Advice re a dog that bolts when on walks :(

[carinatauk]

Some really good advice. Whistles are really good and if used effectively you can get a dog to do almost anything, once trained. I can offer some advise below but most of it may have been mentioned.

I have only one bh cocker now, due to work and all. She prefers to react to voice commands, as I am not shooting at the moment it's not an issue.

It took the best part of 6 months to train her. I started to train her in the back garden, and spent a lot of time on recall, stay and retrieval. When she was good and did what was asked she got a treat, something special like a half of a cocktail sausage; if not, no treat and back to the start. They soon catch on.

Retrieval with a dog is fairly straight forward for a normal situation. Start with short distances, too long and they have a short attention span and "forget" [which is a spaniel trait]. Try it with a favourite toy, progress to balls and dummies if you want to later. Even better do it in a confined area, less chance to be distracted. Oh and start training on your own and if you and your partner do walk separately make sure you speak the same language. One other bit of advice is don't both of you direct the dog when your out together, it will confuse the poor thing. And build that relationship with him.

Recall and retrieval training are good done separately but at the same, if that makes sense.

Outside the confined space, another good tool is a long lead when you take her out. He will know how far you will allow him to venture.

The others were very correct, he is still young. If I understand his age to be 11 months, he will be venturing into adolescence and he will be head strong.

You have a mix of two hunting dogs, stimulus and exercise are basic absolutes. Training is something he will enjoy and keep him active, just do it in short sessions but regularly.

Contrary to some people's views, cockapoos are lovely and a tad mad. You seem to already have a good understanding of what's needed. Maybe contact a Kennel Club training class, that will help with the basics. If you want to go further, there are some very good trainers out there, but I am not sure of anyone in your area.

After all that, I went out tonight and the dog tore after a cat. For a dog that will stick to you like glue, sit at 50m and stay on command, wait at a road curbside, it can be very frustrating, just means some more training lol. It can make you cry but overall it's so rewarding for both parties.

Hope that helped, and I haven't confused the situation

[Boosted LS1]

You can't overcome those primary drives.

[R E S T E C P]

Phunk said:

We need to keep on with the training make coming back to us the most exciting thing in the world for her

Just a thought... Sometimes being exciting is exhausting (and if you use props like food/toys, she'll know when you don't have them). Being "interesting" is enough.

My favourite technique which has so far worked on all my dogs is to walk them along a path and the instant their nose passes my leg I turn and walk quickly in the other direction without looking back (the faster you walk the more interesting you make that direction look!) When they eventually catch up with you, do it again.
The effect is a bit like a bouncy ball... At first they'll wander off a bit before realising they're going the wrong way, but then they start getting suspicious and on each turn they'll realise sooner. Eventually they walk to a perfect heel with eyes firmly planted on you.

IMO it creates a relationship where you lead the walk and they follow. Even when they're not heeling it's a reminder that they need to keep an eye on you.

I'm not saying it'll work perfectly with every dog, but was great with my Collie/Lab/GSD. They actually heel a lot better off-lead than on-lead, because when the lead is on they know I can't go anywhere

[Phunk]

R E S T E C P said:

Phunk said:

We need to keep on with the training make coming back to us the most exciting thing in the world for her

Just a thought... Sometimes being exciting is exhausting (and if you use props like food/toys, she'll know when you don't have them). Being "interesting" is enough.

My favourite technique which has so far worked on all my dogs is to walk them along a path and the instant their nose passes my leg I turn and walk quickly in the other direction without looking back (the faster you walk the more interesting you make that direction look!) When they eventually catch up with you, do it again.
The effect is a bit like a bouncy ball... At first they'll wander off a bit before realising they're going the wrong way, but then they start getting suspicious and on each turn they'll realise sooner. Eventually they walk to a perfect heel with eyes firmly planted on you.

IMO it creates a relationship where you lead the walk and they follow. Even when they're not heeling it's a reminder that they need to keep an eye on you.

I'm not saying it'll work perfectly with every dog, but was great with my Collie/Lab/GSD. They actually heel a lot better off-lead than on-lead, because when the lead is on they know I can't go anywhere

Cheers, makes sense!

Will give it a bash!

[AdiT]

When you first took him out it was a big, scary world and he stuck close to you. Now he's getting confident and not looking for reassurance and unless something really scary happens he'll forget about you when he's doing something interesting (chasing squirrels,etc). Also when you go looking for him, he's learning that if he runs off doing his own thing, it's OK because you'll find him (classic example of dog learning something we had no intention of teaching). Instead and in a similar vein to this...

R E S T E C P said:

...IMO it creates a relationship where you lead the walk and they follow. Even when they're not heeling it's a reminder that they need to keep an eye on you.

...The trick is to make it the dogs job to know where you are. So when doing your normal recall, try hiding (behind bushes etc, but so you can see him) before calling. He'll initially panic and then you step into sight. Extend how long you hide and gradually he'll learn it's better to keep an eye on you. With luck that'll carry over into when he's "bolting".
Most of all though, stick with it. A lot of owners panic and give up on letting their "teenageer" off the lead. Most pups seem to go through this stage and patience will pay off. Sooner or later they learn that you are interesting and that is just another dog/squirrel/leaf-on-the-wind.