Oh..........sorry Ramble, was going to PM you my location but it's not letting me, even though I've made 20 posts

You are doing really well with her it just needs tweaking. My Flat Coat pup with terrible recall...well, when you can PM I will tell you a story that will make you feel lots better!

I think you have been given some good advice. Your Flatcoat sounds a lot like my Lab, who is almost 6 now, when he was younger. Except mine is still mad as a hatter years on.

I do find that they somewhat grow out of it when they are older. The more you expose them and have them out and about in distracting situations, the better they become. But I would trust few dogs in a very busy park or beach situation for example, including mine. I would not dare let him off in a very busy park. For a dog that adores people and is a manic food scavenger, there would be FAR too many tempations. So don't think that there is a problem with your dog because of that...few dogs would behave like angels in that situation, young or old.

Hi
Can really relate to your problems with very friendly dog. I have a gsd who I am convinced is a retriever in disguise because her sole mission in life seems to be to say hello to everyone and to play with every dog. She is a real foodie but ignores even the best treat when other dogs are around. Would be very interested in any advice.

Oh your post has brought back soooooooo many memories when this monster was a puppy.




He used to run at this speed up to me when I used to recall him for a game - so toys can and do work !




He HAD to say hello to everyone, horses, dogs, people, cows you name it - he had to say hello with the tail wagging away a million miles a minute.

This DOES improve with age though, your girl is only a baby still Ramble has given you some great advice there.

I've got a detailed solution for the retrieve if you like. I was taught this method oringally for getting the him to pick up a dumbbell. It's called back chaining. But I can go into that at a later date if you like.

She might get more interested in toys etc if you withdraw several of them and only play fetch once or twice, ending it on YOUR terms. My goldie is like this, we had many session when he was 6 months or so of 'Jake hold !' (I use hold instead of fetch as a command) Jake would look at me 'Get it yourself you lazy ****' and trot off in the other direction ! He took a bit of convincing he was a retriever, but he to now loves retrieving his ball and having a good game.

Have to say it was a bit of a shock as my previous 2 dogs loved retrieving a ball and did not have a problem with recall. We have been working on the ball game and sometimes she chases it keenly and sometimes - even rarer! - she rushes back with it. I have been keeping her away from other dogs and encouraging her to play with me and there is definitely an improvement in her interaction with me but put her near a dog that is running around and it all goes out the window.

Willow - your Flatcoat is just gorgeous

Everything is fine if I spot the other dog/person before she does - I call/whistle for her and she's back to me within seconds. I give her the treat while holding her collar and re-attach the lead until we're alone again. It's if she sees them first when the trouble starts .

I think I do need to start alternating her toys, as currently she has all of them at all times. I took a ball out with us on our walk the other day and threw it into the stream for her to fetch it. The first couple of times were fine, but then she got bored and I ended up going into the water to fetch it as she'd completely lost interest!

I call it the 'point of no return'......spotting the people/dog/bike/jogger/discarded chip packet, before they do!!!!! : )
Hello Willow!

I had recall problems with my Pointer when he spotted other dogs and people, he is another friendly soul.

As you say I found it most helpful to get him to come back before he actually noticed the exciting thing, which meant I had to be super alert. I also found it a good idea to watch him very carefully. There is a a split second when they are making up their mind what to do, my Pointer would stop, stare, ears go up and then you would see his muscles tense and get ready to propel him forward at warp factor. If I got in with a 'No' just at that moment then I stood a chance, split second later and pow! Gone!

He wasn't interested in toys, food, anything but birds, dogs and people.

It came together all of a sudden, I found the 'close' command really useful to train. I used to do lots of heelwork off lead, zig zags, changes of direction, round and round the goalposts in the local park, anything to get him concentrating on me more.

I also (still, although he is 8 now) call him back at random times, put his lead on and off again and give him a fuss and a cuddle.

It is worrying when they jump up. Do you all think that setting up a 'plant' in the field might work, someone who will push him down gently but firmly and say 'NO', not done this myself but was wondering if it might help. I did used to push Archer off with my knee and turn away, withdraw attention, this stopped him jumping up me, but you can't expect random strangers to know what to do and a big dog can be scary running up at full pelt.

Its interesting reading all these replies, lots of good tips here.

You described that soooooooo much better than me. That's it exactly...'the point of no return'. We are lucky in that Cosmo only behaves like this around mud..becuase this is what his very favourite thing in the whole world is and this is what he likes to do....



Perhaps we are not so lucky.......