[BobbyLight]

We do a lot of training at a local park where there is obviously tons of distractions... Dog really doesn't care about the other people, cars, bicycles etc... But if we go out there with my wife all bets are off... He brings every retrieve back to her, wont listen to a thing I say, and won't focus... Is this a puppy thing, or will this be a life long thing if we don't stop it now? Any suggestions (other than getting rid of the wife!)?

 

[Bill Davis]

How old is the dog? Have you done formal OB?

 

[BobbyLight]

How old is the dog? Have you done formal OB?

4 1/2 months... Still very much a puppy... We're about 1/2 way through Hillman's method.

 

[RaeganW]

How much do you care? Will your wife be with you at tests or hunting?

If it is going to matter, I'd treat her like any other distraction. Start with her far enough away that he's aware of her but can still respond to you and work closer as he can be successful.

You can also use her as a reward for obedience. Heel five steps? Go see the wife. Sit? Go see the wife. Recall away from the wife? Go see the wife.

 

[luvmylabs23139]

Smile! Your pup and your wife seem to have bonded, don't totally knock it. Many people would love for their dog and their spouse to adore each other like that! He's only a baby. Remember he is ignoring most distractions and returning to one of his humans.

 

[BobbyLight]

ReaganW--> She wont be out hunting, but she will likely come out to tests... we've tried having her stand far off, but if he knows she's there at all, all he can focus on is getting over to her... we may try rewarding him with getting to go over to her.

Luv--> Yes he is still a baby, and its hard to remember that sometimes... I like that they have such a close bond, but as I am the one doing 90% of the training I really need to get him driven to please me and not just her.

 

[RaeganW]

Sue Ailsby's Come Game may be of benefit.

 

[chessiedog]

How much do you care? Will your wife be with you at tests or hunting?

If it is going to matter, I'd treat her like any other distraction. Start with her far enough away that he's aware of her but can still respond to you and work closer as he can be successful.

You can also use her as a reward for obedience. Heel five steps? Go see the wife. Sit? Go see the wife. Recall away from the wife? Go see the wife.

As Reagan post, Use her as a reward. At this age I would have the pup on lead, then once the retrieve is completed reward the pup with her. Use her to you advantage. My $0.02. Good luck

 

[Corey Capozzi]

Great post. I have this same issue. When its just me and him you would think he was started. The second i ad a person he knows i.e Girlfriends or buddy, he looks like a pup with ZERO ob.

 

[BJGatley]

One other tidbit of info....Make sure you are the one and the only one who feeds your pup....Morning and night. Stay will pup and when finished, reach down and stroke your pup's ears for a couple of seconds.
My penny worth.

 

[gdgnyc]

You don't really have a problem in my opinion. An excellent way to deal with this is by using an exercise called "Elementary School Recall Exercise" described in THE CULTURE CLASH (Jean Donaldson). I used this and got the desired behavior in one session with my golden. She is highly distractable. I used my son as the human distractor. I come from a traditional training background and was quite surprised with the success of this method.

 

[BobbyLight]

That's a great idea about feeding... My wife usually feeds him in the morning and I feed him in the evening...I've been wondering if that might have something to do with it