Recall/fetch issues

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Annette4

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Dobby has started a new fun game when we’re playig fetch on walks of once he has a ball, refusing to come back for love nor money (or should that be high value treats or his tuggy🙄) which for Flyball is a great help 😜 so far he’s only played this game with us at the end of a session when he’s tired but I don’t want it to become habit as I can’t use a long line at training for obvious safety issues.

Recall when he doesn’t have a toy is (for a 12 month old lurcher) pretty good and he LOVES his tuggy so he’ll be going back on his long line again but besides repeating what I’ve already done (so when he won’t come back standing on line and offering reward, if he still won’t come near making it slightly shorter until he’s taking the reward.....and repeat until he’s willingly coming back) I wanted to pick the brains of you lovely lot of other tips and tricks which might work?
 
The squeaker from any squeaky toy is like crack for my lot, immediate recall. Zak’s aim is always to find and kill the squeak. Did you want him to start training to the whistle? You could teach him the stop as a precursor to recall.

I was always told to make yourself the most interesting thing in the vicinity. I’m not sure how you do that-make funny noises, high pitched squealing?! I’ve been there, done that. :oops: Practically, stick him on a long line so he HAS to come back. Huge reward when he starts doing it voluntarily. Minor tug like a half halt to stop/distract him.
 
I always buy two of everything for swapping purposes.
As it is the end of the session, is it that he recognises the fun is coming to an end and is reluctant to return for that reason?
 
CorvusCorax said:
I always buy two of everything for swapping purposes.
As it is the end of the session, is it that he recognises the fun is coming to an end and is reluctant to return for that reason?
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He’s only just started (only just turned 12 months) so I’m not sure it’s end of season blues however I’ll give swaps a try though as it’s not one I’ve tried as yet.
 
cinnamontoast said:
The squeaker from any squeaky toy is like crack for my lot, immediate recall. Zak’s aim is always to find and kill the squeak. Did you want him to start training to the whistle? You could teach him the stop as a precursor to recall.

I was always told to make yourself the most interesting thing in the vicinity. I’m not sure how you do that-make funny noises, high pitched squealing?! I’ve been there, done that. :oops: Practically, stick him on a long line so he HAS to come back. Huge reward when he starts doing it voluntarily. Minor tug like a half halt to stop/distract him.
Click to expand...

I’ve never thought about training to a whistle, Fizz recalls as well to me whistling as to ‘here’ and he’s not far off the same however squeaky toys are crack for Dobby in the house so I’ll definitely give that one a go as never even thought to try it out and about!

The most frustrating thing is he doesn’t run off, just stays 7ft away from you and there’s no way I’m making it a game so the last time he’s done it (only 3 times total, wanting to stop it becoming a habit) me and Fizz just sat and had a cuddle until he went for a poo which was the only time I could get close enough to catch him 😂 the rest of the walk we played games of tug etc so it’s not a
‘punishment’ being back with me
 
Keep the throwing distances very short for a bit and see if that helps. If he does not come to you straightaway, walk away from him and ignore him until he thinks you are leaving him. If he lies down to mouth the reprieve object walk past him a few yards away then call him for his treat as you walk past him. No signs of frustration or impatience from you at all. All these have worked with my lurchers who now all retrieve but they can be hard work . Good luck.
 
Don't play to the point of him being tired and starting the keep away behaviour? Keep the game really short (2 or 3 retrieves) then a lovely active game of tug to finish up.

One of mine can't play fetch as a game as he gets too revved and his brain falls out his ears... (which has descended into keep away silliness on occasion, whichvis why I mention it) so we just do it as a training exercise, short and sweet.
 
Teach him to present and hand over the toy/ball/whatever from nearby or in the house etc. Then once he has that really well you can begin to throw it further away - to get the reward for the present he has to go and get it.
 
PapaverFollis said:
Don't play to the point of him being tired and starting the keep away behaviour? Keep the game really short (2 or 3 retrieves) then a lovely active game of tug to finish up.

One of mine can't play fetch as a game as he gets too revved and his brain falls out his ears... (which has descended into keep away silliness on occasion, whichvis why I mention it) so we just do it as a training exercise, short and sweet.
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He’s doing it on the first throw 🙄 but will try keeping it to 2/3 good retrieves on a long line to see if it helps.
 
Annette4 said:
He’s doing it on the first throw 🙄 but will try keeping it to 2/3 good retrieves on a long line to see if it helps.
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Oops.. I misread it as he started to do it when he got tired.

In that case I would start again, training it backwards as Jill's suggests.
 
A bit unconventional but I managed to sort this with our dog by getting him a tennis ball that was just a bit too big to fit in his mouth properly - he can just about carry it back to me but he doesn't bog off with it like he would with a normal sized one. That way the game is only fun when I'm involved, so he has to come back! He was pretty bad when he was a puppy so we used to play football instead of fetch. He definitely couldn't fit that in his mouth, so no chance of running off with it. We've now graduated to the ginormous tennis ball....
 
Annette4 said:
He’s only just started (only just turned 12 months) so I’m not sure it’s end of season blues however I’ll give swaps a try though as it’s not one I’ve tried as yet.
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CC said session not season? ie he doesn't want to stop the fun bits and go home.
 
We put a stop to this by having 2 balls. If he didn't come back the other one was chucked about until we got his attention again. Its such a whippety lurcher thing to do! Mine still like to do a "lap of honour" everytime they catch something, we've just got it down to an acceptable level now!
 
ester said:
CC said session not season? ie he doesn't want to stop the fun bits and go home.
Click to expand...

That will teach me to read twice, sorry CC! We often don’t end the training session on his group and he then gets play time with his mates afterwards while we help tidy up so I’m not sure it is that but it could be.
 
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