I can't control him!!! :(

[Oliver21508]

 

Ollie's hit his teenage phase. For the past few days, he has been terrible off lead. He's dropped his recall like a hat, and he just ignores me completely off lead. And then when I can't catch him, he barks in my face and just laughs at me and takes the mickey. Today, we only walked for about 2 minutes with him ignoring my calls, and then I had to catch him to put him back on lead and walk home. We are having his castrated, I don't care what my parents say, he's getting done, and he's not going off lead until he is done. I can't risk him running towards a road and him ignoring me. It's too dangerous. I don't mind him wandering around the park, sniffing and saying hello to dogs, but when he ignores me, it really gets on my nerves. And we are finding him difficult in the house too. He barks at the pigeons all the time, and he barks at us then too when we can't catch him from the garden. We have to chase him around the garden and then corner him to be able to catch him, and unfortunately, it's getting harder for us to catch him. He's also starting proper biting, not mouthing like when he was little. If you don't give him something, or do something that he wants, he grabs your arm, leg, hand and bites. He doesn't draw blood, and it's not aggressive, but it still leaves bite marks on your skin and really hurts. Unfortunately, I've been way too soft with him in his life, and let him get away with murder, and now we are having trouble. If anyone has any advice, I'd be very grateful.

[Magic Star]

Oh dear Laura, they all go through this, your not alone, don't despair, with some consistent behaviour from you it will pass and he will listen    I am no dog trainer Laura, and I don't often preach to others on how to do things, but one thing I will say is don't chase him or corner him, this is probably the worst thing you can do!   He is loving the fact you are chasing him and knows at this point you have lost control, go right back to basics with him, use high reward treats and when he goes off on one, call him, if he don't come, just start walking slowly away (obviousley keeping your eye on what he is doing if you are in the open) you will find probably 8/10 times he will follow you after a while.  The cornering him, will make him scared and frightened, dogs do not like this, they find it intimidating and that maybe why he is starting to grab you.   Re walking him on the lead, I feel if you have lost control to this point then that is the most sensible thing to do until you have sorted out his recall, go back to using the long line, then build up by letting it go and trail, I certainly would not take any chances with a young teenage dog who has forgot his recall near busy roads, it really is far too risky IMO. 

Laura you will get there with him, you will need the patience of a saint, but don't give up on him, you have come this far, you and Ollie can do this, you have both proved that already

Best of luck

[Nicola]

I agree with what Emma has said about chasing Ollie and cornering him but one other point - don't expect castration to 'cure' this behaviour. It's not a miracle cure for poor recall, ignoring you, barking etc. The only way to ensure that your dog has reliable recall is to train them and be consistent about it. Apart from anything else it can take up to 6 months after castration for the testosterone to leave a dog's body but even then it's not a fix for training issues. Be patient, stick at the training, put him back on the long line if you have to and try to stay positive, he'll pick up on any frustration you're feeling

[Cob-Web]

Poor you, Laura - you have not been soft - he is a perfectly normal, if very frustrating, young dog    I used to sob with frustration when Molo was a similar age - after a couple of scary incidents, I decided a long line was the only way of training him, and it took a very long time, but was well worth it 

We are having his castrated, I don't care what my parents say, he's getting done, and he's not going off lead until he is done. I can't risk him running towards a road and him ignoring me. It's too dangerous.

Castration won't cure this, so try not to make any decision while you are frustrated and at the end of your tether; wait until he comes out of his teenage phase before you decide    Use the money you would have spent on castration to rent a secure field/sand school/paddock or even a tennis court for a couple of hours a week to give you some space to let Ollie run free and rebuild your confidence - it will help with his training and maintain your bond with him.

It WILL get better -remember, more dogs are given up at this age than at any other because so many people find it too much to deal with - I know you can do this.......

[JaspersMum]

Sorry to hear that Ollie testing your confidence again.

Just repeat of what the others have said, Louie was castrated when he was 18 months old and it certainly never helped his recall. If anything he became fearful of other dogs and we've had to work over the last 12 months to try to prevent him snapping at other dogs because of this.  Castration can just bring other problems....

