What to Do When Your Retriever Becomes a Disobedient Dog

"What do I do when my retriever stops being as obedient as it used to be? How do I get my dog to listen to me?"

If you are asking these questions, then this is for you. A lot of people run into this big problem. They've been putting in work training their dog.

The dog has been doing well, and all of a sudden the dog's behavior changes. The dog is no longer being obedient.

This is so frustrating! Honestly, this blindsides a lot of people and tempts them to give up. 

No need to worry. There is a solution!

What do you do? How can you move forward and end up with the retriever you've been dreaming of and working towards? First, understand why it happening, and then, respond accordingly. Here are two reasons this occurs and what you can do about it.

• Your puppy has reached an age barrier.

When you're working with a puppy, it will often hit a stage, usually around 6 months of age, where it starts to branch out and explore new things even if that means not obeying. This is a very natural stage. Your puppy wants to learn all it can by exploring different sights, sounds, and smells. 

Patience is key here. When this happens, don’t get frustrated. Instead, realize that this is a part of the process and use it to your advantage. You can either stop the training session there or wait until you have your pup’s attention again to move forward.

A tool that you can use to prevent this from happening is the slip lead or check cord. If your pup starts to wander off, these tools will give you the option to prevent it from happening.

• You've been so focused on new skills that previously learned skills are slipping a little. 

If you have been working on obedience for a while and it's time to introduce a new skill like marking, then the tendency is to be thinking solely on the new thing that you're introducing to your dog. 

You may almost forget about or neglect some of the obedience you've already done, like heelwork and extended place. Even some steadiness oftentimes gets neglected because again, the big focus point is the new thing that you're working on with your dog.

It can be very easy just to forget about small details, and it might not seem like a big deal if your dog is starting to heel a little in front or if your dog is not sitting on the first command occasionally. 

In your mind, you're likely thinking about the new thing that you're working on. However, this is one of the most missed opportunities in all of retriever training.

Take advantage of every opportunity to fully solidify and work on all the foundation that you've built as you move forward.

As you train your dog on new skills, never forget to pay attention to the details and focus on training the basics for a lifetime. Stop and make sure that your dog complies completely every single time with the basics that you know your dog understands. This is especially important as you move into new skill sets and introduce new things like marking.

This plays out in two ways. First, start each of your training sessions with obedience and work on obedience throughout and at the end of your training sessions as well. 

Additionally, reinforce obedience as you're training. If your dog isn't heeling properly, stop, adjust, and continue when your dog is in the proper heel position. 

If you will do that, you will fully solidify all the work you've already done on the foundation. This directly affects how your dog will be in the field. Consistently teach your dog the obedience foundation. This will help you be successful as you continue to move forward with training and hunting. 

If you neglect to do that, you're going to have some trouble controlling your dog. You will end up having to take big steps back and spend time working solely on obedience. 

Instead of doing that, just correct it as you go. Make sure that your dog complies every time. 

Again, the best thing you can do to set you and your dog up for success is to pay attention to the details. As soon as your dog starts to get out of line, make the correction. Have your dog repeat it properly.

BuildFromHere,

Josh Parvin

P.S. If you want your training sessions pre-planned to include the right amount of obedience training, check out 52 Plus.