RECALL ADVICE URGENT!!!

[matty 52]

HELLO ALL JUST WANT A BIT OF ADVICE IM WANTING TO START WORKING MY 3 YEAR OLD LONGDOG IN THE WINTER AND WOULD LIKE THE SUMMER TO HONE THE RECAL SKILLS, SHE DOES NOT COME STRAIGHT BACK WHEN I CALL SHE COMES BACK IN HER OWN TIME, SHE DOESNT RUN OFF OR EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO OTHER DOGS JUST GOES ABOUT AND DOES HER OWN THING BUT SOMETIMES WILL NOT COME BACK INSTANTLY, WHICH OBVIOUSLY NO GOOD IF I WERE TO TAKE HEROUT LAMPING ETC. I HAVE BEEN AROUND DOGS ALL MY LIFE AND MY OTHER DOGS ARE VERY OBEDIENT BUT SHE IS 50% GREYHOUND AND 50% IBIZIAN (SPANISH GREYHOUND) SO SHE IS ALL LONG DOG SHE IS EXTREMELY CLEVER SOMETIMES SHE THINKS SHE IS HUMAN! WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN A LONG DOG AND IS 3 YEAR OLD TOO OLD! ANY CONSTUCTIV ADVICE WILL BE GREALY APPRECIATED!

 

CHEERS

MATT

[Guest SJM]

Training has to be done as a pup, a 3 year old dog is pretty much set in its ways. You could trying crouching down when you call the dog, running off calling the dog in the opposite direction, or using food/praise or a toy to encourage the dog to come back, whichever it is most motivated by) but at the end of the day when you have an adult dog thats the trials and tribulations that come along with them. My first 2 lurchers were adult dogs and they were a nightmare, their recall was never 100% I managed to get them reasonably good on walks and at home, but take them out hunting and they were off, couldnt get them to listen to me at all, the bitch was the worst, she would just take off chasing something and not come back til she was ready to - I used to swear she had saluki in her, as she was a very lean feathered bitch, but the problem was she had been given no basic training and I got her after the window of opportunity had passed. If you want a well trained dog, start with a pup its the only way to get the standard of obedience you require

[Guest LamperJohn]

Training has to be done as a pup, a 3 year old dog is pretty much set in its ways. You could trying crouching down when you call the dog, running off calling the dog in the opposite direction, or using food/praise or a toy to encourage the dog to come back, whichever it is most motivated by) but at the end of the day when you have an adult dog thats the trials and tribulations that come along with them. My first 2 lurchers were adult dogs and they were a nightmare, their recall was never 100% I managed to get them reasonably good on walks and at home, but take them out hunting and they were off, couldnt get them to listen to me at all, the bitch was the worst, she would just take off chasing something and not come back til she was ready to - I used to swear she had saluki in her, as she was a very lean feathered bitch, but the problem was she had been given no basic training and I got her after the window of opportunity had passed. If you want a well trained dog, start with a pup its the only way to get the standard of obedience you require

Im in the same predicament but with a pup 90% of the time she will stay close with my older bitch but soon as she knows were near places holding a few bunnys shes off through fences running up the fence lines just burning her self out her recall is good but it dont half piss you off when they just run off last time i attempted to lamp her she was running riot for 5 minutes before i got her back on the lead i hope its because shes young and as she matures she calms down a bit.shes 7 an half months old 3/4 greyhound bred what ever the outcome shes staying here for life. any suggestions welcome john

[skycat 6,172]

There's only one way to get a dog obedient and that is to train it on its own and away from game/rabbits or whatever. Trying to train when there's more than one dog loose is an impossibitlity especially when the pup will want to compete with the other dog and try and find the game first: that competition thing sets in.

Get the recall rock solid away from game on and its own before you ever try and do it in the field with distractions. All pups will try and test you as they grow up and every now and then you will need to go back to basics for a refresher course.

Some pups will respond to a very stern 'come here or else...' call, others won't come unless you talk sweetly to them. It's up to you to find out what sort of dog your's is and what works best for it. The important thing to remember is to ALWAYS praise lots when the dog does come in properly.

Timing can be everything. So, when pup is ignoring you get its attention with your normal call it responds to at home. If it ignores you then deepen and strengthen your voice into a growl call: the minute the pup is coming in change your voice again to the 'what a good dog' voice and praise like mad when it gets to you. Don't be afraid to encourage the dog into you whilst its on its way to you: pups often get distracted by an interesting scent on the way, so you need to remind them that they are supposed to be coming to you!

I use a sharp 'OI' to remind them to listen to me. Don't ever run after the dog or tell it off when it does get to you no matter how bad it might have been. You must only praise no matter if you have steam coming out of your ears. Sitting down sometimes brings a young dog in to investigate what you are doing. When it comes have a big fun time and praise it loads. then let it go again. A lot of dogs learn that by coming they will go on the lead and go home: so practice putting them on the lead several times during a walk so they don't just think it means end of free time.

