Why, oh why, oh why?

[Kimberley]

I wouldn't mess about with liver cake anymore I broke a blender and I thought it was messy especially if you don't like liver yourself, I really hate handling the stuff..

[bluegirl]

My pups are pretty good at recall, if I shout "here" they just come back, but I know that Phoebe is more adventurous than her brother and I have found that where I walk also has an impact on how good their recall is.
Phoebe loves scenting and if we go into the woods then she very quickly picks up on a scent and is more likely to stray further. If I go over the open fields but stick to the dirt paths there are less things for her to sniff at and she stays much closer.
Could you try different walks?
I don't use treats because I always wonder if I didn't have them would they still come back, so I usually shout them back many times on the walk and give lots of praise as a reward.

[Saffie]

I think that may be one of the problems. On a morning we walk near work as Saffie comes to work with me (we have the whole park to ourselves). There is a park over the road so we have the playing fields that are boarded on all sides by busy roads but have railings around, there are various gates that are left open.

I have tried altering which way I walk round the park and walking back on ourselves so she doesn't get use to a set walk. She doesn't really stick close by but will zoom off to where she stopped sniffing the previous walk or to the places she knows are good sniffing spots. We also walk in the park at lunchtimes, when it is full of people and children and other dogs.

I don't think I stand a chance of getting her back without treats but eventually will cut down on the treats to every other time she comes back and then every now and again to make her think, oh this time I might get the treat and come back.

She did start off like a rocket at recall at 16 weeks but it has slowly developed into I can still see you so it's ok if I wonder off and sniff...

I have tried hiding from her but she will track me down, I have tried being stern with her (but she thought it was a game). What is next?

[Saffie]

If I wanted to do Tuna Bread but don't have a microwave, how long should I put it in the oven for and at what temperature?

[Emmylou]

Cosby was 2 year old before we could let him off the lead and I know how frustrating it can be.  We tried everything, training clasees, different treats of every shape and size, waving our arms in the air, making high pitched funny noises, running in the other direction - nothing seemed to work.  He took off in a straight line at great speed and if he didn't want to come back he didn't.  He would do the look thing and then continue running away.  He would also be straight over to every dog and person, even if they were miles away on the horizon!  He even had dog's that tried to attack him, but that wouldn't stop him, he'd still run back for more.

It was really stressful and you're right, they don't get as much excersise on the lead.  However, if your dog is not good at recall don't let it off the lead just because you think you should.  The main factor is the dog's safety.  There was more than one incident when we thought we were getting somewhere with Cosby and then he would take off and we thought we'd lost him.  There was even one incident when he got distracted and rang all the way home - over 3 miles away and across the roads!  Oh and not to mention the time he ran off and got stuck in the River!!

All I would say is, I know how frustrating it is, but keep at it.  Use a training lead to practise when you're out and slowly she might get the hang of it.  Don't be tempted to left her off in areas which she could run away and if you are going to let her off to practice go to a area that is fenced in.  Keep practising with other commands and general obedience and the more she starts to take notice of you, the more she is likely to listen to you when you're out.  As for excersise, while you are still training perhaps you could take her our for more walks on the lead so she is still tiring herself out.  Or maybe go running with her, or play games in the garden.

I'm no expert and I don't know much about dog training, but I do know how stressful it can be.  I hope she gets the hang of it soon

Emma

[Saffie]

oh no not another year of 'the look'!!! She gets three walks a day so it isn't really possible to do any more walks with her. I would never let her off if I knew she could get through the gate or herself into any harm. We have had the park to ourselves early in the morning for many months but now the lighter mornings means people are out and about walking their dogs in the park at the same time.

I will try the home cooked treats and see how long they have her coming back for and will keep at it.

Another questions regarding Liver Cake, what is the best type of liver to use? Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Hamster?

[Joules]

Another questions regarding Liver Cake, what is the best type of liver to use? Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Hamster?

