Lurcher re-call help please... I'm a failure as a Mum

C

Carlosmum

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I have a 18mth beddy x whippet bitch, she's a lovely dog but we have huge problems with recall. I always have treats with me but these don't seem to inspire her. If I let her off lead on our walks she stays fairly close & returns from time to time, if I call when I change direction she follows. I don't always replace the lead when she returns but do always offer a treat. However, if I need to recall in a hurry she completely ignores me somehow she knows, ( I guess its the tone of my voice.). Tonight she gave OH the slip ran off to the yard, black dog in dark is not a good combination. :rolleyes: Luckily son found her before she disappeared around the farm.
Recently I had to wait half an hour while she munched her way through a rabbit. As soon as she had finished she came straight to me.
What can I do to sort the problem out & get her to come to me what ever the circumstances especially if some one lets her out of house/garden un-attached to lead. she is never off the lead near the house/yard intentionally so when it happens she says woopee & is gone.
Is it time to roast a chicken, what would be the most tasty treat I could offer that she cant refuse?
Thanks for sticking with me
 
You're not a failure - it's bloody hard to over-ride hundreds of years of genetics - it's in her blood and her bones to run and catch small furry things.
Plus she's a teenager!!

I'd keep her on a long line until you get it cracked. There is only one way to prevent a dog running off initially, and that's when you have a physical way to stop her.

I'd also start teaching her that ALL her food comes from you, not put in a bowl plonked down at mealtimes, and only when she is doing something you want.
She won't work for her food if she is not hungry, or knows she is going to get it at breakfast or teatime regardless.
I'd start off with her normal kibble and then break out the big guns like chicken and fish if that doesn't work.
 
A tip from the hunting field. The huntsman is ALWAYS the good guy. He is the one to tells the pack where they should look for a line. He is the one who lays the pack on a fresh scent. Watch a pack of hounds working and see how quickly they respond to the voice of an old reliable hound and how quickly they ignore the liar. (Yes, there ARE canine liars!). That's one reason they come, another is that the hunt will have several whips or whippers in -- who, well, whip in! If a hound is a bit slow in responding, the whipper in is sent to whip it in! He's the bad guy.

So, if you want your dog to come to call, make sure you always call when you have something of interest to HIM. Never ever call the dog to give him a row. Never ever call to do something he doesn't like, like putting him back on the lead. OK, so how do you put the dog back on the lead? Call him to you and give him a fuss or a game as if you haven't seen him for ten years -- THEN put the lead on. Also, occasionally call the dog to you for the fuss/game and let him off again. Deliberately lose the dog occasionally so he comes to find you. Be unpredictable. One toot on the whistle and hide. Or change direction. Don't always go the same way on your walk. In short, don't waste a dog's time by calling unnecessarily -- they are busy people with things to do!

When you've called your dog to you and are making a fuss of it, repeat your recall while you make a fuss of him. That may sound illogical in human terms but you are attempting to associate the recall + you with something he enjoys.
 
All of what CC said :) The only advantage I had with mine was that he would panic if he couldnt see me, but he still had to spend some time on a lunge line being reeled in.

I have walked home and left him once , as the only way home was clear fields. I went through every treat possible including raw liver, so it was a last resort. I made sure his recall command wasnt his name being yelled over and over again.

I also spent a lot of time on 'wait', before going through doors, gates and eventually off lead before going onto the next field. This sometimes gives me the nano-second of attention span required to grab the little darling.

We also play 'ready, steady go!', so when he comes back, he sits, and gets sent away for more gallopy fun. And as its getting dark now, I'm off to find something blinky/flashy to attach to his collar so I can see him

Having said all this, last night there was the jolly five minutes where he scampered off after a rabbit, got stuck on one side of the hedge and couldnt get back through.

Anyone walking past would have been treated to the sight of me crouched down and shouting irriatably through a hedge " well, come on you stupid idiot, its the only gap small enough!"
 
You certainly aren't a failure...or if you are there are many, many other lurcher owners out there who are no better.
Mine is 13 now and not too bad, but only because she is old and slow and can't catch things any more.
 
Your definitely not a failure! Mine will recall 95% of the time, but if hes chasing anything nothing on earth would make him stop! I'm also lucky, mine had the fear of god put into him as young dog by refusing to come back, not paying attention and then getting horribly lost in the woods.

