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Alright, so I already have to use the Red Pen on our accident calendar. /sigh I had my cataract lens replacement measurement appointment today and it was at the crack of dawn. I made it to bed at 1:15 am, woo hoo, but after yesterday's excitement that still wasn't enough and I was so very tired. I laid down to rest my (still dilated) eyes and dozed off for at least an hour! Esther was sleeping when I snuck my nap in, but she woke while I was chasing my own z's and couldn't wait. She at least hit the entire pad so rather than cleaning floors I just have more laundry to do, lol. Oh my, glad that at least she aimed for the pad! She is focused on nutrition and found a ProPlan food that she liked better than what they're already eating and I'll make that switch. It's the turkey for sensitive stomachs instead of the salmon for sensitive stomachs and we're taking Esther off the puppy food - she didn't like the ProPlan Puppy at all. She did say to take it with a grain of salt as she feeds raw and so can be a bit harsh on kibbles; however, I'm willing to see if changing to a "cool" protein will take Esther's energy level down a notch. She also crunched the numbers on our treats and they're high in sugar and carbs; hence the recommendation to use the kibble for indoor training and she recommended some treats with better nutritional value for outdoor / high distraction training. I'm up for giving things a try so I'll be purchasing those along with a 20' lead. The kibble goes into a ziploc (or old Cool Whip container in my case), that gets filled with water and shaken up, then drained. It goes in the fridge for a couple hours and voila, indoor doggie treats. I tried it with the girls today outside and it was enough for Gertie to come, but not Esther, so I'll be using up what I have on hand and then using her recommended treats. It's always great to use up the kibble for indoor training! She recommended having the girls play in the smaller area we have fenced so we have better control and less competing stimuli when working to correct Esther's bullying, eliciting voluntary check-ins, and Gertie's recall. Yep, Esther's been branded a bully. I always took it for the brashness of youth, but after some observation she was deemed to have bullying behavior. This is also confirmed by studies sadly. With the instigators of most fights being younger dogs and the second dog in the home. However, I am very glad that you have sought in-person help for this early-best to nip things in the bud. Monitoring play very closely is important. 20 - 30 recalls per day for no reason for both girls. "Hi, how are you, here's a treat, bye." I need to grab a recording of Esther with dogs on YouTube or the television and if she starts getting agitated we're to turn off whatever is playing until she's calm again. Awesome! Working under threshold is very important and making recalls fun help set the foundation for success. I am to reward every "shake off" of stress. It took her 11 minutes to do her first shake off while the trainer was here. The trainer was very watchful of Esther's body language, jotting down notes of every lick, shape and size of the eyes and pupils, facial tension, etc . . . and explaining each to me and what they mean. Those shake offs to reduce stress and tension are a dog's sort of way of saying 'pheww... glad it's over!" It's always good to pay attention in what context they occur so to have a feel of how the dog experiences things. Play soft music for Esther when she's crated and don't be afraid to use the crate for negative punishment. That was confusing until she explained positive punishment is adding to their stress like a collar grab, shock, yelling, while negative punishment is taking away from their stress like a nap in a crate or removing them from playing. Yes, it gets confusing with these terms because in behavior terms, the words positive and negative are not used to denote good or bad. Positive simply means addition and negative simply means subtraction. Also, in behavior terms, the word punishment is meant to denote a behavior that decreases in frequency. When I brought Gertie down there was about 5 minutes of excitement and that's when Esther was branded a bully because Esther kept trying to entice play by biting Gertie's neck, jumping on Gerts, and pushing her out of the way. Gertie responded playfully so I'm guessing the trainer saw something I didn't. It could be that Gertie's playful behavior in reality is just her way of trying to block her. Does she look loose and wiggly? Have a play face? Does she play bow? Or do the rocking-horse gait? I think once in a video you posted, she didn't really look "into play" but more like she wanted to keep access to a toy. Younger dogs can be really a pain with older, calmer dogs. Also, could be the Esther is not really playing in the real sense of the word, but trying to block Gertie from interacting. Just assumptions, of course, you can ask her next time about what may be going on. Ziwi Peak. That's the treat name Esther went gaga over. Oh yes, I remember giving these New Zealand foods to Petra when she was sick with cancer and she went crazy for it for a week or so. It doesn't even looking like dog food or smell like it, so I can see how it can used as a treat! Thanks for the update! Happy training!

Good points! Esther used to hold #2 as long as possible to get sniffs in because she knew as soon as she did her business we were going back inside. Now I let her sniff around for a bit after she does her thing. Nights are different. When it's bed time it's bed time and the potty trips are business only. Not all treats are created equal - totally agree with Frederyk on that one. Higher value (your chicken, liver, beef) are best reserved for the tougher things to train and recall is up there on that list. It's probably the toughest for most dogs next to perhaps "leave" or "drop." They're also among the most important so they get the super duper special treats. I'm going to add, always praise him for coming. Even if it took 10 minutes, refrain from negativity. Say you're late to a friend's house and they greet you enthusiastically and was happy to see you vs arriving at a friend's house and they yell and gripe at you for being late. Which friend are you going to want to visit again? I'm about to purchase this: https://www.chewy.com/four-paws-cotton-web-training-dog/dp/52587 so Esther and Gertie can go out and we can work on recall. If they don't respond I'll slowly reel them in then praise the heck out of them when they get to me. That makes them Want to come see me. I was told to cut the handle so it doesn't catch on things and to put knots about every 3' so I have something to grip. Believe you me, rope burn from these lines Hurts and those knots are helpful in avoiding that.

Hello I think most of us can hear you, come when called is a life saving one, but also one of the most difficult, and it will get harder with more distractions (ours won't do anything is there are other dogs around), and with the teenage phase... I'm sorry I'm not reassuring :) However, one of the things that mattered the most for us was the choice of the treats : what didn't work with medium value ones, worked far better with high value treats For our boy, those would be cooked chicken breast, dry liver, or dry smelly stuff like beef larynx / small edible chews, liver paste I'm not sure it's relevant, but when you say "he won't come in when you know he's finished doing his business", it seems that you call him back just once he's done with his business, and that's why he doesn't like it. He'd rather enjoy a little outside time. Maybe letting him enjoy a little outside time may help

Hi Leslie, Puppies Love Love Love to play chase, whether the chaser or the prey. At 4 months old, personally, I would have him on leash 100% of the time outside for potty time. There is a "potty on command" lesson on the site that will help with this as well. After he's done his business you can lead him inside and then lavish him with praise and treats when he enters the house. That's the short and sweet version. I'm a member like you, I've just been around for a while and Adrienne's helped me with umpteen questions. :) For yard exploration you can put him on a long lead so you still have control while he has a bit of freedom until his recall is more reliable. I'll leave the elaboration on the details to the professional, but that's a quick look at possible solutions. I can guarantee there are several threads about recall, each with its own special brand of "I'm not listening," from the pups. The outside is just far more interesting than we humans which means we have a Lot to compete with.