I think any sort of liver will do - the smellier the better.  I have done it with lamb and chicken liver but I am sure Ox or pig would be fine too - I think someone on here even got kidney by mistake and that also worked.  Basically it is just something with a really strong stinky flavour that dogs love.  I also add garlic to mine, then cut into little cubes and freeze in small bags.  Re cooking the tuna bread - probably cook it the same as per livercake.  When I do mine, I cook in the microwave and then cut it up and crisp up in the oven - it keeps longer and doesn't get so mushy in your pocket.  So you could probably cook it in the oven until is is a firm cake like texture and then cut it up and store or crisp up as I do. 
Hope it does the trick!   

If you have to dress up as a leaf, I would have to dress up as a steamy pile of horse poop as Coco thinks that is much more interesting than me 

[Saffie]

I will draw the line at dressing as pooh. Anyway Saffie prefers rabbit pooh! 

[*jean*]

how about taking her somewhere different and stopping using that park for the forseeable future,
 she will have no knowledge of the territory and may stick closer to you. take a tennis ball or two and throw it for her.
try areas where it is quieter and you wont have so many distractions.
 keep putting her back on the lead for short times and then let her off again so she doesn't associate lead with end of walk.
 try clicker training..
 enrol in KC obedience classes.( if you havent already)
maybe get a friend to go with you with a stooge dog who has a reliable recall. she may stick with it.
buy a different whistle if she is already ignoring the first one with a different pitch she has learnt she can ignore the other sound.
 maybe  use her food allowance as treats when she is out so she has to earn them.

good luck.. try to keep away from rabbit infested areas as that is expecting too much of her at this stage.. the chase is rewarding in itself. you wont stand a chance.

[Emmylou]

maybe get a friend to go with you with a stooge dog who has a reliable recall. she may stick with it.

Oh yes, good idea.  I forgot to say that the one and only way we could get Cosby back was if he was playing with friends (his friends not mine) and he would mimic them.  So if we were out with dogs that we knew were good at recall, we could let him off the lead, because as soon as we called them, he would follow.

It's worth a try if you know a reliable dog, and one which your dog likes - import as could have the opposite effect if they don't get along

[Saffie]

There isnt a great deal of choice for her morning and lunch time walk as it has to be close to work and I have tried this previously. She is fantastic when we start at new places, she will walk to heel off lead but as soon as we start to walk back along the same route she can smell which way she has come and it is turbo boosters off after her scent. I might try another whistle as when I first started on it she was fantastic. She will never hear the clicker from 500 metres away  

Have even tried the tennis ball thing, as I thought if she wanted to play fetch then she would have to come back to me to throw the ball again for her, however after having to try and teach her to fetch, she much prefers to lie down and shave the tennis ball of the fluff and not give it back.

I walk her at 6.45 - 7.30 in the morning so no-one is going to want to join the mad man in the park!!! Lunch times are a bit better but she doesnt get off lead as much as too many distractions and evenings are going to be alot better now it is getting dark. The frustrating thing is I know she can do it and she knows she has too, but prefers to march by the beat of her own drum (but that is women tho). 

[Cob-Web]

Also if she sees another dog or person on the other side of the park then she is off to get a fuss. As of yet she has never met a dog or person that has been horrible to her, so she thinks that ever one is there to see or play with her.

This was Molo's biggest problem - and each time he was rewarded by ignoring me because he reached the other person/dog which is what he wanted to do 
I eventually solved this particular *problem* over several months with long line training; but it can be a total nightmare, so you have my sympathies 

[Penel]

I might try another whistle as when I first started on it she was fantastic. She will never hear the clicker from 500 metres away  

if you're using a clicker correctly she should only be hearing it when she gets back to you.
Have you actually whistle trained her, or are you just blowing it in the hope she knows what it means ?

[Gilly]

I might try another whistle as when I first started on it she was fantastic. She will never hear the clicker from 500 metres away  

if you're using a clicker correctly she should only be hearing it when she gets back to you.
Have you actually whistle trained her, or are you just blowing it in the hope she knows what it means ?

Penel that eyeroll at the end of the sentence is really patronising when someone is asking for help  obviously we aren't all as perfect as you 

[Saffie]

I started her on the whistle in the house and got her to understand that when she hears it and comes to my feet and sits she gets a high value reward. In the house she was fantastic and when out and about for the first few months but slowly she found more reward with sniffing about and exploring than zooming back to me for a reward. I am starting off at step one again with the whistle in the house and hopefully it might click what I am after and what she has to do to get a reward.