Naughty Riley again!!!

[bizzylizzy]

Oh dear i'm dreading when my puppy gets to this age and ignores me. I can't offer any advice as I have not experienced it as of yet but I am reading the responses in prep for when mine decides to do the same.
Mine is only 4 months so he likes to stay very close to me, but I can already see his confidence rising so i'm sure its only a matter of time before he decides to dash off.

Good luck with it all

You have the advantage in that by reading everything on here you can (try) to prepare for it before it happens! The way it was explained to me, once they start to run off, the adrenalin gets going and they experience it like a high and keep wanting to do it again (particularly if they're chasing something), so if you can train a good recall discipline early, before that happens, then it makes things a lot easier in the future. We made it THE priority because we,re surrounded by livestock and wildlife and hunters, - at the first sign of trouble, we bought a long lead and he stayed on that until we were confident he understood the boundary. Not saying he'll never do it - Humphrey's full of surprises! - but so far, we've been lucky.

[VickiAndrews]

Well, we have been training his recall since he was tiny and it has worked.  But not any more.  I'm close to giving up on him as I don't think we're cut out to be cocker owners!

[bizzylizzy]

Don't give up! We've all been there, honestly, and tomorrow's another day! They are challenging little wotsits, but the rewards WHEN they do things right make up for it all and make you feel all the more proud of them! Count the successes, go and poor yourself a cuppa (or something stronger), let yourself have a cocker cuddle and look forward to a new day!!!
And remember, you're not on your own, there are always lots of sympathetic ears here!! ..

[Murphys Law]

Please don't give up. Your pup is just at THAT age where he is becoming deaf to everything. Many on here have been through this stage, and with the help of a glass of wine (or three) emerged relatively unscathed at the end.

As a previous poster mentioned, a ball can be such a useful tool for keeping your dog close. Millie will not move more than 10 yards away from me if she knows that I have a ball in my pocket. In fact, it can be awkward at times when I want to practice recall or the stop whistle because she will not move any distance away from me. It is only when I haven't got a ball that I have problems.

[Londongirl]

When Herny was 10 months old, I would have happily put him out for the bin men to take if there wasn't a law against it. It's not you, it's him. And every other cocker that's 10 months old. I was just the same as you, we had perfect recall, everything was going swimmingly, and then he hit 'that age'. Just like everything else in life, it passes.

[VickiAndrews]

Thanks again.  I have to say that I took an aspirin and went to bed for two hours while my husband dealt with Riley.  Unfortunately he takes no notice of the ball on his walks!  I'm going to go back to square one with the training.  Otherwise, I shall certainly befriend the bin men!  Thank goodness it's nearly g and t time!

[bizzylizzy]

  that's the spirit! ('Scuse  the  pun )

[VickiAndrews]

Indeed!  Riley loves g and t coated ice cubes!

[Patp]

Have you tried taking wine on your walks?  Just start drinking when he buggers off and at some point during the walk he will return out of curiosity when you can no longer pronounce his name. 

[VickiAndrews]

That's it!  The cure to the problem!  Thanks!

[ips]

Have you tried taking wine on your walks?  Just start drinking when he buggers off and at some point during the walk he will return out of curiosity when you can no longer pronounce his name. 

I like the idea in principle, will a hip flask of scotch work in the same way ?

[VickiAndrews]

Maybe!

[Maisiesmum]

Nothing to add either except you're not alone. Maisie is also 10 months and turned into a whirling dervish on the lead. Still love her to bits though