Hope you can work through these difficult months and it'll get better 

[Jeanette]

Where do you walk Ollie Laura, is it the same place all the time?

[barb]

Looks like a lot of good advice here, they all try it on when they think they can get away with it!
Hang on in there Laura, you're doing a great job!

[Oliver21508]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. We walk in the same park every day. There is no where else to walk your dog off lead. We have laid down some rules in the house, he's not allowed in the garden without a lead on and with someone, so he stops the habit of barking at pigeons and gets rid of the chasing and cornering thing, he's only on long line at the park, and if he bites etc, then he is put into another room and isolated for a short time.

We'll have a look at castration again, and look at pros and cons when we have a clear head.

[louis mum]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. We walk in the same park every day. There is no where else to walk your dog off lead. We have laid down some rules in the house, he's not allowed in the garden without a lead on and with someone, so he stops the habit of barking at pigeons and gets rid of the chasing and cornering thing, he's only on long line at the park, and if he bites etc, then he is put into another room and isolated for a short time.

We'll have a look at castration again, and look at pros and cons when we have a clear head.

How do you get him into another room Laura? I only ask because is he in a hyper state when he is mouthing? If he is I would have thought it would be a bit risky physically moving him, if you know what I mean. Is he getting a response to the mouthing hence him continuing to do it? We taught Alf to 'get us a toy' when he got hyper and we anticipated him mouthing, so now he automatically gets a toy so his mouth is occupied at those times. My last boy was castrated and wandered worse than Alfie ever has so I defo wouldnt rely on that as a cure. Good luck with him, you have worked hard so you know you can get through this phase.

[Jeanette]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. We walk in the same park every day. There is no where else to walk your dog off lead. We have laid down some rules in the house, he's not allowed in the garden without a lead on and with someone, so he stops the habit of barking at pigeons and gets rid of the chasing and cornering thing, he's only on long line at the park, and if he bites etc, then he is put into another room and isolated for a short time.

We'll have a look at castration again, and look at pros and cons when we have a clear head.

Is there nowhere else you can walk Laura to break it up for Ollie even if its an on lead walk somewhere, dogs get bored too which might account for his behaviour off lead and why he isn't keeping his attention on you.    Just walking somewhere different can be mentally stimulating.    A bored dog will look for something else to keep him entertained, not saying this is the case here but walking in the same place day in day out might be worth looking at to account for this behaviour.   

[Oliver21508]

It's the only place off lead you can go unless you get a car to drive somewhere. On lead, there are loads of streets to walk down, but that's about it. We are going to walk him onlead for longer than he would otherwise to make up for him not being off lead but he will still go on a long line daily.

He does into a hyper move when he's biting, so maybe it's better if we move.

[JaspersMum]

Do you have a garden Laura, read about these slow exercises over poles on the ground that make them stop and think about what they are doing, really tires them without doing much.  Part of T touch.  I'll try and find some links later if no one else gives one sooner.

[Jeanette]

It's the only place off lead you can go unless you get a car to drive somewhere. On lead, there are loads of streets to walk down, but that's about it. We are going to walk him onlead for longer than he would otherwise to make up for him not being off lead but he will still go on a long line daily.

He does into a hyper move when he's biting, so maybe it's better if we move.

It was just a thought     Good luck with the long line.   

When at home now then, is he not going to be able to go out in the garden without a lead at all.     

[Oliver21508]

We have attached a long line to a tree in the garden, and he is going out there for short breaks during the day from the house. He has shade, water, blanket, toys etc, and he gets to wander around nearly the whole garden, and our garden is fairly big.

Thanks JaspersMum, that'll be great.

When I retrain him on recall, will he still ignore me or is it just training that will fix this? Or will he have to stay on lead until he comes out of teenage phase?

[Jeanette]

We have attached a long line to a tree in the garden, and he is going out there for short breaks during the day from the house. He has shade, water, blanket, toys etc, and he gets to wander around nearly the whole garden, and our garden is fairly big.

Why the lead then if he has access to the whole garden?