Long Leash Recall???

[Joe Anne]

Could use some advice on long leash recall. Phoenix will come to me in a flash, if I call him from inside the house. We have a split foyer and if I stick my head out the window, and call him, no problem at all. However, if I go downstairs and out to the back yard he just runs and gets his ball, wants to play and suddenly becomes deaf!, will not come to me. I always play with him in the backyard, and apparently HE, has decided he dosn't need to listen to me out back!!

I know I need to start training in the backyard, but I have never had to do long leash training for recall????

Anyone with experience who can advise me would be great.

Thanks, JoeAnne, Mirra, Sitka, Phoenix and crew

[punkrockbc]

I have no experience with using long lines for recall... my boy is a velcro-dog

 

I've heard that the best technique is to call the dog excitedly, and if he doesn't respond tug on the long line, or reel him in and reward when he comes. Running the other way while calling him and using treats or tugs as rewards could also help good luck!

[Joe Anne]

Thanks, I think I will try your suggestions. Phoenix will come when we are in the house, or if I am in the house and call him from outside... but the little stinker, totally ignores me when I go outside and call him!

Thanks again..

JoeAnne Mirra, Sitka, Phoenix and crew

[bobh]

Hi Joeanne M. The back yard is distracting to Phoneix. I would put him on a long line call him once if no response reel him in praise abd reward( use very high valued treats ie stake liver chicken cheese) do this for 5 min then go play. When my dogs are young i never call them when they are distracted unless they are on line because if they dont respond iwant to beable to reel them in. even inthe house they are leashed when young so I can control them. Lol bobh

[Joe Anne]

bobh... I will try that, but I would like to ask, (in case this happens), if he does not come to me when I "reel" him in, if he gets stubborn and won't walk to me...what should I do?

I have a 30 foot leash I just bought, is that too long? should I start with a shorter distance?

Thanks..JoeAnne Mirra, Sitka, Phoenix and crew

[karrie]

That was a problem I was having with Tuck. I got a book from the lib. called "Dog Training for Kids" by Carol Lea Benjamin...easy reading an nice pictures showing what she means... it has a section on Come when called and it is using the long leash..

[bobh]

. Joe Anne

you are right you donot want to reel him in if he is fighting you. because you want him to think you are the best thing in his world.

this is what i do when i get apup . I have treats in almost ever room and i always carry treats on me.

1. Ialways hand feed my dogs when i first get them at least part of the meal. If you feed raw this may be hard. I may take a peice of food and toss it on the floor so he can see it (1-2 feet) and call him back and give him lots off food and praise. I never call his name or say come and then punish him .every time he comes to me he gets rewarded (Food , petting chest rubs or we play a game)

2 They are leashed so i have controll If not leashed then they are crated.

3 Name game iwill say his name if he looks at me he gets rewaded

4 restained recalls I have my wife hold him and I runaway from and call his name as soon as he gets to me itell him how good and smart he is.and reward,

now out side I use 15 foot line icarry it at first and dont let him drag it until he stays fairly close . So lets say he starts sniffing ,diging or what ever. i would not call him at this tim iwould run over to him and say whats you got ther big boy and tell him how terrific he is for doing what ever he is doing and distract him from it .Likr running away fromhim if he does not follow you fall on the ground and act like a fool he will come over and get you .

My wife and i will get so far apart may be 5 ft and play chase games with himect ect.

 

As for punishment I use distraction ,If he is doing something I do not want him doing then i distract him or get him to focus on me.

Once your dog finds out that every thing fun comes from you you will not get him away from you. Remeber if you have to yell at your dog you have not trained it.

Iwill recomend you read Building Blocks for Performance by Bobbie Anderson, books by Pat miller, Jean donaldson Sheila Booth, Suzanne Clothier And Pat Mc. The other end of the leash.

I hope this helps ,forgive the spelling (I need spell check) Take your time, enjoy your pup you will learn so much from him. If you get frustrated Dont we all take a brake. I know this is a long post, Lol :>)) bobh

[bobh]

PS Joeanne you said he ignors you out side . Does he bring his ball to you ? I also would recomend that no toys be left out . If he gets a toy he gets it from you he gets every thing from you. and you also take them away. if he takes his toy and runs away from you he can only go so far because he on aline (30 ft to long at first) make some strange noise and run awy do not fall whenhe gets to you reward. bobh

[Sue R]

Joe Anne - Bobh has given very good advice, along with others who replied.

