Recall training

[BellySlater 15]

Advice for my HWHV. So far the "training" seems to be going well, he's only 7 months old so i am not expecting / trying much. Enjoying the puppy lifestyle and all that goes with it. The lead work ( little and often) and commands are fine, off the lead he is venturing further a field and developing his hunting instinct. (as he should ?)The recall is stating to become a bit of a hang-up.......he seems to "throw a deaf one" or become distracted , i don't want to chase him ( and turn it into a game) and i am not sure about finally getting him back and bollocking the life out of him, i dont want him associating coming back with a telling off.

 

any advise ....cheers.

Dan

[ROB.BOB 21]

my lab had/still kind of has the same problem, i've tried legging it the other way when he ignored me and when he starts chasing you turn around and encorage him to you... i have no idea if that is good or bad training but if it gets the desired result in a positive way i see it as alright.

anyone feel free to correct me!

[mandog 36]

Tricky one. If my dogs would run off when ther pups i would run over to were they are and tell them off. Soon after i would in a soft voice invite them to come with me. I have pertrade it as a bad thing them going anywere away from me. You really have to get it right and make sure the dog nows what it getting told off for. Be quick and sharp about it and always in charge.

[missy 0]

What works for me (labs)is the same as Rob.bob.,turn walk away,praise them loads on return. A small treat on return can encourage too,but dont overdo it, dont give them every time. its what works for me and you can give up the treats once he comes to you after only a short while. some people dont like them but sometimes they just nedd a bit of encouraement.Good luck!

[romany52 313]

You need to apply the same principle to recall as you would to, say the sit. To train the sit you'd give the command then gently push the back end down into the sit position then reward.So using the same principle with the dog on a long line, give the command ,gently haul it in then reward. Avoid calling the pup in any situation where you know it won't obey for awhile,just go to the pup. Remember it's repetition, so every time you give a command that the pup disobeys you're training not to obey,in the early stages never give a command you cant enforce. Mike.

[Nik_B 3,790]

When I called him and later used the whistle I have given my Lab a treat every single time. With other commands I would treat him every now and then but I wanted a strong recall.

 

I started in the garden where there are no distractions, calling him with my arms open and when he came I'd give him a treat. When we moved on to the park I found that my voice wasn't being carried as well as a whitle. The whistle worked very well, as I said he gets a treat every time he recalls and even when he is playing with other dogs he will come bounding back because he knows he's going to get something.

 

If he does throw a deaf one then I just stop trying to recall him, I don't want to let him think he can ignore me so quit when I am ahead! I decided it is better to let it slide and try again when I can get his attention easier rather than drag him back to me or shout. He is after all very young.

 

I found the recall the easiest thing I trained him, probably because I used treats and his own stomach did all the work for me....he's a gready little bugger

[romany52 313]

When I called him and later used the whistle I have given my Lab a treat every single time. With other commands I would treat him every now and then but I wanted a strong recall.

 

I started in the garden where there are no distractions, calling him with my arms open and when he came I'd give him a treat. When we moved on to the park I found that my voice wasn't being carried as well as a whitle. The whistle worked very well, as I said he gets a treat every time he recalls and even when he is playing with other dogs he will come bounding back because he knows he's going to get something.

 

If he does throw a deaf one then I just stop trying to recall him, I don't want to let him think he can ignore me so quit when I am ahead! I decided it is better to let it slide and try again when I can get his attention easier rather than drag him back to me or shout. He is after all very young.

 

I found the recall the easiest thing I trained him, probably because I used treats and his own stomach did all the work for me....he's a gready little bugger

Thing is you want 100% recall, dog needs to believe it has no choice whatsoever, only way to do this is get the dog to you when he really doesn't want to. If you persuade him with treats, all you've done is changed his mind so he wants to come, any dog will come when it wants to. A dog fully trained comes when it doesn't want to. The only way to enforce the recall command is the line. Mike.

[Nik_B 3,790]

When I called him and later used the whistle I have given my Lab a treat every single time. With other commands I would treat him every now and then but I wanted a strong recall.

 

I started in the garden where there are no distractions, calling him with my arms open and when he came I'd give him a treat. When we moved on to the park I found that my voice wasn't being carried as well as a whitle. The whistle worked very well, as I said he gets a treat every time he recalls and even when he is playing with other dogs he will come bounding back because he knows he's going to get something.

 

If he does throw a deaf one then I just stop trying to recall him, I don't want to let him think he can ignore me so quit when I am ahead! I decided it is better to let it slide and try again when I can get his attention easier rather than drag him back to me or shout. He is after all very young.

 

I found the recall the easiest thing I trained him, probably because I used treats and his own stomach did all the work for me....he's a gready little bugger

Thing is you want 100% recall, dog needs to believe it has no choice whatsoever, only way to do this is get the dog to you when he really doesn't want to. If you persuade him with treats, all you've done is changed his mind so he wants to come, any dog will come when it wants to. A dog fully trained comes when it doesn't want to. The only way to enforce the recall command is the line. Mike.

 

 

 

I would go as far to say his recall is at least 99% and it pleases me to see I can get him back even when he is playing with other dogs. I would like to get a line as my training is getting more advanced and I agree a line would have been very useful especially in the beginning.