Improving recall

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Jenna500

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Hi all,

I have a lurcher, who is now three, I've had him since he was six months old. When I first had him his recall was truly atrocious - it took me half an hour once to catch him in my field, and I did that by pretending to leave!

I resorted to attaching him to Isa, so when she came back, he had to, too!

So then he wasn't too bad, if she came back, so did he, and as she was really good, it was not an issue. But now she's gone, his recall has become a bit sketchy.

It's not as bad as it was - he WILL come back, in his own time, but he's easily distracted, by something as simple as an interesting smell, and I end up calling him a good many times before he'll return.

I simply don't let him off when we're not in my field, as he loves going to see other dogs and I don't have a hope of recalling him until he's said 'hello'. Once that's done, I can call him back, but I think that's unfair on the other dog owner, because not all dogs like to be said 'hello' to by a stonking great lurcher!

I've tried bribery - cheese and sausage and suchlike - and he's great with that, as long as there are no distractions!

Have you any suggestions as to how I can improve his recall, or do I just accept that he'll always be easily distracted and simply not let him off lead when we're not in an enclosed space?
 
Don't feed him before he goes out, and when you do feed him at home, hand feed him often, if he's hungrier, and he knows you are the source of food, he will be more likely to come back.

Have you ever tried long lining him? Also the whole running away, hiding etc, or acting like a loon to make yourself more interesting :p

I don't let mine off when we are not in a secure area, that seems to upset/annoy people on here with their own dogs, but I don't find it a big deal :)
 
Oh dear I've been here :( You seem to have the basics established :) The trick is to watch him like a hawk - as soon as you see him show the slightest distraction towards anything call him back and reward. As soon as he is of it is no use calling him back - he has already gone. Calling him at this point is actually counter productive as they learn that they can actually get away with ignoring you, making the problem worse :(

I'm sure you know that the problem is they go deaf as a deaf thing when running. What I would do is get a vibrating collar - teach it in the house first and use it as you would a clicker. Soon the dog learns that the buzz means a treat and you then have another tool to call them back.

A trick you can have is to have a really favourite toy that only gets used when he recalls. Never at any other time - it needs to be super special. The key is to find a toy that they love! Mine love the plush ducks that honk from P@H :)

If the vibrating collar doesn't work there is always the option of an EC but they have to be used very carefully - only to catch attention, recall and treat, never as punishment. Not a nice option but if you are walking in the country with a dog with poor recall it could save its life...

I have found another thing that works to a degree is to forget about the recall if the dog is at a distance - sit, stay, and you go to the dog works well. Sometimes the dog is more willing to sit and stay where the smell is than leave it all together.
 
When you say long lining, do you mean putting him on a long line so there's only so far he can go, and sort of 'reeling him in' to bring him back? This is what I tend to do if we're out and about, so he has a bit of freedom but I have hold of him!

LOL, the acting like a loon/hiding works, as long as he's not distracted by something else! The running away DOES work - because I have actually got in the car and driven off (only about 10 feet) and he really thought I was leaving him and came bombing back - so if I'm in the field and he's not coming, I actually tell him I'm leaving, run off, and yes, he does come back! Not tried it when he's seriously distracted though - like when he's off to see another dog or chasing a small and furry.

TBH if I can't let him off, I'm not too bothered as I have thirteen acres where he can run free, it would just be nice to be able to take him to the beach or off into the woods off the long line, and not worry about him disappearing!
 
Sorry Christmas Crackers, cross posted! I like the idea of a vibrating collar! I think part of his issue (and please don't jump on me for saying this) but he's not the sharpest tack in the box and when he gets distracted he simply forgets about the recall.

I'm not sure about the ecollar - he's a huge wuss and I think he's just as likely to run off if he got a zap. He peed on my electric fence once and you'd think someone was murdering him - he ran around my field screaming for about 10 minutes before I could catch him!

Mm, like the sit-stay idea too. Something else to add to the mix!

And yes, typical lurcher, once he's running, all thought has gone.
 
