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Recall........or lack of! help!

Sorry Raven oaktree, but your comments about Willow have given me a good laugh. Clever dogs are sometimes so very good at training you aren't they?

My best input that I can offer here is, I think, that I'm not sure that you've got high enough value treats to outweigh the excitement of being able to go and have a run around. We only started having success with recall and walking to heel when we found the glory of dried black pudding.

Molly's treat of choice is the black pudding available at petaroni.co.uk and I frequently leave walks with a lot more dogs than I started with when I have a pocket full. Without a really good treat then I'm afraid being able to have a run around is just more exciting (or in Molly's case, reacting to another dog is more important).

I'm sure that Willow will calm down and consent to have some recall at some point, but I can't promise you when- just keep going with trying, but also with keeping her safe on a long lead until she's got predictably good recall. Good luck :)
 
@Goldenbear she is walked by herself in the morning,..but in the evening she is walked with my old boy who is perfectly behaved..all i have to say is come this way and he is by my feet quick as anything..while he is sat like a good boy she is busy with the zoomies ..running to me, running to my hubby, jumping on grommits head..she is a mad one thats for sure.she is also walked by a dog walker twice a week because of me working..she sometimes is walked in a pack of 6 well behaved dogs...she just lowers the tone and they all get excited and want to play..she is a bad influence apparantly .but she is very very clever and is progressing sooo well with so many things. Im sure the off lead will come..we will just keep trying and till then she is using a very long, long line. :)

@eingana..i gotta laugh or i will cry..some days the only place you will find me is rocking in the greenhouse with a bottle of jack daniels..ohhh the joys of puppyhood :) ...still she gives me funny stories to tell the shrink or the grandkids..which ever comes first..
 
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Bless you Raven Oaktree!!

I have been in tears many times with Bear. Due to frustration and the fact that he just wouldn't calm down! Especially when he was between 6-18 months old. That was a tricky 12 months! Most of the time he was an angel but if he went off on one there was no stopping him! at one point I had so many scratch and nip marks on my arms I looked like I was trying to self harm!

Cheese is Bears one! Or frankfurter sausages! I have that in my hand then 99% of the time he's mine! Unless there is dog mess around and then he would prefer to eat that than come back to me for cheese, but that's a whole other story that I will not bore you with otherwise I will be here forever!

A disgusting habit that has led to 2 emergency trips to the vets because he poisoned himself and an ongoing fear that he will never snap out of the habit despite people telling me otherwise.

I say no more otherwise I wont stop!! lol

Sophie x
 
goldenbear2013 said:
My dog Bear is 19 1/2 months old and is wonderful dog.

he has done obedience classes since he was 11 weeks old and done all of his exams and passed with flying colours. He is now onto agility which he loves and doing well at it.

However!!!!! He has decided that he no longer cares to listen to me when I want him to come back to me.

We let him off in the fields when we take him out for walks and he loves it. He bombs around quite happily and always stays in our sights, he doesnt wander off thankfully! and so far we havent lost him.

We play fetch with his tennis ball also which he loves so we mix it up for him, so it doesnt get boring.

Now when we used to call him back to us, he used to come to us quite happily with no issues. He still does this now with his tennis ball, comes back drops it by my side and waits for me to throw it again.

However, after a certain point he decides that he doesnt want to listen to me anymore and just doesnt come back when called. He will come back to me when he feels like it, not when I call him. I could have the best tasting treat in the world for him (sausage, ham, chicken etc) and he doesnt care, and he is a food orientated dog, thats how we train him.

Now I have gone back to basics and started training him from scratch and he is perfect, so then we let him off and he goes back to coming back when he feels like it. He knows the command as well which is the most annoying part!

After a certain point even playing with his ball he just holds it in his mouth and doesnt come back to me and just runs baout like a loon!

I even walk, sometimes run off in the other direction, so he will come and chase me and come back to me but he doesnt seem to care! I look a right idiot legging it across a field with no dog but I do what i must despite it not working :(

I am slightly at a loss as to what I can do really to get him to listen to me.

In every other area of his training he is brilliant. Walks to heel, brilliant at home, I have even taught him to play dead!! Everything except this!

His independant streak is growing and I'm concerned that we may lose him at some point.

I either dont let him off his lead and I end up with a dog that is hyper as he has no play time off lead, or let him off his lead and hope for the best at some point, when he feels like it, he will come back to me.

If anyone has any ideas or has had a similar experience then please help me!

Walks are becoming less enjoyable because of this and I want them to go back to how they were!!!!

HELP!

Sophie x

Ok this is a common failure issue on the owners part

Approaching stimulating areas that are more reinforcing then the rewards your providing OR

You have not reinforced the meaning of the treats in those situations were he looses interest in you.

Naturally these spots he looses interest in you he finds more reinforcing and rewarding so now you know he does this you need to leash him before he gets to these points and work on clicker training him to come when called he needs further guidance to know its wrong to bomb off otherwise he will continue to become worse.

It might take some practice do not be tempted to let him off again after one session you really need to be sure he is comming when called no matter what otherwise the environment is what is conditioning his bad habits.

Owners need to use fore sight to set up sucessfull out door training know your dogs thresh hold, know how far to before you cross his line, act before you know he is going to do something. Training is a step by step process.
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Thank you for your response.

We have incorporated leash time when in the fields, on the parts where we cant get him back for nothing, as we figured out pretty quickly the spots where we struggle with his recall.

We let him off round the areas where he likes to run about but does focus on us and comes back when called in those areas.

Overall, he has improved greatly since posting my first message back in January. He still has his moments so it is ongoing training but I can quite happily give him a solid 9 out of 10 on his recall.

Over time I'm sure he will be a 10 :)

Sophie x
 
owwww, i have that in writing now..its almost a contract hahahahahaha xxxxxxxx
 
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