HELP

[Alice]

Vaughan, PM me. We live pretty close to each other and I'm no expert but I could maybe have a look at him, fresh pair of eyes and all that? Failing that I can recommend some trainers who won't be judgemental to his breeding?

[Rascal]

Too much too soon possibly and he's shut down or too much repetitive stuff?

Ease off give him a break for a bit and then see if he gets his Mojo back....

I take it he's a Poodle Spaniel cross?

Rascal

[Judy]

Testosterone! http://www.apdt.co.uk/content/files/tra ... ts_000.pdf Keep plodding away at the basics, be tolerant he'll get there.

Just to be on the safe side check his ears for signs of infection / wax too, I know one or two dogs which suddenly went off the boil like this and were deaf from ear infections! At your boy's age I'd put my money on hormones though. The training will come back once he settles, remember your teens?

[nigelb]

I'd agree with both Judy and Rascal. Too much training and the dog becomes bored, and at his age he is becoming a stroppy teenager.

We went to the Sherborrne Castle game fair on Monday with our daughter and her 26 month old GWP Eric who was a complete embarresment from the start.
He gets very excited and is very vocal. He shreiked with excitement all the way in from the car park until he was entered for the scurry where he made a fool of himself. he was more interested in scent than retrieving the dummy, although he did his marked retrieve ok. The problem is that he is a bit of a clown who plays to a crowd if they think his antics are funny. We took the whole thing as a bit of fun, and had a good day out with a dog who was well behaved once the initial excitement was over.

The point is though, make it fun for your dog, and don't take it too seriously or get too stressed about your dog going off the boil, which will probably be down to the reasons given by Judy and Rascal.

[Cass]

Perhaps its time to stop being so nice? Discipline isn't mean or cruel - its necessary. For dogs and kids alike. At some point you need to get tough and not allow disobedience. The dog needs to learn to make positive choices and avoid negative consequences just like us humans do.

[Naj]

It all depends upon what you consider to be 'discipline'. I agree that a dog needs boundaries & the op needs to persevere with a consistent approach to training but if it is hormonal then the dog will come through it in his own time - that's the nature of hormones - regardless of how hard you might be on it. This is well documented & handlers often think they have 'fixed' something with a bit of 'pressure' when in reality the dog has simply passed through one of its critical periods of development. That same (frequently inappropriately applied) pressure can also lead to a breakdown in the relationship between handler & dogs which may take longer to fix than the original problem.

Naj

[trekmoor]

That same (frequently inappropriately applied) pressure can also lead to a breakdown in the relationship between handler & dogs which may take longer to fix than the original problem.

Naj

There is a lot of truth in that . I think I inadvertently did exactly that to my Brittany, Libby. She didn't get a "hammering" but even my too angry voice tone caused her to throw on her "OFF" switch and caused her to run back to my car . I have no proof of this being the cause but I cannot think of anything else. Only now is she getting over her worries possibly due to me now being more careful how and when I speak roughly to her and operating on a "hands off" policy. I've trained several dogs I rate as being more sensitive than she is but only she has ever behaved following a vocal correction by running back to my car.

Wullie

[Hepe]

And hey ho, here comes my usual reply, you sure you didn't bore your clever dog stiff? Try being clever and make your training fresh and interesting. When you do that you at the same time withouth thinking about it increase the obedience withouth your dog noticing much.


Helene

[mazzer]

Hi Have to agree with Helene - boring is the root of all evil - mix it up - keep him interested - oh and show him whoes boss!!!Good luck