Jenna500 said:
I'm not sure about the ecollar - he's a huge wuss and I think he's just as likely to run off if he got a zap. He peed on my electric fence once and you'd think someone was murdering him - he ran around my field screaming for about 10 minutes before I could catch him!
Click to expand...

I know what you mean but they have varied settings on them and they are nowhere near as bad as an electric fence - tried it on myself :)

The trick is to teach them that the 'buzz' is for a treat - they should learn that is for a treat not punishment :) And it should never be used on the harshest setting - it should gradually be increased until the dog responds.
 
Yep, letting him go on the lunge line is what I meant! Works for some dogs, not for others but I found it useful.

I&S made a great point about watching his body language - I know I have a different breed, but I know, when the nose goes down, the ears go forward and the tail goes up, it's too late, I've lost him, I need to recall my fella when he is circling, showing interest, or else it's too late - I am sure you know his body language and know where the tipping point is between 'still with me - nope, gone!' and when you need to be giving the command. Do it frequently during the walk and praise, don't only do it when you think he is about to tank, or else, he will get wise to that!
 
Thank you OP was just about to post one very similar. We are on a long line most of the time for walks and we can 'wait' at the end of it and 'come' and even sometimes heel on it. :D
But as soon as she is FREEEEEEeeeeeeee she can be hell to get back.
Love the ideas.
Where do you recommend getting vibrating remote control collars from as haven't seen them in my desperate recall related trawling? :eek:
 
Another point people tend to miss with recall and reward is reinforcing the reward at the time the distractions is NIL, i.e using a clicker/whistle indoors and then calling the dog, treat and click (then use your cheese/chicken/hot dogs/liver) bribe of choice:rolleyes:
With the whistle do the same name/whistle when he comes treat, u can then take the name out and use the whistle, but u must master this without the distractions and get it instilled.

I have worked with 3 dogs recently, one for aggression towards other dogs) and each one had no interest in treats (however the owner was using them at the time of distraction) =no association/no interest, and not as a preperation before the distraction, spend a month on the prep if need be and keep the dog on the long line where u can then try it on there and know u have a good recall before attempting to let off and use an enclosed escape proof area. postitves before trying a negative.
It has worked for all dogs.

Try and exhaust all positives before using a negative.

Just another idea, not neccesarily better than those suggested, just another :rolleyes: there is enough spats going on in here already.....I dont wanna have to take inky and Cavey on and wrestle them to the ground....I will of course be victorious :rolleyes::D:D:D:D:D:D

Good luck atleast u have a few ideas :)
 
I have a three year old Italian Spinone, who was very wilfull and completely self-centred as a youngster. I've always steered away from titbits when training my dogs in the past, preferring to use verbal praise and a scratch, but she was just not interested in that, so I reluctantly resorted to titbits as she is completely obsessed with food.
I lived with low-calorie beef sticks in my pockets for a few weeks, and would randomly call her to me whether in the house, in the garden, around the stable yard. Varying from calling her as soon as she started to walk away from me, to an hour or more apart, and I would give her a titbit every time she came to call. It worked a treat (please pardon the pun!), and soon became habit. She now comes to call on the first command 80% of the time and on 2nd command (or 3rd command which is an angry "oh boy you're in lots of trouble now!" shout) the rest of the time.
I suppose this would only help with a stomach-obsessive dog though?
 
I've had a look around at the vibrating collars, and you can get them from about £30 up to over £100! Need to do some research!

When Shadow was really bad, he knew when I was getting annoyed with him and was even less likely to come back. Isa was the opposite - if she knew I was angry with her she'd come back immediately because she didn't like me being upset! So to take the emotion out of it, I actually taught him to recall using a whistle (coupling it with treats indoors, then outdoors with no distractions, etc) and that really worked well, as long as there were no distractions! Maybe I should dig that out and see if I can improve on that. Perhaps I'm just too impatient and am not repeating it enough to make it habit rather than simply coming back for the food.

Thanks for all the suggestions - need to go do some practicing!
 
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