 

Make coming to you the most exciting and interesting thing he can do. Do not leave his toys outside. Use really good treats. I know you are a vegetarian but I don't know what you use for training treats. They need to be very desireable to the dog to accomplish your goals. They can be very small but need to be very tasty.

 

If you have a treat pouch or a particular place or pocket you keep the treats on your person, he will associate your hand going to that place with a forthcoming treat. When you call and get him to look at you, move your hand to where you have the treats - that may be all the motivation he needs to come running.

 

After initially rewarding him for each recall, vary the routine - sometimes a treat, sometimes just praise, sometimes the "jackpot" of an extra-special treat or several treats in a row. That will keep it interesting and prepare him for the future, when you will not always be rewarding him with a treat.

 

Right now, if you are both in the house and you call him, you are the most enjoyable thing around. If you call him in, he is excited because he was outside alone. But if you are both outside, he has it all - the joys of outside, the ball game, and your presence.

 

Use high-value treats and really good praise and petting when he comes. You can also use praise when he just makes a step in the right direction, like in clicker training. Like Bobh says, even if he just looks at you - it's the beginning of the result you are looking for.

 

Use the long lead on him in the yard and don't give him the option of ignoring you. Then praise and reward him well when he comes to you. It may take a little time as he is used to getting his own way, but it will provide good results.

 

One last comment - NEVER scold or punish a dog that comes on recall to you. No matter what he's done. Do not use the recall to get the dog to you for something that he won't like. Make the recall something he WANTS to do. If you need him for something he won't enjoy, recall and praise or treat or do something enjoyable for a few moments, and then proceed to whatever he doesn't care for as a "separate" thing.

 

A dog's recall, down (or sit), and stay are three of the most important commands, particularly when safety is an issue. They are worth time and effort to improve and perfect.

[Joe Anne]

Thank you all very much. I guess I will just have to put on my high water boots, and do some training outside. My back yard is a swamp these days. Phoenix is good on most everything, sits, stays, wait, leave it, downs etc... just the outside thing. I will let you know how the long lead works.

Oh yeah, also, he will only bring his ball to within about 2 feet of me. He will drop it and leave it, when I tell him to, but expects me to go get it and throw it again! I have started using 2 tennis balls, and going to the end of our long hallway, and throwing them both real quick and hard against the wall. He gets real worked up & as soon as he gets one ball, I tell him to "give it", and offer the other ball. It is working well so far, doing it like that. As long as I have just a small area, where he can't run away with it.

As far as treats... I am the ONLY, vegetarian in my very large family, and even though I don't like to, I do still prepare "meat", meals for my husband and my other family carnivors! LOL!! including the dogs. The thing is when he sees his ball, forget treats.. that is ALL he wants, period.

Actually when I take him to work with me, (at Pet Smart), with all the distractions, I get the best long stays from him, holding a tennis ball at my eye level! he won't take treats when there are alot of distractions around. He did a sit stay for over 1 1/2 min. while puppies his age and younger walked by him wanting to play, and did not move a muscle. People were actually stopping and looking at him, and laughing at "how good he was being"! hmmmmmm! sure as long as I have that tennis ball, he'll do anything! cute but I can't carry a tennis ball around as easy as a pocket full of treats..

Anyway, thanks again... we will get started on the long leash outside immediately.

Love my heart boy!!!!

JoeAnne Mirra, Sitka, Phoenix and crew

[bobh]

JoeAnne it sounds like you and Phoenix will be a team very soon. I have a 8mth. tri Bc His name is Tri(ORIGINAL). he also retrives balls and frisbeesAnd drops them 2 feet from me . so I wait him out and he will pick either of them up again but still drops them. so i now only use his tenis ball on a tug toy. and a very rugged frisbee that I got from Clean run .com, it is fabric but will not rip. I taught Tri to tugg wit it .

Now I can use the tug ball and the Frisbee and he will bring it to me most of the time so he can tug. As to bringing back just a tennis ball well we are still working on it .

Please keep us informed on you and Phoenixs progress. Bobh and the gang of 4