# Mischiveous poo



## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

Hello everybody, I Have been reading posts daily for the last 2 months and a half but finally today I am posting for the first time.

Our girl, Peanut, has just turned 5 months old this week...she is a very well behaved poo (although sometimes a very naughty poo, too)eep:

We are still fighting with potty training, as she doesnt seem to understand that going outside is not just a mere physical exercise... But we are not faced by it and we know that it is a matter of time and perseverance. This week we have started telling her off when we have seen her in the "act"...we realised that we had never told her off so for her it was just normal to do it at home.

On another note, I have a question for you, is it just that we have a particularly mischiveous poo, or is yours also stubborn and tricky? Let me explain: although she is good at recall, in the last month she is becoming more aloof :whatever: she will come back when she wants too, or not close enough to us. We offer her high quality treats, toys, excited voices....but nothing. This happens at home too, you can see very well that she understands the command but she cannot be bothered to come. She does it for the simple pleasure of not doing it. I can read her little brain saying..."yes, I know you want me to go. yes, I know what 'come here' means...and...naahh, I am not going next to you because I cannot be bothered".

We work constantly on her recall and other commands and she learns them at the speed of lighting, but perhaps being a clever girl is a disadvantage as she has a strong mind of her own and likes using her brain too much rather than just obbeying blindly.

Needless to say, in many occasions she has played the "come and catch me" game, and no treat, ignoring, toy luring, or any other trick has made her change her mind. She wants to decide when, and to take her own decisions.

Is our poo particularly stubborn and with a strong mind of her own or do you have the same daily battles with yours?

Other than that she is the sweetest dog you can meet. So much fun that the day is not long enough to sing her praises (proud mummy)

I will send some pictures of the culprit in another post as the ipad doesnt allow me to do it


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

I love the name peanut and she sounds like my kind of dog. Cockapoos are way to smart, in my opinion, to blindly follow obedience. Once a "trick" is learned it is an insult to them to have her perform it for no good reason. I'd make sit mean please, come be only for emergencies and when required and I'd up the training have her to learn things for fun, like hide and seek etc...

I talk to Rufus as I would a person. I'll say "stay right there please so I can put your lead on while we cross this busy road", rather than stay. I'll say "please lie down so I can sort out the weird noise the car is making with my mechanic". We only use come when we really need or want him to come. most of all keep it all fun!


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Sounds pretty normal to me! Don't recall when you think she is likely to ignore you as it is teaching her to do just that. Have very high value treats and call her to you o few times and treat during the walk, don't reach for her collar, hold the treat close to your leg (or even slightly behind) and get her to come right up close to get it, touch her collar while treating, after a while start holding her collar to treat. You could try a long line, I used one for a while when Dudley was younger, he is still not perfect and there are places I don't know so well where I still would n't let him off lead as I know unfortunately I don't have 100%
Control of him. You could try whistle training too.


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

She sounds like a pretty standard cockapoo to me! I have heard it said before that cockapoos are too intelligent for their own good, or ours! Bonnie has done all those things. The only thing that guarantees she will come to me at the end of a walk is fried ( then frozen) chicken livers in my pocket. Trouble is every dog on the park can smell them too!


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Ah so the lovely little peanut is finding her independence!! It may get worse before it gets better - but with persistence & persiverance she will get better.
Have you tried recalling her to a whistle with a real tasty treat on offer (cheese?)
You can post pics on iPad, mine are usually upside down! 
Click on the paperclip symbol, choose photo, upload, when it's uploaded, close window - then submit the post.
If you can't see the paperclip symbol, click "go advanced" which is the grey button box just below where we type.
If that works and you understand my instructions ...... I will be amazed!!! X


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

As will I 

Peanut sounds like Poppy.....maybe they rebel against the 'p'?! Good luck, it will get better....promise.


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Mazzapoo said:


> As will I
> 
> Peanut sounds like Poppy.....maybe they rebel against the 'p'?! Good luck, it will get better....promise.


Haha we shall see if any peanut pictures emerge from my step by step idiots guide!
(I'm the idiot....... Yes I know you agree to that too!!)


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

D'you know I _love_ Friday night Cockapoo World!!!!!!!


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

In fact I just actually spluttered into my wine


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Mazzapoo said:


> In fact I just actually spluttered into my wine


Niicceee! You can't beat a classy bird! X
You can take them any where,
Just not back again!!