I do most of my walking out in the woods or up on the moor where no one else is so its not quite the same as walking where there are cars or other people, so I have a fairly relaxed attitude to him running free and hunting things. He is very good at roaming quite far away but never ever losing track of me. This is mainly because we are usually on deer trails and he never quite knows when I might just randomly turn around and head another way, so he keeps one eye on me at all times. There are 2 places where there are rabbit warrens, where if I try and call him to me he wont come and if I walk up to him he just dodges past me and thinks I'm joining in. I just walk away. He always catches up to me before I'm too far away.

Hes much better behaved in parks and other places like that. But anywhere theres small running animals I have to recall him before hes started to chase. He is very good at refusing to be caught if he isnt tired. I work the legs of him to keep him calm and settled, and if I was daft enough to only take him for a 20min walk I would possbly have problems getting him back to go home without a tasty treat. He would recall if I asked him to for any other reason, but hes a smart cookie, he knows the places I ask him to recall to go home. He knows his rights :D He will also come to me to ask for his lead on when hes tired and wants to go home.

I wouldnt be able to recall him at all if I was angry or stressed out. Again, hes smart and a bit of a drama queen, so if he thinks hes in ANY sort of trouble theres not a hope in hell of catching him. He doesnt run away but he wont come closer than 6 feet. Crouching down and offering a treat normally has him coming up to you, but he definitely checks the whole way to me in case I'm lying and he might actually be in big trouble. This is a dog I've had from a puppy who has never been smacked or abused, the worst hes ever had is a verbal rollocking so no idea where hes got the idea I am some sort of dog beating monster :D

I've made him sound like a nightmare! Hes not at all :D But I do know where your coming from as when Dylan was a young adolescent he ran me the gauntlet of bad dog behaviour until I learn to think about it from his point of view and treat/train him appropriately. The best thing I ever did for Dylan was to work him. He doesnt work as in go lamping etc, but he does get to hunt himself in the woods etc, walk for hours, flirtpole, chase balls on ropes, "kill" furry toys, and go luring racing as often as possible. A tired dog, is a good dog!
 
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I've found very loud jingly bells stop my lurcher disappearing in the woods. He doesn't wear them all the time, just occasionally if I'm working outside at dusk and can't give him 100% of my attention. I think they work because he can't hear anything when he's moving, just the bells, so he has to stand still to use all his senses.
 
Another failure here! :D

I have two lurchers (even worse than one, I now know!) and for me the secret has been . . .really good treats! :) They aren't that food motivated and know if it's "worth it". I'd love to have the dogs everyone tells me I should have, that love me for me and not for cupboard love, but I accept the fact that, in the moment, rabbits and deer are always going to be more attractive! I was lucky - the older one is my first lurcher and we were recommended a "lurcher friendly" puppy class. The instructor was very chilled about things like him not being able to sit properly (he has to sit on his hocks) and encouraged using treats and generally recognised that he isn't a Labrador.

It took awhile to find treats they both liked - annoying, they have different tastes - but it's worth it. I can use boring ones so long as I have a few really top ones mixed in and use intermittent reward. (This week it's been imperative that the recall was spot on so we've gone with chicken pieces supplemented with a chopped up Fridge Raider. Bad Owner, I know, but the younger one is off lead for the first time in over 6 months so I cannot risk losing them, even for a minute.) If we are going to be somewhere I think will really test them I make sure they get recalled a few times right away and know I have good stuff on offer. I also keep their treats in a very bright coloured box with a snap lid. I tap the box with the lid when I call them back but often they will come for the snap of the lid coming off!

I've also got much better at reading them. If they even start looking sharp I recall and they also know "wait" at any intersection etc. even if we don't do a full recall. I also know my limits! Dawn and dusk are always trying - they actually recall as well in the dark as midday but bunny - or worse, fox - o'clock is tough going. If I have to walk at that time I try to pick the most appropriate area. Quite often the trot at my heels like proper "poacher's dogs" but I'm not fooled! :D I try not to take them for granted.

They are 4 and 6 now and actually generally very good. Enough that people remark on it! I can call the older one off the chase if he's not at full flight and often he doesn't go at all. He was AWFUL as an adolescent though so be heartened, yours will get with the program! It will just take some time and effort.
 
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