Recall Training

Discodog · 08-12-2010 7:00pm #1

I have been training my Lab/Collie, 8 months old, rescue & things have taken a backward step. His recall became brilliant in fact so good that he would run away & keep stopping to wait for me to call him back for a treat.

Now as his confidence has grown he has started ignoring recalls until he is ready to come back. He has a Lab nose & will leap over a wall into a field & follow a scent trail. So far he always comes back but I have noticed that he is travelling further away & taking longer to return.

So has anyone come across any good techniques to get over this stage.

TooManyDogs · 08-12-2010 9:43pm

Don't worry for a start, most dogs regress at about this age. It's teenager age for dogs and very frustrating! It does pass though (may take months

)and they remember most of their training. Go back to walking him on a lead for the moment, unless you have a long lead eg 20ft. If you have a long lead (flexi-lead works well too) then let him walk on, wait until he's distracted and then call him. If he doesnt come then gently reel him in but he gets no treat. If when you call him he makes any motion towards you then call him and encourage him like a nutjob and give him a treat when he gets to you. If he comes immediately then give him a handful. It's important to only let him off lead now when you're sure he's reliable again because he's at that annoying age when they test every single thing you ask of them.

So patience!

Discodog · 08-12-2010 9:50pm

Oh I could let him off tomorrow & he could be prefect. He learnt recall in 2 days - bright lad !. But he has also learnt that the fields are fun especially with birds to chase. We walk with the sea on one side so lots of shore to explore & that is fine. I never have any grief if he goes that way. But the other side of the path is bordered by stone walls & fields. If he jumps the wall then he will stay following scent for 20 mins & ignore any calling even for the best treat.

lrushe · 08-12-2010 9:55pm

I would agree with all of the above, you can even work on his recall at home, have treats in bowls around the house and just randomly calling him and rewarding so he understands that everytime he returns to you he gets something nice.
When you do bring him out always bring him out hungry and use something extra tasty as a treat, cut up hot dogs, chicken, cheese etc. If you have a dog or know of a dog with a good recall this can always encourage your dog to come back ie. seeing another dog returns to some lovely treats will give your dog the idea that coming back to you is more rewarding than following his nose.
At your dogs age it really is all about patience, I've heard so many people say that their dog was perfectly trained until they reach around 6 months then it all went out the window, the penny will eventually drop with some consisent training and maybe the aid of a long line leash.

Discodog · 08-12-2010 10:01pm

Ha he soon realised that the fields were fun & there was no penalty in taking his time. He adores one particular treat & will rush back to get it unless a scent trail gets in the way

lrushe · 08-12-2010 10:22pm

Discodog wrote: »

Ha he soon realised that the fields were fun & there was no penalty in taking his time. He adores one particular treat & will rush back to get it unless a scent trail gets in the way

Sounds like your dog knows what's expected of him but he is just trying to push his luck. If you have a secure location you can bring him where it is safe ie. a fenced in football field etc. you can try running the opposite direction your dog is going and then call him, most dogs are smart enough to know their owner won't leave them and they'll be stood there waiting for them to return, his 'penalty' could be that when he runs off and doesn't listen your not going to just stand there and wait for him to return. Obviously don't go out of sight, just give the impression that you're not waiting around for him to return.
Also if your guy is so eager to chase scents you could teach him to track that way you can give him a command to let him know when it is ok for him to follow a scent and when it's not. It will also show him that it's more fun when you're involved rather than running off by himself.

Whispered · 08-12-2010 11:27pm

Running away in the opposite direction works on my fella. He's also very ball driven so he comes back if you throw a ball into the air. Maybe a favourite toy would work? Or a toy he only gets when out walking?

Discodog · 09-12-2010 10:00am

The running away doesn't work because he is so confident. I have only had him for about 3 months but he knows how much he is loved & no I don't spoil him in the sense of allowing him to misbehave. It's just as if something clicked in his head that he is safe & now he feels free to take liberties. In every other aspect he is a perfect angel.