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## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

Thanks everybody for the answers, it is good not to feel alone. Sorry I haven't replied earlier but I have had a few crazy weeks.

So, Peanut is still playing clever but with recall I noticed yesterday that when she is tired she is much better than when she is fresh. She was ignoring me in the park yesterday foe the first hour, and then she wouldn't leave my shadow. Well, she is only five and a half months old...so she was tired.

The good news is that she has finally understood that going out of the house has a purpose other than exercise. Hoooraaaay basically we only had to tell her off twice whilst caught in the act for her to understand. Poor girl, she had never been told off, so she thought it was perfectly normal to use the kitchen floor as her toilet...now she has a few lapses but she is good.

Now to items are in my head:
When to spade her
When to cut her curls (no matts yet!!)

I can only add one photo at a time. Oops


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

She looks adorable in her equafleece


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## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

A mug shot...


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

If you want to end the not coming when called game you must lose her at least once, maybe a few times. Go to a safe wooded area, wait until she is not looking and hide behind a tree. Stay there until she panics and either comes to find you or runs the other way. Then no big deal, just keep walking. Just as you had to teach her that you don't like her using the inside as a toilet you have to let her know (even if it is not true) that you could not care less if she is lost. She will always keep an eye on you after that and come when called.  Cruel yes, but saves hours of recall misery later.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Peanut is beeeaaauuutttiiifffuuuuulllll


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## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

She is a cute little thing. Father was a toy so she is not big.

So, regarding the losing her, what do I do if she runs away??? Shouldn't I call her then??

Can you elaborate please?

Thanks a lot!!


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

If she runs away then she may already be too old for this exercise. All baby mammals know that for safety they must stay close to their protectors. Dogs are pack animals, they want to stay with you. The leader of the pack decides where to go. Your dog is assuming she is the leader because you always follow her, call her, wait for her, check where she is and so on.

Pick a trail with a good path through woods and walk. When she gets ahead hide. It won't work if there are other people or dogs because she'll just follow them. Eventually she will look back to see where you are. She needs to experience fear, near panic to learn this lesson. It only needs to be repeated a few times to work. 

Don't go to high distraction parks off leash until you are sure she has "got it". The more you play the chase game the more she knows that she is the pack leader outdoors.


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## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

Thank you, thank you.

She never goes out of my sight, she is very careful and follows me and checks on me. The problem is that sometimes she will not come when called, it is not that she runs away, she will stay in the same place and carry on doing whatever she is doing. But technically speaking she might not come.

She does this especially at home. She never comes home when she is in the garden and called unless tricked. Heavily tricked.

And if I am inside the house and I call her to give her a cuddle or whatever else, she refuses to come to me. She looks and stays where she is.


Do I make sense?


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Yes perfect sense. Rufus is the same, smarter than me by a large factor. It sounds insane but I think you need to explain things to her. If you want her to come to try on a new outfit then you go to her. Same for toenail clipping, grooming, putting her leash on and showing off her obedience to friends. Call her only for reasons that make sense to her and use real words. "I just dropped a slice of roast beef, come help me clean up" will usually work. She'll soon learn to trust that when you say come it means there is something in it for her. They are far too smart for blind obedience for obedience sake. I think they find it demeaning.

The exception to this is a Pavlovian response to an emergency whistle. Train for that once each day with something incredibly great, like a slice of cheese. 

Hopefully one of the really expert trainers like Marzi will come and help you out more. Rufus and I have worked out a bit of a strange dog owner relationship.


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## Peanut (Dec 1, 2013)

Wow, that's incredibly useful.thanks so much, it makes a lot of sense and it makes sense for peanut.

I will most definitely do as you say.

A million thanks


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## Abby (Feb 25, 2014)

My 4 month old pup gets like this some days. I have a house full of teenagers and this behaviour from my puppy just reminds me of more teenage attitude! It is like she looks at me and says, "You can't make me!" When she is hungry and well exercised she is as obedient as can be but especially late in the day when she knows bedtime is coming and she gets a burst of energy while the family is winding down, puppy goes wild and will not come for anything, sometimes even for treats and toys she loves. I have taken to leaving her leash on her so I can at least catch her when she hides under the hardest to reach part of the couch and refuses to come. If she comes without too much coaxing or need for the leash she gets treats and cuddles and ear rubs. If I have to force her to come to me she just gets tucked into bed with no loving fuss made over her first.

I remember from other dogs I have raised that 4-8 or 10 months is challenging for this very reason. It will get better!


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