Why, oh why, oh why?

[Saffie]

This is how I have been trying to tackle whistle trainning (from a link a while back by CraftySam):

Day 1 to 5 - with the dog next to you blow the whistle and reward the dog. Use a really high value treat that you will only use as a reward to responding to the whistle. Do this four or five times at a time. Repeat 3 times a day.

Day 6 - Blow the whistle while the dog is in the same room as you but not next to you. When he comes reward with the high value treat. Do this 3 or 4 times that day.

Day 7 - When the dog is in a different room blow the whistle and reward when he comes. Repeat 3 or 4 times that day.

Day 8 - Out in the garden. When the dogs focus is not on you, blow the whistle when he comes reward. Repeat 3 or 4 times.

Then use it out and about. If the dog ever fails to respond to the whistle go back to day 1.

I will be starting from Day one again!

[Joules]

I have been using the same method as you for whistle training.  If Coco ever fails to respond I go back a step.  So far so good but I am not sure she will ever be 100% reliable when she is surrounded by exciting distractions such as other dogs, cows, horses etc    I sympathise and wish you luck   

[charlie_jim_gem]

i know this may sound silly but i dont feed charlie before his walk thatway hes hungry and comes back for his treats which i show to him before we go.

[Saffie]

hehehe - i feed saffie after our morning walk but she knows that there are nice things to munch on on the walk so will get distracted by going from bits of litter to another bit in the hope there might be something to eat. I keep an eye on her to make sure she isnt eating anything she shouldnt and it is fantastic practise for the "leave" command. I need to find a high value treat that works nearly 100% of the time and the list of foods already tried keeps getting longer and longer so hopefully Livercake or Tunabread might hit the nail on the head.

I see other dog walkers that never have there dogs on the lead and the dogs stick close by and seem to be paying attention to their owners. Saffie does have a strong will and I know she is at that age so I guess it is a case of sticking with it and hope it clicks soon.

[Joules]

Like you, I watch enviously as other people's dogs trot up to them the first time they call and stand patiently to have their lead put on!    Saffie is still an adolescent so just think 'teenager' and grit your teeth.  Coco was at her worst from 7 to about 13 months and had me close to tears with frustration many a time.    She is getting better all the time now so hopefully it is just a difficult age and we will get there in the end.  I know some dogs are harder than others so it looks like you and I have just got stubborn ones  It is true that she is more eager to please when she is hungry but you need recall to be reliable at any time.  It is quite good to do some training when they are hungry though so they get into the habit of doing it right 

[Saffie]

I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. She was a complete angel and slept through the night from day one and also hasn't made any mess in the house and was toilet trained from day one (more or less) so the fact that recall is a bit problematic isn't as bad as it could have been. I would rather it be that way than her have been keeping me awake during the night and destroying the house and weeing every where.

I am sure she will get there eventually and then there will be something else to battle us.

[lolajays]

Hey Saffie any joy? improvement? I have to say Muadie is by no means perfect lol If she is playing it is hard work to get her away and I sound like a complete prat with the old high pitched MAUDIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE across the field

[Saffie]

I have a bumper weekend of making / cooking / freezing doggie treats this weekend so by tuesday i expect to see results or else there is going to be trouble. 

[lolajays]

  ooooooooo I hope it goes well!

[Saffie]

So do I as I hate liver at the best of times and not fond of the thought of taking chunks of the stuff with us when out on walks, but if it works then it will be worth it.

[lolajays]

Practice a high pitched squeal lmao My OH not mastered that one yet!

[Saffie]

I dont think I have the ability to do a high pitch squeal being the VERY gruffly bloke I am  honest.

[lolajays]

I dont think I have the ability to do a high pitch squeal being the VERY gruffly bloke I am  honest.

Yeah ok 

[Saffie]

LOL Well I will be the pied piper of the park next week with a trail of dogs after my mobile snack bar of k9 delights.

[Joelf]

I can sympathize with you,Saffy, because Spike can be an absolute devil at recall if he's busy hunting out his rabbits!! Even as a a young puppy when they are supposed to stay close to your side Spike was off & away totally deaf to all my calling; I could bellow until I was blue in the face with no result!!

I also tried taking a toy with me - Spike ignored it - hiding - he didn't even bother to look for me!! - having fantastic treats for him when he did come - he took the treats when he felt like coming back - training classes - his recall was perfect in the class & the amount we did he should have been ready for Crufts! - & finally castration in desperation which took the edge off him but still didn't result in the instant recall I craved!!!

Having read CraftySam's thread on whistle training I started giving that a try & I must say Spike's recall has improved in leaps & bounds. I think he had got used to ignoring the word 'Come' so now I blow the whistle & as soon as he comes to me (& he does now!!!) he gets a squirt of Primula cheese. I try not to keep calling him & try to only use the whistle when I'm fairly sure he'll respond but so far (touch wood!!) he responds really well. I followed Sam's instructions & got Spike used to the whistle indoors with no distractions first before progressing to the great outdoors.
However if I'm somewhere where I think the dogs will be distracted & there's a dangerous road for instance I'm afraid they go on their long leads; better to be safe than sorry!!

I do think though that some dogs are better at recall than others; my lab, Sid, never left my side from day one; in retrospect though I think the labs weren't so much good at recall as much as they didn't actually run off & I could always intercept them if needs be - Spike has always tended to go off & never felt the need to stay by my side like the other dogs did!!

I would definately persist with the whistle with Saffie; it certainly helped Spike!!