Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:51 am Post subject: Advice on recall training
I wonder if anyone can give me a bit of advice. I am having a few problems with the recall (I know who doesn't) with my 14month old. She is fine until she is on the scent of rabbits and pheasants and she then crashes around in the undergrowth totally unaware of me. I have started to take her to a gun dog club but am not sure if this is right as they
encourage the dogs to track game and pick it up and bring it back. I am a bit confused as to whether this will confuse Nellie as on one hand I am trying to distract her from game and on the other encouraging her. I'm not sure what to do. Any help?
I am a bit confused as to whether this will confuse Nellie as on one hand I am trying to distract her from game and on the other encouraging her. I'm not sure what to do. Any help?
On the contrary, gundog training is ideal because it teaches the dog to follow it’s instincts in a structured and appropriate manner. Working for your, rather than for herself. Many if not most, young labs will attempt to hunt and eventually chase game if you exercise them where game is present. Gundog training organises this natural behaviour so that the dog does it when required and walks nicely to heel at other times
If your lab is a keen hunter, then establishing a good retrieving habit, and using this to exercise her and keep her fit will be far better for her in the long run, than allowing her to hunt for herself as this often leads to the dog becoming more and more out of control.
It is really important to find a training and exercise location where your dog is not tripping over rabbits the whole time, otherwise you will find it very difficult to train her effectively. I appreciate that this is not always easy, but it is very important, especially if the dog is beginning to get a 'flavour' for chasing and ignoring you.
Do carry on with your gundog training, it is a lot of fun and your dog will benefit hugely. Follow a logical progression of training - get a good stop whistle reponse established and exercise your dog with retrieving rather than with free hunting. Go-back retrieves (where you drop a dummy and walk on, then turn around and send the do back for it) are great exercise and good for steadiness, you can build up until your dog is going back well over 100 yards each time. Have fun
Hi there, I am with you on this one. Naturally, once they have got the scent of something they are gone beacause in the wild that's what they would do. They are natural hunters. I once witnessed my ex mother-in-law's springer spaniel kill a squirrel, ripping it to shreds! It was awful because he went completely deaf when I called him and all he was interested in was this squirrel.
Willow likes to chase horses, cows, rabbits, birds, you name it basically. She is only 17 months herself and is still learning to leave them alone. She is much better than she used to be and I'm convinced that this sort of thing takes much time and patience. What I do is, as soon as she runs off to chase whatever it is she wants to chase, I run in the opposite direction and make a high pitched, positive and excited sound, which I continue to do until she runs after me. When she comes to me I reward her. Other times it simply takes a toy or a stick to distract her attention away from potential chases. I learned this from watching Victoria on the programme 'It's me or the dog' and it works! You have to keep doing it though, and yes, you do look and feel a bit stupid running about making silly noises. But what is important here? Your dog's wellbeing or your worry of looking stupid? I just don't care and let people think what they think. I'm training my dog to be well trained and stuff what people think! Good luck. Let us know how it goes!
As Pippa says, gundog training is great because no working gundog should "Chase" It should always work in a controlled manner. And Hayley, It should never EVER kill ANYTHING!!!
The roots of a good recall start at home. How often have you called your dog in the garden, your dog ignored you or come when ready, and because you are in a hurry you have allowed it to get away with it. The whole aim in recall training is to never allow your dog to ever, under any circumstances, to get ever believe she has a choice.
This often means not calling your dog until you are in a position to enforce the recall. Obviously if your dog is running towards a road you must make the attempt, but this should rarely happen.
If your dog has just started to examine a very important clump of grass and you know in your heart that she is not going to come then wait until she has finished THEN call her. If you call her and she ignores you then you have devalued the command from a command to just another sound which you make that has no meaning.
"When she made that sound before and I did nothing, nothing happened. No bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck me dead, so it cannot mean anything!"
"When she made that sound before and I did nothing, nothing happened. No bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck me dead, so it cannot mean anything!"
Regards, John
Its me again, John - the one who obsesses about the detail.
What "bolt of lightening" do you recommend? Max is pretty good at coming when called but, just occasionally dawdles or plays deaf.
I understand calling him when he is engrossed devalues the command but what to do when you have no choice and he ignores you?
but what to do when you have no choice and he ignores you?
Say a heart felt thanks if he survives Linda or get a spade and bury the body!! This is why recalls are so important. It really can be a matter of life or death. Situations where you have no choice fall outside the realms of training. But these situations should not happen. With fore planning, life or death situations should not be allowed to happen because the dog should be back on the lead before things develop that far. OK, I know that’s a bit simplistic and in the real world things will happen. On holiday for example and you are walking across a moor miles from anywhere, you walk over the brow of a hill and find a main road in front of you that you never knew existed!
As I said, the road to a good recall starts in the garden. The reason being that there is no distractions. If my puppy does not come immediately then I set off after her with a fierce, "WHADdyerthinkyerdoin!" Because this is so out of character for me, (I tend to be a soft handler) I find my pups stop dead in their tracts. At which point I lighten right up, crouch down in a non threatening posture and call her again in a happy voice. It's the "Shock value" of the voice and the run which do the trick. "Wow! That’s torn it. I've really annoyed the old fool now!"
If I see another dog then I'll do one of two things. Either give my pup a "Release" command, (I use "OK then") and let her go to play, or I call her up to heel and start working her. If she breaks and runs after another dog then I quietly go and put her lead on and remove her from the situation. To call her at that time would be doomed to failure so would not help with the long term training.
Always remember this. You cannot tell a dog off for not doing something if you are not 100% sure she knows what she should be doing. But if you are completely sure, no doubts whatsoever, then she is just thumbing her nose at you and you have every right to issue a "Wakeup call".
Have no doubt, a puppy will not be 100% in the early stages so it is constant vigilance, but an older dog can and should be 99.999%
Thanks John - fantastic post although I am having trouble in getting the image of you rushing up to a pup with a fierce "WHADdyerthinkyerdoin!" out of my mind
Great posts John.....I have been doing some of my recall soooooo wrong especially the bit about seeing another dog!!!!!!! I often stand demanding Danny to come thinking that if I say it enough times eventually he'll come to me!!!!!
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