un-zips the cushions and pulls out the stuffing? Thats right, he unzipped four cushions from the sofa! So atleast he didn't ruin them, just made a mess!