So Bella is 15 weeks now and a little gem, granted she's still a little snapper ;D and wasn't too keen on my attention being diverted with friends over last night, (she decided to show this by trying to bite their toes .. ) I've been doing recall practice in quiet places which is going fairly well, today we went to a beautiful but very busy park so I kept her on the lead but kept letting her off when it was quiet and just 1 dog nearby. She played with several dogs which was good and enjoyed exploring, but then she started following a collie and its owner after they had played. I called her and started walking away in the opposite direction, she looked at me. For a nano second, chose to ignore and carried on running after the dog who was chasing its owners sticks, I kept thinking she will panic in a minute and come back, stay where you are....she got further and further away so MY panic set in, I ended up walking quickly after them ( not shouting or anything) the lady then stopped as she realised Bella was not leaving them ... her dog then jumped into the water and Bella got very close and stood on the edge to watch ( heart in mouth moment!!) she didn't jump in though ....phew! When the dog stopped next to its owner ( well trained!!) so did Bella , so I managed to grab her and put her back on her lead. Phew!! I know I need to keep letting her off / practicing recall but is it normal for a puppy of that age to just trot off and keep going ??? I've been using high value roast chicken treats too ... Interested to know what you guys would have done and if there's anything I can do. Bit worried about letting her off again..... Someone suggested hiding from her when we are in a quiet area a few times as that made their lab panic and now never leaves their side/ always checks in..?! Thoughts??
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk I havent took Izzy to a park yet as we dont have any nearby, ive just been practicing recall on a walk up our lane, where shes always off lead. Ive been training with a whistle, but its still early days. Maybe for somewhere thats busy a whistle would be good as she would hear it? Anyway hopefully ill get chance to try it out next weekend as i hope to take her out weather permitting.
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk Yes, only a little older than Bella, at about 4.5 months, Charlie was confident enough to leg it miles (it seemed, but probably wasn't all that far) across the beach to say hello to the world, when previously he'd stuck to me like glue. It's nothing to worry about, it just means your "puppy recall", based on the puppy needing to be near you, is wearing off and you have to start training for the adult recall (and hope it survives the teenage months). If you have a look in total recall, there is a whole section on recalling away from other dogs. It can be a bit tough, especially when they are friendly, playful, pups. It does get easier though. I really wouldn't worry too much about letting her off - she came to no harm, and I bet there is absolutely no-one who hasn't had to go collect their young labrador away from saying hello to a pal...
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk Sounds like the other dog was very exciting I still hide behind trees when Harley goes a bit too far away - she is 17 months old! I started recall outside very slowly - me and my daughter calling her back and forth between us, slowly allowed a but of sniffing, then recall, and slowly working up to letting her play with another dog and recall her. It takes time but you will get there with patience
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk I've been using the whistle for recall but pipping as she runs towards me , so I didn't dare use it then as she might not have come back to that and it would end up redundant.. It's a scary world!!!!!
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk [quote author=Wendy68 link=topic=9749.msg140982#msg140982 date=1422816109] I havent took Izzy to a park yet as we dont have any nearby, ive just been practicing recall on a walk up our lane, where shes always off lead. Ive been training with a whistle, but its still early days. Maybe for somewhere thats busy a whistle would be good as she would hear it? Anyway hopefully ill get chance to try it out next weekend as i hope to take her out weather permitting. [/quote] I would be weary of introducing the whistle whilst recall training is in progress. My preferred approach is to achieve a really strong verbal recall first, then introduce the whistle as a secondary cue alongside the verbal one, until it starts to work on its own. First you have the practical benefit of being able to recall if you've lost or forgotten your whistle. Second, if the recall is hit and miss, and the dog ends up learning that the whistle can be ignored, you've blown it. You can start over with recall with new verbal cues, but you only get one shot at mastering the whistle!
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk [quote author=JulieT link=topic=9749.msg140983#msg140983 date=1422816198] Yes, only a little older than Bella, at about 4.5 months, Charlie was confident enough to leg it miles (it seemed, but probably wasn't all that far) across the beach to say hello to the world, when previously he'd stuck to me like glue. It's nothing to worry about, it just means your "puppy recall", based on the puppy needing to be near you, is wearing off and you have to start training for the adult recall (and hope it survives the teenage months). If you have a look in total recall, there is a whole section on recalling away from other dogs. It can be a bit tough, especially when they are friendly, playful, pups. It does get easier though. I really wouldn't worry too much about letting her off - she came to no harm, and I bet there is absolutely no-one who hasn't had to go collect their young labrador away from saying hello to a pal... [/quote] Ok thanks, I will move on to having a look at that chapter later, it's funny as with people she's quite wary, steps back /away as people approach her and no jumping up, so people keep saying what an easy going temperament she has, then she sees dogs of all shapes and sizes and she's 'no fear Bella' , paws slapped on , on her back legs ;D
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk You are doing the right thing by avoiding using the whistle for recall until you have proofed it properly. I still work on strengthening our verbal recall as well as the whistle because as I often forget to take the whistle with me. Even when I have both I tend to alternate between the two on walks but I prefer to use the whistle if it was an emergency as she is sharper to that. Makes sense to me as without meaning to I use her name a lot for reasons other than recall so I wouldn't blame her for getting confused. Keep walking in different directions even when in quiet areas on your own and hiding really does work. Inca is now nearing 6 months and is a lot more confident but comes running back immediately if we suddenly disappear while shes busy investigating something else. One thing that I think helped us is that we try and take her to lots of different places for her walks. I know it's not always practical but it means she has no idea where we are going so it keeps her a bit closer. My parents walk their dogs in the same places nearly every day and I think it weakens their recall as the dogs know what is going to happen each time. Finally just as JulieT said, don't be afraid to let her off the lead. I've had to collect Inca from other dogs before and although it feels bad at the time most other dog owners are very understanding and it doesn't seem to have done any long lasting damage to Inca's recall
Re: Recall stepped up a gear..... Eeekkkkkk [quote author=Incastinker link=topic=9749.msg141026#msg141026 date=1422823448] You are doing the right thing by avoiding using the whistle for recall until you have proofed it properly. I still work on strengthening our verbal recall as well as the whistle because as I often forget to take the whistle with me. Even when I have both I tend to alternate between the two on walks but I prefer to use the whistle if it was an emergency as she is sharper to that. Makes sense to me as without meaning to I use her name a lot for reasons other than recall so I wouldn't blame her for getting confused. Keep walking in different directions even when in quiet areas on your own and hiding really does work. Inca is now nearing 6 months and is a lot more confident but comes running back immediately if we suddenly disappear while shes busy investigating something else. One thing that I think helped us is that we try and take her to lots of different places for her walks. I know it's not always practical but it means she has no idea where we are going so it keeps her a bit closer. My parents walk their dogs in the same places nearly every day and I think it weakens their recall as the dogs know what is going to happen each time. Finally just as JulieT said, don't be afraid to let her off the lead. I've had to collect Inca from other dogs before and although it feels bad at the time most other dog owners are very understanding and it doesn't seem to have done any long lasting damage to Inca's recall [/quote] Thanks for the tips .... Going over the situation I think all I did was say her name a couple of times..... so think I need a cue word as well as the whistle. In the house she responds to 'here' usually so maybe I'll try and start using that cue too ;D
