I have two beautiful lab pups (sisters) that are 19 weeks old. I have been doing some basic training that is going well, but want to start recall training using Total Recall. My question is what is the best way to establish a recall with a whistle for one while the other is in the area and can also hear the recall signal? Should I use a different number of “pips” for each of them (i.e. 3 pips for one pup and 5 pips for the second pup)? Or, should I strive to make sure one is isolated and cannot hear the recall whistle when the other is being trained and vice versa? I want to make sure I start the training the right way and don’t want to ruin the recall signal for one or the other. Thanks for your insights for this.
Hi and welcome . I only ever used the same whistle for the two dogs I had at the time but this is some time ago so maybe the current trend is different . It was just that, for me ,it would have been far too complicated to have two whistles and no doubt would have confused the dogs too .
I have five spaniels and one whistle. They are all trained to recall to the same cue. It is important though to train the two pups separately for quite some time. It will increase your bond with each individual pup and the dogs won't distract each other.
This. Absolutely. I have 3 labs, and they all get separate training sessions, and they all work to the same recall whistle
I agree. Separate training sessions. I find the in-house parts of Total Recall quite difficult to manage in a multi-dog household, so I do the majority of my training when I'm out with them individually. When I had litter mate puppies, I would take them out separately at least once a day until they were well over a year old. It's extra time and effort but well worth it. I still do the same several times a week and they're three now, plus I have a yearling, too.
Ok, separate training time outside with each of them does make sense. I’ll use the same whistle and recall signal for both, that way down the road if I am out in the field with both of them that one signal will work with both. That’s a long way off and a lot of wishful thinking, but as you say, hopefully the time spent will eventually pay off. Thanks to all for your replies. Greatly appreciated!
