Solid call back on BC pup.

[Luke and Abbys Mom]

Hi I am new here. I have a 9 year old BC a 5 year old BC and now a 12 week old BC. I adopted the 5 year old and the last time I had a pup was with the 9 year old so it has been a LONG time and I have forgot a few things!

 

How do I get my BC pup to have a solid call back? He comes running every time but when he is herding the cats, other dogs or there is simply something better to smell.

 

I have just started carrying his fav treats and when he calls back I give him one.

 

Am I expecting to much of him at this age? or not enough? He sits, lay's down and is learning a stay from a short distance away from him. Mind you this is all done in a distraction free zone lol.

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Dixie_Girl]

Your pup is about the same age as my Skip. At this point they are so "busy" it is very rare to have a solid recall. Keep doing what you are doing. Always make coming to you the best deal! NEVER call pup to you to correct it or to do something unpleasant. If you do need to do something unpleasant, like clipping nails, do something fun first, like praise or treat. It varies from dog to dog when it will have a solid recall. So don't try to have a certain age to shoot for. Also, as the pup gets better at recall, start purpously putting distractions in the mix. He is already learning a bunch, so do not dismay! Good luck! And don't forget to have tons of fun! Not that you could!

[Kat's Dogs]

is a "call back" the same as a "recall"? (in other words "come") Just making sure I am on the same page here.

 

Here is a thread in the FAQs section that we put together a while back on teaching a solid recall:

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/cgi-bin/ultima...c;f=11;t=000016

 

some wuick guide lines for teaching come (all said in the above thread - plus more):

First of all, same thing that Dixie Girl said.

Second, "never give your dog a command you can't enforce". IOW, only call the pup when he is on a long line, or in a fenced in space so you can go and get him in case he doesn't come.

Third, don't ever say "come" (or whatever the command is) twice. If he doesn't come then go and get him, take him back to the spot where you called him from and give him a lot of praise.

[bobh]

I agree with Kats dogs and Linda. adsd distractions slowly

bobh

[Luke and Abbys Mom]

Ok awesome. I will just keep doing what I am doing. I did notice the FAQ thread right after I posted the question, felt a little dumb after lol.

 

I can see I am going to LOVE this msg board though!

[Kat's Dogs]

Awww, no need to feel a little dumb - we have all done something like that one time or another!

 

And besides, the more links we have to that thread, the better chance that more and more people will read it! So, no worries, it was a good thing you started this thread.

[diane allen]

All that's said above is great.

For you and others, I would HIGHLY recommend a DVD available from www.cleanrun.com. Title is "Really Reliable Recall." The woman trains Afghans - so if she can get Afghans to come, anybody can do it!

 

She says to use a different word or phrase for your "emergency" recall. If everyday is "come," then make the RRR "here" or "come now." It MUST sound happy, so I decided to use "Yahoo!" Just too hard to make that sound negative or even nervous.

 

She has a demo in her program with a 4-5 mo old Golden Retriever. She is feeding the dog roast beast, and pup is eating quite eagerly. Owner calls, and pup DROPS the food and runs to her. THAT is impressive!

 

She also has a separate section on sighthounds, terriers and northern breeds. Oh my!

 

Her main points:

1) Practice, practice, practice.

2) Only say it once.

3) Use really yummy treats

 

The only thing posted in the FAQ that I would change (for the emergency recall anyway) is that you don't EVER have to quit acting silly! Pretend (hopefully this is pretend!) that your dog was headed out to the busy highway; you call; dog turns on a dime and heads straight towards you. Imagine your joy! Your dog will KNOW that you appreciate that recall, and a party is in definite order.

 

diane

[Kat's Dogs]

I don't mean this to be rude, or be hard on this trainer or anything - it sounds like she is great trainer.

Having an emergency command is great and all BUT, there is really no need IMHO for these "super proofed" commands.

 

Dazzle (and the shih tzu too) have the "DROPS the food and runs to me" kind of recalls. We practice with people talking to them and feeding them raw meat and they have to just drop it and go - no questions asked. I don't see why anyone would ever want to have a command that isn't proofed all the way. Why have 2 commands that mean the same thing but one is only sort of reliable, and the other is always reliable - why would you ever use the one that is only "half trained"? That just doesn't make sense to me. Now I do have the "here" (come towards me - like in Agility) and then I have "come" (come and sit in front of me). but those are different commands altogether. I just think that a recall should be a recall. I don't EVER want a command that I didn't train my dog to always obey to. This trainer's "emergency recall" has the same expectations as my "regular" recall, so what is her regular recall like?! Just consider, why have commands 2 when 1 is all you will ever need to use. When I say come, I wouldn't say it to mean "come when you can, this isn't an emergency". The dog should come every time - period. Multiple commands are not necessary.

 

I DO agree that you NEVER need to stop acting silly with the command! However, don't forget to practice un-silly just in case you are so scared one time you just can't act silly like in training.