Recall Regression

Sheltie Che, thank you for those links. They are going to be a big help. I have already spent a time on youtube watching some training.

Labgirl, thank you. I don't really know how to tell if a dog is going to be okay and don't tend to let Grace greet other dogs unless she on lead, because then I feel more in control. I must admit all the off lead experiences we have had have been fine.

I tend to follow the example of the other dog owner. If they make no eye contact, keep their dog at heel, then I do the same. If they allow their dog to approach mine, then I am happy for Grace to go meet them. I can tell human language better than dog language at the moment, lol.
 
Gracesmum said:
Hello there.

I'm having a problem with Grace to the point where I am now reluctant to let her off the lead.

She was always excellent at recall, came every time we called her. But recently, I would say over the past two weeks, she has completely ignored our command and gone and done her own thing.

She still sits, lies down and stays on command. However, when I take her to the park in the afternoon she now finds it much more interesting to do her own thing.

We keep her on the lead to begin with, practice some recall, sit and stay commands and when she has shown that she will do as she is told we let her off. The first time she started acting up, she came to us when asked, but then found a bird that had settled on the field and found it much more fun to chase that and ignored our commands. When we finally caught her we put her back on the lead.

The second time we let her off, she stayed with us mostly, occassionally going off for a gallop but came back when callled, until a dog entered the park. She then refused to obey me and ran off after the dog. When I finally caught her, I put her back on the lead and apologised to the dog owners, explaining that she didn't normally ignore my commands.

Yesterday I didn't let her off until a good half hour of stay, sit, lie down and recall on the lead. She was as good as gold. As soon as I let her off she wandered off. I called her back. She ignored me. I called her again, she ran in the opposite direction. I called her a third time she came back. I rewarded her with a treat, let her go off again and then called her back. She ignored me. Then another dog entered the park and she was gone.

I am really reluctant to let her off the lead now. The park is safe but if she won't recall and another dog enters who doesn't want her attentions, it could end up not good.

I wondered if there were any suggestions to what I should do? Until 2 weeks ago she was great, would play in the park and ignore another dog if we kept our distance. If more than one dog entered the park or a dog came too close we would recall and leash her. We just don't seem to be able to do this anymore.
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Think about it from her point of view - when she ignores you when you call she gets to chase birds and play with dogs. When she comes to you when you call, she is put on a lead and does obedience commands. Even if there's treats involved, clearly it's more rewarding to ignore your call. She's self-rewarding.

A lot of people have given you excellent suggestions and good resources. Above all, make the recall fun - reward with attention, play, and treats. When you're practicing and you call her over, go ahead and play a game of chase or tag with her - forget the obedience commands. Play games right after putting a leash on too - you need to be more interesting/fun/rewarding than everything else in the environment.

Good luck!

Tara
 
Gracesmum said:
She bounds over to another dog, but not right up to it. She will play bow before it and then run off, encouraging him/her to chase her. If the dog approaches she slowly she will sniff noses/butts but is more interested in playing. I'm just aware that other dogs may not appreciate a small dog haring down on them. Also I don't want to appear to have a bad mannered dog.
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I would actually start training controlled greetings. Once they hit adolescence they loose their 'puppy licence'with other dogs. Bounding up to another dog is actually a rude signal (and scary for timid dogs) so while puppies will get away with it, many adult dogs will snap at adolescents that try it.

Controlled greetings is one of the compulsory units in our classes as we consider them that important. It's something you need to train when they are young so they don't continue it into adulthood.

You will have to practice controlled greetings on lead first. It's just a matter of telling her to wait (and sit if you want), then give her a release word that it's okay to go up to the other dog. It can seem to take a while to teach an adolescent, but worth the effort.

Just one other thing to add to get her to come back. When she looks at you don't stand up rigid - bow slightly at the waist, you could even put your hands on your things in a kind of simulated play bow. I use this all the time, particularly with young dogs and it gets a really positive reaction. Dogs are very responsive to body language - a rigid stance provokes caution, a relaxed and bowed stance means good things.
 
Iwould actually start training controlled greetings. Once they hit adolescence they loose their 'puppy licence'with other dogs. Bounding up to another dog is actually a rude signal (and scary for timid dogs) so while puppies will get away with it, many adult dogs will snap at adolescents that try it.


This is bang on advice, its not about the manner of approach as Lab girl intimidated, its about the greeting being properly controlled and whether or not both parties(owners as well as dogs) want the interaction.
 
I love your advice on this one Caro ! I sometimes forget that calling Sandstorm to me should be re-inforced with FUN! That probably means for us, cheese. I always use cheerios, but in a highly distracted environment where I am not sure SS will come, cheese is it.
Thanks for this
 
dblock said:
Iwould actually start training controlled greetings. Once they hit adolescence they loose their 'puppy licence'with other dogs. Bounding up to another dog is actually a rude signal (and scary for timid dogs) so while puppies will get away with it, many adult dogs will snap at adolescents that try it.


This is bang on advice, its not about the manner of approach as Lab girl intimidated, its about the greeting being properly controlled and whether or not both parties(owners as well as dogs) want the interaction.
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Lol. I think you meant to say intimated, not intimidated
 
Olive's recall has been improving since I started working with her in our backyard and in the grass play area behind the local elementary school (several hours after school is over). Our yard is mostly blocked in by trees/shrubs and so is the play area, so low distraction. I keep Olive on a 20ft lead and leave her regular leash attached so I can grab it if needed.

The long lead has been the best thing. We can work on recalls, play fetch, and she doesn't seem to be as stressed out (although that could also be because I am less stressed, too!). I let her wander out for a minute or two and call her back, with lots of pets, "good girl"s!, and a treat. We repeat it over and over. Sometimes when she returns, after the reward for the recall, I'll have her do a few obedience things - a down, sit, or put herself in heel position - and then let her wander again, which is a reward in itself. Because of the long lead, I don't have to put a leash back on and add that negativity to the recall.

The system has worked well for us. She is happier and much more willing to work, it doesn't push her attention span too far too fast, so we are able to get longer training sessions in. The long lead gives her the free feeling of being off-leash but gives me the option to use it if/when I need it. For the time being we have stopped walks along roads and sidewalks completely because there are too many distractions there for her to deal with and I want her (and me) to gain confidence in her abilities before we tackle those places again. I suggest you try the long lead for the same reasons.
 
Some great advice here, thank you. Caro especially, because I was concerned about her approaching other dogs without any hesitation. I will start training the sit command when she sees another dog and then release her. I think that will work very well.

I've not let her off lead now since I first posted, and have been using a long training lead. It does as Celloyogi says, give her some freedom but keeps me in control.

I have started Susan Garratts perfect recall and I think starting from basics with that will be a good thing.

I will keep you posted on how we get on. :)
 
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