Recall Advice

[Helen]

morning all,

jarvis is fairly good at recall, however his best mate Alfie is not, and his dad is tearing his hair out.

this is the scenario :

-alfie lurves playing with other dogs
-he and jarvis play with their mates, have a great time
-i walk on, and whistle jarvis - 9 times out of 10 fine, as he lurves treats, doesn't take more than a couple of whistles and me walking away usually.-
-steve whistles alfie, on 2nd or 3rd whistle he comes back to steve....GREAT you think....

but...

-alfie is not interested in treats and will even reject liver cake if he wants to go back and play, and before steve can prevent him, he runs back to the other dog - sometimes a good few hundred metres - he is VERY quick
..so he does initial recall ok, and then takes off again...

-the dog owners around here are great, and they will leash their dog so alfie loses interest....but alfie is stubborn - this morning it took 20 mins to get him back (calling, whistling, ignoring him and walking on, hiding from him, playing ball with jarvis - nothing works)


it's also difficult to get him on the lead at the end of a walk, so i think when he does come back and alfie is put on a leash it will only make his lead aversion worse...


any advice?

[PennyB]

Practise, practise, practise well away from the distractions 1st. Play games, change direction frequently, run away from him while you're walking, play hide and seek. Its no good if he's already going the distance as its often then too late to recall. Don't just recall when you have/need to. Put him on the lead intermittently and not just at the end of the walk. If for some reason mine are playing up, I walk back up the park as if I'm not going home, and they usually follow then I can put the lead on them.

They may have to use a long line for a while, or as soon as they see another dog try distractions straight away and engage him. Recall is all about developing the bond with the dog. I have always never just 'walked' my dogs especially in the beginning and always take treats still (vary them, and vary the approach to recall to keep them on their toes).

They have to really work very hard at this and keep working at it.

[clairep4]

Hmmm, sounds a bit tricky! Is Alfie motivated by any toys - could your dad try luring him with a squeaky toy or a tug toy and playing a really exciting game with him (more exciting than the other dog)? He may also need to do lots of putting him on the lead for short periods during the walk and then releasing him again so that he doesn't associate the lead with the end of his fun (he could maybe put the lead on and then play with him with a tug toy?).

Other than that it sounds like he needs to go right back to basics with recall training and perhaps use a long line on him until he gets more reliable.

Sometimes it can help if you actually get closer to the dog when calling it rather than going further away as you're more likely to get their attention (I don't mean chasing after it, of course, but getting closer to the situation and then backing off as you're calling so that the dog is still coming to you rather than the other way around).

How old is Alfie, is he at the teenage stage?

Edited to add that some very good advice I had from Bella's dog walker is that alot of people when their dogs get that little bit out of puppyhood tend to get into the habit of just walking and letting the dog do its own thing - the key is to keep the interaction going, play games with him, do bits of training with him, anything to get him to engage with you as much as possible.

[Helen]

How old is Alfie, is he at the teenage stage?

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ohhh yes, he is 9 months old, has always been a bit wilful and more dominant in comparison to jarvis who is 6 weeks younger.

i think you're both right - it's back to basics....although when steve has him by himself with no distractions etc alfie's recall is good.  he really isn't motivated by food or toys - he loves to play, and often goads jarvis into playing on walks.

alfie's clever - he does come back firstly..and THEN takes off again.  


Thanks for your advice so far!

[suki1964]

Im with Penny on this one as well as Ive been having the same problems myself - Alfie has no interest in treats when out of the house either.

I now go out before the rest of the group of walkers and practice recall for 10 mins or so and then when walking as part of the group Im always calling Alfie back, changing directions etc, basically just keeping his focus on me. I also have a long line and a few times a week take him out on that with a ball. Hes still not perfect but so much better. I find that using the ball as the reward is better then a treat as for him the ball is the bestest fun in the whole wide world and its a highly prized toy. Whats been the best about the ball is making him sit before I throw it - hes totally focussed on the ball. So when I need him on the lead I just bring the ball out of my pocket and tell him sit.

[PennyB]

How old is Alfie, is he at the teenage stage?

[snapback]176552[/snapback]

ohhh yes, he is 9 months old, has always been a bit wilful and more dominant in comparison to jarvis who is 6 weeks younger.

i think you're both right - it's back to basics....although when steve has him by himself with no distractions etc alfie's recall is good.  he really isn't motivated by food or toys - he loves to play, and often goads jarvis into playing on walks.

alfie's clever - he does come back firstly..and THEN takes off again.  


Thanks for your advice so far!

[snapback]176557[/snapback]

I think when they're being good that's when complacency can set in sometimes. I still practise recall with mine when out on long trail walks just to remind them who's in charge (its also difficult to avoid bikes on the trail walks I do so I recall them every time a bike is coming and make them sit every time until bike has gone then treat, which has helped immensely as part of practise).

[crazyspaniels]

has he still got his "bits"?

[Helen]

has he still got his "bits"?

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yes he has, do you think it's a hormonal-dominance-over-the-other-boys thing? (he plays quite roughly with the boys....)