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Question about bad (or no) recall


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Things have been kind of hectic here and today I was unloading my PT Cruiser, bringing in a walker, a wheelchair a dog kennel and a child's car seat (yep, they hold a lot) and Usher took off, out off down the road. Well, I yelled "Home" and his selective deafness came out. I was so frustrated and mad, I didn't even go get him. Just took the rest of the stuff into the house and left his crate out for whoever found him. When I got the stuff in, I wasn't mad anymore and went to get his leash to retrieve him. I spotted my whistle and gave him his "that'll do" whistle. He was 1/2 block away and came running 100 MPH.

 

Now, what should I have done? Reward him for coming after he ran off? Punish him for running off, then coming? What I did was just let him in the house and ignore him and finish up my tasks. How can I fix this if it happens again. Would you reward for the recall that he finally did or ignore like I did?

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What I would do is work on his whistle recall more. If the whistle works better for him then I would go with that. Then maybe get a lanyard :rolleyes: Some dogs just don't listen to voice commands when they're to interested in something else. The whistle probably gets his attention better than you hollering at him. He did come back to the whistle though.

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I would not let him off leash EVER until he is 100% with recall. I deal with this with Riven and Im lax sometimes and not a lot, but sometimes she'll run off. That just enforces the thought she can run. Do not punish Usher for coming. Praise him, praise that little dog as if he's saved the whole earth. Make coming when he's called be a GREAT thing.... if you punish him for coming, he probably wont continue to come because he knows he's in trouble. Im sure others will have good advice, but thats all I know.

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NEVER EVER punish a dog for coming back! No matter how long it takes. I think you did exactly right. He wasn't punished but you didn't give him a party for taking so long. However the fact that he came straight away for the whistle is great! Next time, and there will be a next time, try using the whistle first. If it works, great, if not, I would do some re-inforcing work with him in an enclosed area. They hate repetition when they know what they are suppose to do, so if you "punish" him by doing those excercises, he may get the idea.

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You did the right thing by not making a big deal out of it. If you aren't in the mood to praise, then just ignore and go about your business.

 

AJ's right. It would be a good habit to get into to keep the whistle handy. Jake totally tunes us out when we raise our voices for any reason. If we can't sound happy, he stays away. (They are extra sensitive.) DH can whistle and it comes in handy.

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NEVER EVER punish a dog for coming back!

 

Exactly right. This will cause just about any dog to regress in recall practice. I also agree with keeping him on a leash or drag line as much as you possibly can when outside or wherever you think he may be inclined ignore you so that you can reinforce your commands if he is suddenly stricken with that selective hearing loss after your saying them once(or whistling).

 

With my puppies, I keep a treat bag or a toy at my waist so that I can throw a party for them whenever they come to me, whether or not I've called them. If they are not wearing a drag line and they ignore my call, I walk up to them, show them the food or the toy and say, "Look what you missed!" in an enticing voice and stick the reward right under their nose. When I have their attention, I repeat the recall word and back up, with the puppy following the reward in my hand, to the very spot I was standing when I first called them. THEN I mark the behavior, praise, and reward. In a case such as yours, where he ignored you at first and then responded to your whistle, I would pull out a reward that motivates him, back up quickly upon his coming to you and repeat the recall word with him following - I would then praise and reward as he reached me.

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I think you did the right thing. I agree with never scolding a dog who comes back. If you do, the dog doesnt realize that the scolding is for how long it took, just that they came back. I like the fact that you didnt overly praise though. I think if a dog comes back right away, lavish the praise, but I would have done the same as you did.

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Oh, this was an accident that he got out. I never let him out without a leash, but with my hands full and his little sneakiness at opening doors and my bad mood I think I did what was best. Of course I didn't have treats ready because he wasn't supposed to be inside. LOL. I work on his recall all the time, but have had so much trouble with this aspect of training. Never before have my other dogs ignored my recall once they got to be this age. What a challenge he has been. But a good challenge.