Changing your voice depending on what the dog is doing can work wonders. Don't keep calling and calling the dog if it is ignoring you as all it is learning is to ignore the call.

I always start off with 'Puppy Come!', even before they have a name. I never go up to a pup and stroke or play with it: I always call it to me first then have some fun. That way right from the nest they learn to come for their food, fun etc.

Attaching a long line to an older pup, letting it run ahead, then calling it and reeling it in gently so it HAS to come to you can sometimes work too: you are conditioning the dog to come when called, and even in dogs that have not had the correct early training this can work. You have to keep doing it until the dog is coming properly for at least a week or so before you let it off loose anywhere, and then try in an enclosed area no bigger than a tennis court to start off with. If it won't come in then you will have to go back to the beginning again, and just keep at it.

Your will power must be greater than the dog's willl power, and when it eventually realises that 'come' means 'come' you are half way there.

I agree with what the others have said though, if you have an independant minded dog that is already an adult you will never achieve 100% success.

 

Edited to add: if you are lamping a pup of that age you will only end up with a dog that pleases itself. Most pups are way too immature to work on the lamp at that age. Daytime working first, obedience spot in the field and at home and only then out on the lamp. I usually wwait until they are 12 -14 months old before lamping: they NEED to get a bit of maturity in their heads as lamping is one of the most exciting things for a dog. And you need to be able to stop it running off in daytime first as how the hell are you going to stop it at night if you can't do it in the daytime??

Edited June 4, 2007 by skycat

[Guest LamperJohn]

thankyou skycat regards john

[MikeTheDog 153]

When your dog ignores the recall command hide!.... But keep an eye on the dog obviously with out being seen. When the mutt has finished doing what it wants to do it will realise you aint there and start panicking, when that happens give the recall command again and the dog will be by your side pdq! With your current problem you're only telling your dog where you are by shouting, dog will realise you're nearby and carry on regardless……Try it where there aren’t too many distractions at first then progress to your hunting ground, it does work!

[EOD 0]

@skycat

 

 

Cheers great post

Edited June 4, 2007 by EOD

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited January 14, 2008 by oneredtrim

[inan 841]

thankyou skycat regards john

Sky cats advice is "on the money"as usual,its very tempting to bawl them out when they finally come back but you have to grit your teeth and lavish praise on them ,a dog of this advanced age is probably never going to be like a yo yo ,and when lamping will proably start what is the biggest pain in the bum ,hunting up,as another poster suggested you might try hiding when the dog wanders ,its worked for me a couple of times when a dog has started to "deaf me out",Good Luck!

[ferret15 0]

hi when i am training collies to cattle we do it on a long rope allow them a lose contact and when you call there name pull gently on the rope do this over and over untill the dog comes back dont let the dog of the rope untill this 100% you can give them a small bit of meat or treat when they come right up to you. you can also crouch down while recaling as when you do let them off they can see you but not hear you they come back its important to have the recall 100% before you do anthing else as in the dogs mind you have to be top of the pack to gain is respect i have retraind lots of dogs including ex racing greyhounds to come back using this method i can even call my staffie x greyhound off a rabbit should i need to. it might seem a little strange but when your dealing with a dog that had no basic training as a pup it works just take as long as it takes and always do the same thing. when the dog gets it right reward him when he gets it wrong ignore it

[Jay w 7]

On 04/06/2007 at 16:26, MikeTheDog said:

When your dog ignores the recall command hide!.... But keep an eye on the dog obviously with out being seen. When the mutt has finished doing what it wants to do it will realise you aint there and start panicking, when that happens give the recall command again and the dog will be by your side pdq! With your current problem you're only telling your dog where you are by shouting, dog will realise you're nearby and carry on regardless……Try it where there aren’t too many distractions at first then progress to your hunting ground, it does work!

The key thing is to keep a eye on the dog i was walking my lurcher  few months back and I'm not sure why but she ran off to the other of the field I tryed calling her back 2 or 3 times with no success so I went and sat down behind a big oak a few minets later my phone rings and it was my girlfriend asking me why the dog was sat at the back door of my flat crying I felt like a right tool

[Neal 1,784]

Completely agree with Skycat and MikeTheDog: 99.9% of the time a dog will be far more worried about loosing you than you are of loosing it. If MikeTheDog's tactic doesn't work then another one I try is to get the dog's attention and then jog off in the opposite direction, I've never known a dog to say, "Sod you! I'm still going this way."

[terryd 8,024]

Unless the dog knows the ground. If I turn about to walk to the car mine will hesitate and depend on his mood will give me two fingers and blast off round the next 3 fields which he knows are hot spots because he knows exactly how to find me. On fresh ground he keeps a closer eye on me

[terryd 8,024]

Still trying to find the sod  He did say was urgent. 13 years not too bad a response time

Edited June 7, 2020 by terryd

[walshie 2,804]

If she hasn't come back yet, I reckon she's not going to.