The Sweeper · 09-12-2010 10:57am

Discodog, if you don't have perfect recall with him, you really need to keep him on the lead until he grows out of this teenaged phase. You don't have to spend a fortune on a long lead; you can go to a saddlery and buy a lunge rein, which has the same clip for a lead - okay, well it's a big bigger, but if he's a lab/collie he'll be big enough that it won't be weighing him down!! You can get lunge reins that are 10m long and it's great to let the dog have that space to run about while you're walking.

Collie lab mix - all the intelligence of the collie, all the independence of the lab. Don't envy you your teenaged times!

pugsnotdrugs · 09-12-2010 12:35pm

Whispered wrote: »

Running away in the opposite direction works on my fella. He's also very ball driven so he comes back if you throw a ball into the air. Maybe a favourite toy would work? Or a toy he only gets when out walking?

+1
Treats never worked with our staffy when we were doing recall. Then we thought her to play fetch and now her recall is bulletproof when there's a tennis ball around! If I were you I'd try to use a toy instead. Good luck

Discodog · 09-12-2010 6:24pm

I have an 8 metre flexi so he is getting a good run during a walk especially playing chase with my greyhound !.

I think that he is a great mix. Very intelligent & not independent apart from when his nose hits the ground. But the best bit is his soft Lab mouth. He was playing with my neighbours kids & holding them by the hand/wrist without one complaint. You can also close your hand, like a cage, around a treat & he never attempts to bite to get it.

Where I walk is pretty safe even if he does wander & I have received conflicting opinions from trainers that I know. One view is that I should regularly let him off to not make it an issue. One trainer said that keeping him onlead would just make him more pent up to get into the field. Another has said the opposite.

I successfully trained my two sighthounds to recall so this guy can't be as difficult as they were.

As I already had two big dogs in a small house I had only planned to keep him overnight & take him to a rescue in the morning. The rescue was shut for two weeks & I am so please that they were

.

Whispered · 09-12-2010 8:15pm

He doesn't chase because he thinks we're going to leave him. He chases because it's a game. We run, he catches, then the lead is clipped back on.

He hates the car, getting back to the car after a walk is one time his recall is terrible. On occasion he has even ran away, like properly ran in the opposite direction. We've started clipping him back on further back in our walk. Does he tend to run when it's time for the walk to finish? If so maybe call him back a few times each walk so he nevr knows when he's going to be put back on the lead?

Discodog · 09-12-2010 8:20pm

No he is an incredibly happy little soul & does not try to avoid the lead or the car. Right from the start I used to put the lead on & off at random so that he got used to it.

Kieron854 · 15-12-2010 11:39pm

instead of running in other direction try calling him and as soon as he ignores you hide behind a bush or in a ditch he will panic when he eventualy turns around and dosent see you come looking for you and think twice about not returning the next time he's called

Discodog · 16-12-2010 10:04am

He's way too bright to be caught by that one. He wouldn't panic. He would just carry on sniffing & catch me up when he is ready

.

Kieron854 · 17-12-2010 1:41am

try not to give your dog to much credit if he sees you as a leader he will want to be around you he's hunting when he's out in front and he should want to hunt in front of you .if you follow him around a field calling him he will think it's a game and carry on going father away .it might take a few times but it is worth it to get him to keep an eye on you rember call once if he dosent turn either start walking in opisite direction or hide well out of the way you may be sitting there for a while so go somwhere safe but when you see him comming wait until he's near you then call him again and prais the recall. it will work eventually i promise

Discodog · 17-12-2010 2:06am

The funny thing is that when his concentration breaks from the sniffing he comes back like a rocket. The problem is that he enters a trance with all the excitement of the smells. He also loves chasing birds & flushing them out.
The little guy is young & has only been with me for a while. Considering that I found him as a stray he has made great progress. It's just these occasional backward steps that drive you nuts - but it's all part of the fun

Recall Training

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