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I have the same problem with Tiga. He's getting a bit better now. This summer I went and bought a 50ft rope and when we took him to the beach, we'd use the rope and lots of good treats for him. By the end of the summer, there was a place that we could take him without the rope. He just gets distracted so easily, usually by finding things that he can eat. He's been pretty good, so the other day I took him out in the back yard off the rope. Unfortunately, there were 2 deer in the yard and of course he took off after them. I raised my voice to tell him to stop and come. I thought he'd run off into the woods, but surprisingly, he stopped at the tree line and them came back to me! Of course I gave him a treat for it. :rolleyes: I treat him every single time that he comes to me. He's not 100% and I'm not sure that he ever will be.

 

Sorry for the long response, I kind of went on a tangent there, I just wanted to say that I understand your frustration about recall. LOL!

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So glad to see I'm not alone here. Once I had my first dog trained- she was so easy, all the rest would follow and I really had no issue with a recall. I was hoping Migraine would still be here when Usher arrived, but, she didn't quite make it. So sad. Plus, now living in the city is much more difficult than the country. The street is so close.

That darn Usher is very good about staying inside unless he's leashed, BUT when he sees I'm busy and plots his escape, all h#ll breaks loose and this week, he's been cooped up with me trying to get all the closing for the houses done etc. Today is Usher Day, so we'll run some steam outta the guy. Practice some more on that recall and things might be back to normal. I appreciate all your advice oh and BTW I've never punished a dog for coming. Even if he has taken off. If I had to go get him, I would leash him and say HOME, HOME while giving him a correction.

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It took me a LONG time to get Gypsy consistent in her recall. It took a LOT of treats. It took MONTHS being on a 50ft rope whenever we went out. It took a LOOOOOT of patience... especially when I first started "testing" her by not using the rope, waiting for her to finish sniffing/playing/doing-whatever-the-hell-I-want-to-because-I'm-offleash-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it and having to PRAISE her for coming back just because she did. :rolleyes:

 

I took her out to the dog park 3-5 days a week for about 4 months before she got the recall that she has now. And I am SO proud of it. Mind you, she is the first dog I've really trained. I taught my sister's Rottie X a bunch of tricks, and I also spent the most time training our english setter family dog (RIP Freckles), but Gypsy is MY dog, and I've worked so hard with her.

 

Just have patience, and dedication to his training and he'll come around eventually :D

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I have taught my girls to- when I open the door- even if they are in front of me, down on the deck- and stay there until I call them to me- to the car. This works on better downs- even with distraction, and it reinforces that I decide where the dogs go. I go first. So far it is great. I started doing this for 2 reasons- one, Kylie was becoming over-protective of our property and would chase the neighbor dog further back on his own property, and the second was for the sake of Lucy thinking she can "explore" without me- PLUS improving her down everywhere- INCLUDING sheep. So far, it has been great :rolleyes:

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Jake's recall isn't 100% but what I stumbled on was saying the 'leave it' command followed by 'come'. (Jake is really good with 'leave it' and 'drop it'.) And with JJ's help, he now knows 'this way' which means 'follow me-I'm going this way'. Weird, I know. We have a bad habit of talking to our dogs as if the are little people sometimes.

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When he came back, you could just pat him on the head, with a quiet "good dog" snap a lead on him, (so he doesnt have the opportunity to run off again, walk him in the house, and go on with biz as normal. And tomorrow, work on re call and every day until, he is solid and trustworthy. I couldnt impress upon a person enough how important it is to have a dog trustworthy on its recall before it isnt dragging a lead, Ive seen to many killed because they didnt listen to the command. If you love him, and I know you do, make him solid all the time, every time. Praise him lighty and quietly always when he comes back, but dont over do it, he needs to know that you are glad that he come back, but that your not happy that he ran off and disobeyed you to start with. Darci

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I, like you, would ignore it. No praise, no punishment. He did bad, but he came back.

