recall, heeellllp

[treefella 24]

alright everybody

 

i need some serious help, now iv worked and trained my dogs and others for along time now, everything from lurchers and terriers to even my mates spoodle (not for work, just basics).

 

About 4 months ago my terrier was put to sleep at the ripe old age of 14 and was still bushing and catching rabits until 6 months before he got ill, and one thing iv always thought was incredibly important was recall! All my dogs have been spot on with it by 12 months and each dog has been different when training them to return to me on demand.

 

I aquired a new terrier about 2 months ago and have put alot into him and he is doing well aroound the house etc, he was imported from ireland, rescued from a p***y camp (left behind when they moved on, b*****ds) but the one thing i just cant crack is recall with this bloody mut. iv tried everything,

 

Used food as an incentive to come back - not interested

Hid in the bushes until he was worried and finally found me (this worked with my lurcher when all else failed)

His favourite toy - not interested

Really long lead - nothing

He knows his name and in the house or garden happily comes to his name or a whistle really well, get him out and off the lead and hes deaf and its like you dont even exist, i have a strong bond with him already but get him out and theres no controlling his recall.

 

any ideas

 

treefella

[king123 4]

how old is the dog?,

 

sounds like you have had the right idea but when i had trouble with one of my dogs on recall when she was a pup i used a whistle and those cheep tinned sausages as treats and had her on a training lead or a strong exstendable lead and would change direction quickly and whistle her or call her name but tried to make it fun for her hope it helps.

[gnipper 6,469]

It's a terrier, hunting is more interesting to one than treats or toys. They need to know who's boss and that they can't take the piss when they are told to do something.

[Dan McDonough 560]

Tri-tronics shock collar. Put the collar on 2 to start out with and wait until you've got the pup out and you just know it's going to dissreguard your command. State the command and give a short pause, hit the button for 1 second and keep touching that button one second at a time when it's going away from you or showing that it's not coming to you and switch it to the tone function and hold it down for 2 seconds when it's going in the right direction.

 

Heck I'm not even sure you folks can use shock collars over there. I'm new to the site and from the states.

 

After a few short sessions, all you will have to do is to touch the tone (beeeep, beeeeep, beeeeep) and the dog will come from any distance up to about 2 miles. We do it here on hard headed coyote dogs from great distances so it ought to work on just about anything...certainly a pup.

 

Caution, some dogs will be scared by the 2 setting. It's not much more than putting your toung on a 9V battery but it's new and some dogs get worked up at the smallest things. In that case you will have to increase the shock to 3 and keep going up until the dog changes it's mind. It goes contrary to what you might think would work but you can not let the dog beat the collar or it will be bad news for you both. Only one time have I had to keep up with a dog in a truck while hitting it with the 6 (highest setting). If I would have given up at any point, the dog would have likely never come back. This was the hardest headed of dogs and I don't recommend this method for folks who aren't sure of their timing but it works like a charm and every dog I have is broke to the tone button on my shocker. I have not had to shock my older dogs for years and I can even call them off of a hot race with it.

 

Like I said, I don't even know if you can use e-collars over there. Seems like you all have a heck of a lot of laws in Europe.

[beast 1,884]

try tug-training

[Casso 1,261]

if he comes to his name in the home or garden he understands what recall is about, then his or your problem is distractions when out which apply to drive or have stimulated his drive in the past, something which you are not doing at the present,

 

you need to create a desire for an item that stimulates a drive state of mind in the dog, an item when the dog see's it excites his drive energy,

 

to do this you need to curtail other avenues as outlets for his energy, no digging no hunting no playing with dogs,for a short time, all these actions provide an outlet for his energy and are seen by him as the only channel none of which have the remotest thing to do with coming into your space or recall,

 

dogs always have energy to give and what we need to do is make the recall piggyback on his motivation to express energy , if we have a dog which will give us his energy in any situation , we will have control of the dog in every situation no question , what i mean by giving us his energy is playing tug or chasing a ball or whatever, if we can stimulate a dog to play with distractions we have major control on a dog,

 

keep him on a long lead while out, dont give him any attention in the home or garden unless through play ,hand feed if you can, no corrections for making any contact of any sort in your space including jumping up, through curtailing him expressing drive his energetic system seeks an avenue through which energy must flow this is where a tug item comes into play,

protection dogs are stimulated through tug items but on a bigger scale its their avenue of release for energy, their handlers have no problem using the natural inclinations of driven dogs for biting and tugging as a handle of control over their animals

 

tug items stimulate drive, which is what we need to control in the dog , control the drive and you control the dog,

take him out on a long lead with the tug item and just tease him with it at the start , put it down to him and snatch it away , drive him nuts for it, post him up and play with it just out of reach, work him into a frenzy , get him barking for it, let him bite it and pull it out of your hand , let him win, offer him a treat and take it back off him,

 

short intervals like this with you being able to work him up in drive , wrestle it from you and win is what you want,

progress onto him walking on long lead you recalling him let him tug for a while encouraging him and letting him win,

 

what you want eventually is the recall stimulating his drive mindset, when he hears his name he equates that with energy flow, its working with his natural inclinations towards energy systems that stimulate drive,

a bit long winded bud , but its a system that works with the nature of driven dogs , the recall is stimulated from the inside out not through the outside in like in dominance training,

best of luck, pm if stuck with it,,

 

another point to make is only take him out and train him is when he's hungry, hunger gives the dog internal tension which makes an item all the more inviting as a release of tension,,

Edited May 21, 2012 by Casso

[trenchfoot 4,243]

Poor buggers confused, he does not know which of the "tree-fellas" to go back to. Try changing your name!

[treefella 24]

hi guys

 

thanks casso, il give it ago and let you know how it goes. I hate having to ask a questions about training, i thought i was quiet a good dog trainer as all my other dogs have been well trained by me. its just this one bloody dog has been doing my bloody head in.

 

cheers to everyone else as well

 

treefella