Needing help getting his attention when outdoors

[jesterfaerie]

I am having a few problems getting and keeping my dogs attention when he is on a walk. He is very attentive when he is inside, I also take him to work with me on a daily basis and again even though he is outside he is attentive and will come to call, unless there are other dogs about then all he wants to do is play with them.

On a walk 9 times out of 10 he has no interest in treats and is not at all interested in his toys/balls outside the house. I often walk him with my dad's terrier who is roughly the same age as him (she is 7months he is 9months) and she comes to call and is always treated when she comes back, therefore when she comes back he too comes back to us and he is treated and praised. However when he is alone he has no interest in treats and more interest in all the different smells.

So as I have nothing of interest to him I am struggling to get his attention, and because of this we have no recall. When he is paying attention he will come back, sit, wait, etc whilst on a walk but it seems to be down to him when he pays attention not down to me doing anything different. 9/10 he is kept on long lines, but whether he is on the, off them or even on the lead I can struggle to get his attention. I have tried a whistle to get his attention and again he will take to anything new inside the house but not at all outside.

Do any of you think that clicker training may be an option to use for him, not to get his attention but to praise him especially if he has little interest in treats/toys outside or would lots of verbal praise be enough? As my partner and I have only had Charlie around a month so could the fact he is still young and we haven't had him overly long add to the issue?

I am open to any suggestions or just advice in general.

And just because I cannot resist, here is a picture of him being good as gold

 

[Spudlet]

Is that a spangle I spy?

How old is he?

If he is getting his head down, I would use that and look into gundog training with him - Henry is much the same, and this has helped him as he now sees smelling and hunting as something we do as a team, instead of something he does all by himself that I, boring person that I am, try to stop him doing. You can start small, get him retrieving if he isn't already, then hide toys in the house - he will learn to hunt for them, then you can do the same out and about.

A month is not long, tbh I kept Henry on a lead for 6 weeks when I first got him and it took many months before I was totally confident to let him off. Posters on here can testify to this, getting that dog to recall was nearly the end of me! But he can now do it so it can be done. So don't worry about needing the long-line, keep it until you are ready to discard it. Also, don't be afraid to go back to basics if you need to. At the moment he is still bonding with you, although he may seem settled - in a few months time you will look back and realise that he was really not settled in yet.

You need to build up the distraction level for him gradually - learning things in the house is easy, but to then take it straight outdoors onto a walk is a big step, going from little to no distraction to all the excitements of the great outdoors. You need a middle ground, so the garden if you have one or somewhere else exciting but not all that exciting to really practice your training.

I would look for a good local trainer, ideally one good with gundog breeds and join a class, so he will start to work for you even with other dogs about. They will also be able to advise more fully as they will see what he is like for themselves

 

[jesterfaerie]

Hes a 9 month old collie x cocker
If I am honest I wouldn't have considered looking into gundog training as he is the first gundog I have owned so not something I am overly familiar with but I am going to start looking around to see if there are any trainers in my area. I am having a bit of a dispute with my partner as I have suggested taking him to training classes not just for him but for my OH and I to learn how to get the best from him, neither of us have owned a spaniel before.Sounds like something I should be doing with him, working with him and what he is designed for rather than against him and stopping him. He will retrieve all day long given the chance!

I think it may have thrown me a little bit as he does seem settled so I have assumed that he is. Every day he has a short time spent on his training and it does include his basics not just new things. At the moment we don't have a garden but we are moving next week and we will have a garden to use then, which will hopefully make the step a little easier.

Thank you so much your advice has been fantastic and has certainly pointed me in the right direction, I am going to start looking into classes and finding a trainer with experience of gundogs.

 

[littlemisslauren]

Collie x Cocker - The thought is enough to bring me to tears

As Spudlet says its still super early days so don't get stressed about it I am so lucky that B responds to cheese and chicken!

 

[Spudlet]

Should have said btw - he's gorgeous

Henry fell asleep on the sofa within half an hour of getting home - wow, I though, how lucky I am to have such a calm little dog who seems so chilled to be here! It is only now, looking back and knowing him as I now do, that I can see that he really wasn't as settled as I thought.

Also, have you tried Primula? It is Henry's ultimate reward, might be worth a try

 

[jesterfaerie]

Collie x Cocker - The thought is enough to bring me to tears

:grin: I must be mad!


Spudlet - Thank you Primula? as in the squeezy cheese? My elderly collie used to adore it! I must say despite his breed he is laid back, when he at home with just us he is as quiet as a lamb and really settled in when he first arrived but as you said he probably isn't as settled as he could be. Only time will tell. Thanks again

 

[littlemisslauren]

Oooh I second Primula!

B goes mad for the ham one

 

[CorvusCorax]

I second a trainer, a fresh pair of eyes really helps - I thought I was doing all the right things until someone else was watching me and saying 'you're not rewarding on time, you're not making yourself exciting enough, he's switching off' etc etc etc.

If you stick 'focus training' in the search bar ^^^ you can see lots of long, boring rambles about the subject from me

At his age it might still be possible to build ball/toy drive but it is a daily thing, a system, hyping him up and making him *want* the object.

I would also try to incorporate hand feeding into his routine, where he is fed from your pocket and not a bowl.

For instance, we are in training at the moment and in the morning I tip all his food into my pockets. We go out and if he performs certain tasks, he gets his food from my hand.
And the same in the evening. So he identifies doing certain things, looking up at me, giving me attention, etc, with getting his grub.
It's just another way of feeding and incorporating work into it and him identifying you with getting his food, not that it comes from an inanimate object.

 

[Toffee44]

Also ditto the Primula either the plain cheese one or the prawns one, I have both. My lab x springer goes mental for the prawn one, I call him back and he practically sits on me (my dogs sit infront of me when recalled)!! the puppy loves the prawns one.


Werent too fussed about the ham one.

 

[gunnergundog]

Started typing a long reply to this and then my wretched computer locked!!! Grrrrrrrrr....................so, let's try again, although this will be a much abridged version!

You have an interesting combi of breeds! Looks like the cocker is to the fore for a lot of the time: switching off from you and nose down outside. Firstly, I would try and develop his keeness for retrieving into an obsession so that he becomes fixated on one toy that he only ever gets when out with you.

I would NOT encourage his hunting at the moment at all. Walk on non-gamey ground until you have got his attention and made him into a retrieve-aholic. Then teach both the stop and turn whistles (can give info on this if required) and then and ONLY then start teaching him to hunt for objects that you have hidden.

Re treats: some dogs aren't food fixated....however, what are you using as treats? Things like warm roast chicken, baked liver, sardines in oil, pate, black pudding are all things that can usually get the salivary glands working - especially if a dinner has been withheld the night before. Most will probably think I'm cruel, but hunger is a great motivator for most dogs and if we do equate them with wild dogs/wolves, then they certainly would have had long periods of hunger/starvation, so missing one meal ain't going to hurt! Agree with what CaveCanem says about hand feeding; drop pieces of food on the floor as well to encourage him to stay close to you and not to bog off. He has to realise that the good stuff happens around by you and not in the next county!!!

Also, do your training in the house, then the back garden, then an enclosed tennis court, then the village cricket pitch, then the local park, then the open country, then the shoot.......those are the levels that I proof every bit of training. You can't expect a dog to recall in the house and then on the shoot if you ain't taught the bits in between! Dogs don't generalise all that well so we have to for them!

Long lines can also be a godsend for reinforcing commands and focus whilst the dog is work in progress!

That's it for now.....got to dash, may think of something else in a bit.

Good luck.