 

My trainer, back when I was in obedience class, (she is a reputable Border Collie breeder) made several great points when we were focusing on recalls. What she always stressed was:

1) We are dealing with dogs. Does that really need any more explanation?

2) The best way to ensure that you're dog is going to have a solid recall is to ensure that your dog is more interested in you than in anything else in his/her surroundings. If a rabbit runs by, is your dog going to think "Oooh hello you wascally wabbit I wanna Get You!", or is he/she going to hear your command and think, no, I'd much rather be with my master because he/she is more interesting/fun/whatever? If that rabbit is more interesting than you are then chances are your recall is not going to work (and hey, can't blame 'em for that!).

 

Also, Usher might just be at that whole 'inch/mile' age. You know, that age when they start seeing how far they can push...how are you training recalls, if you don't mind my asking?

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how are you training recalls, if you don't mind my asking?

Well, in class, we have a flexi lead that I "reel him in with". At home, if there are 2 of us we do the recall from one to another with leash or in the back yard or house without leash. He's great at home. When I work him alone, I have a long line that I make him stay with distractions and then go to the end of the leash and call him using both hand and voice commands. When we return home from going anywhere I use the word "Home" to make him go to the door. I know a little different command, but my hands are usually full and I just want him inside the house. That make sense? Hope so, I just woke up- LOL.

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I had a dog, years and years ago that I got as a 9 month old pup. (A golden ret.) he was the worst dog Id ever had about not coming back when he was called! He would go through the screen door or a window screen if the window was open, to get out if he could push through, and did on many occation. Not to mention push right past ya if ya opened the door to go out or let some one in. ( he was a big dog, and quite capable of knocking an adult out of the way) I had a fair amount of dog training under my belt when I got this dog, but everything I tried to get him to come when he was called, didnt work. As testamony to this, I saw him, on more than one occation bounce off the bumper of a car, while I was out trying to catch him. His favorite little scheme was to stop and pee on some thing while i would be getting closer to catching him, then, just as I was about to grab his collar, he'd run off laughing at me as if it was a game. (And I think it was for him) Discouraged, and scared that I was gonna loose him, be it to the bumper of a car, ( he was in vets many times already because of this) or to the vast city of Phx, I took him to not one, but 3 different trainers over the course of the first 3 yrs I had him. What I found with him, was that his recall was perfect, as long as he was in an enclosed area, he always came when he was called. The times he did not, were when he knew there were no fences or leads to stop him from his ramblings. He was neutered at 10 months, so I couldnt even give him the the excuse of wanting to visit area girls. I had this dog for 14 1/2 yrs. He was such a wonderful personality to have around, despite his one failing (be it a biggie to me) that even in old age, hip dysplaisa, half blind, and just decrepid and slow from age, he still would get out, and I could see him weighing the odds of running away verses coming back when called, and in the end, he would just stand there looking confused. Ive not had a dog like that since, and still couldnt say how to get one like that to come when called. But I do know, that for all the training in the world, mine, as well as the hundreds of dollars I paid professional trainers he was never trustworthy for a recall every time. I guess I just wasnt excieting enough for him as much as the wide open world was. I cant even say that a lack of rescept was the cause or an an issue with him, as could be blamed on with some dogs. As he was an extreamly resepctful, well behaved and obedient dog under any other circimstances. Ive not ever had a BC that woudnt learn to become solid on a recall, be it on sheep or just running around on the property. Perhaps its the difference in breeds on that one, and am glad if that is so. But what it boils down to with most dogs, I still think is respect. And many, many hours of training. RIP Hobie. The happiest, goofiest, never met a stranger, most lovable dog Ive ever known.

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I think this is a border line case. This could be a little game..."run off a few minutes and then come back when I WANT to....". At least this has become one of Hailey's games....sneak in a quick visit down the street and come right back. I don't reward her for these....i ignore her as you did. My approach now: don't give her the opportunity...AND work on recalls with good rewards. Anyway, my $.01 worth :rolleyes:

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