Hi, I have a 12 month old Lab, we let her off lead from 12 wks and her recall has always been very good. However the past month or so shes started ignoring me when she sees another dog and just goes bounding over. Most dog owners are fine with this though i have had a few dirty looks. Any tips at stoping this. She always gets a treat when she comes back to me which she does eventually but once she gets her treat she often goes bounding back again. X
Pop her on the lead, check the owner is OK for them to play, then let them play. Then back on lead won't normally mean 'no play'. Total recall is well worth a read ---->
Thanks though its more stopping her from bounding over in the first place or is this just something that comes with age/maturity?
Hello and welcome to the forum! No, it won't just stop with age - well, maybe by the time she's too old to bound anymore, but not before then You have to train her not to go over until you tell her she can. You do this by starting at a distance she can cope with (on lead to begin with) and getting her to focus on you, rewarding any focus with treats or a game, whatever she finds most motivating. When she can cope at that distance, try a little closer, and slowly work towards the dog. If the dog is being exciting, you'll have to move farther away. Basically, any time she struggles, it means you need to move back. It's really easier to practice this with "stooge" dogs than unpredictable dogs you meet on your walks, so investing in some time with a trainer will probably help you. In the meantime, it's important you don't let her self reward by running up to the dogs, so use a lead where that could be a problem. Remember that the other dog might be scared, aggressive or recovering from injury - or there may be some danger to your dog between you and them - so you have to do everything you can to stop her from rehearsing this behaviour. Which, of course, is why you're here
Thanks for the advice, she was doing really well today been distracted with her ball until some other dogs got abit too close and the temptation was just too great not to run over so maybe a combination of her ball and treats is the key. I might get one of those really long training leads so she can still run and play but i can stop her before she goes bounding over. X
So, you're not trying to bribe her with the treats/ball, because eventually there will be something that's more exciting than the thing you've got. Instead, you need to be training her to be calm around other dogs. Do you clicker train? This is an ideal time for it. If not, no worries, just use a word with a consistent tone, "yes!" is a good one. So, when she looks at the other dog, mark (by clicking or saying "yes!") and give her a treat. What you're doing here is linking the sight of a dog with a good thing coming from you. Every now and again, you can "test" this (make sure you've done 20+reps first) - when she looks at the other dog, don't say anything and just wait. You'll probably find that she'll look back to you as if to say, "oi, I looked, now where's my reward?". If she doesn't, that's fine, just keep going with marking and treating each and every time she looks at the dog. What you're after is for her to be looking but relaxed. If she's tense at all, move farther away. Once she passes that little test, you can move a bit closer and start again. Then again and again. Keep sessions short and lots of tasty rewards (not bribes, remember) and she'll soon get the hang of it.
Oh, and the training lines can be very useful, but be careful! It's really, really easy to hurt yourself or your dog with them, because they can easily pull through your hands, get wrapped around legs etc. So, if you do use one, make sure you keep looping up any slack and letting it out gradually. Also, it's absolutely imperative you use them on a harness, not a collar. Don't let her pick up any speed which may jerk either you or her - this is why you keep picking up the slack.
You have really got to stop her running over - the more times she runs over and gets reinforced for doing that by meeting another dog, the more she'll do it. So don't take any chances, unless you are absolutely sure she won't run, put her lead on. Over time, you'll have to put her lead on less and less.
Hi, you have already had some great advice. Recall does not come with age...it takes a lot of training...most of us have been in your shoes. Training with distractions is very effective...good luck
I'm wondering about this too...I always have Jazz on her leash or long lead when out and about. We are working on recall now and on top of that, she has a very high prey drive and can spot/scent animals incredibly well. She is allowed off lead in a baseball field where we go as it is almost all fenced. Also, there is a lovely dog park where I go with my pups - it's big and wild and fenced. We went 2 days ago and Jazz really surprised me. She ran off quite far to greet a dog, lay down and waited for it to approach. However, she has lately been looking back at me when doing this so I decided to try my whistle. Lo and behold, she got up and ran back - which just didn't seem like her at all as other dogs have always been a major distraction. I have been asking her to wait before greeting at the park - other than that, she is free to meet other dogs who also run up to her. We still have far to go but am I on the right track? I wonder if Eves Mom could try at a dog park...sometimes these parks can be difficult if there are irresponsible owners around or people who bring a mother/pup combo and mother attacks approaching dogs (just heard about that one).
Whether you are on the right track or not depends on what you want the end result to be. It also depends on your dog. My dogs find meeting other dogs extremely reinforcing. So I do not let them leave me to run up to other dogs. Because them getting there is so very reinforcing, this means they are much more likely to run to other dogs again. And again. I don't want them to do this, even if I could use my recall to bring them back. If dogs run up to my dogs, ideally, I want them to refocus on me pretty much right away. They are free to greet, but then I want them to return their attention to me. Other people don't mind so much - they don't mind if their dogs run over to other dogs, and they don't mind their dogs playing with other dogs who approach them. So if that's how you feel, just having a recall and a 'let's go' away from other dogs is fine. Although you have to be careful you don't bust your recall if you use it to call your dog away from other dogs a lot, and your dog finds other dogs highly reinforcing.
Thx Julie! What I want is for her to look towards me for direction and of course, to come back when asked to do so - even at a dog park where supposedly dogs are free to run around. Eventually, I also want her to look to me when engaging with perceived prey. This will be a toughie but I am willing to follow instructions and am hopefully lining up with a gun dog trainer to help us (completely positive no e-collar, prong etc...training). I have a good "let's go" and the whistle is practiced occasionally at the dog park. She gets prime value food for returning and then is allowed to go back and play thus understanding that coming to me isn't negative. I am going to follow Pippa's book to continue through to proofing etc..eventually rewarding intermittently. Anyway, thx for your answer
