So we're now on exercises 3&4 moving dinners and treats. Its all going well so far, in fact she so wants to do a recall i'm having to sit wait her before i encourage her to me so i can then whistle whilst shes moving towards me lol A few more days and we can start the Basic Recall chapter. I must tell you of an unexpected recall she did on sunday though. I'd taken the dogs to the beach and met a friend and her cockers. Whilst star was running for her ball my friend recalled one of her dogs who had strayed too far ahead. I was rather gobsmacked because Star responded, she turned and ran to my friend. She recalled off a ball! WOW!! it certainly gives me hope. Oh and i did give her loads of praise . On the paddock use, i got the ok today to use the paddock behind my house for at least the next 5 months so quartering practise restarts tomorrow - i'd better go hide some tennis balls
It's always lovely to see our pups responding to something we haven't as yet taught Learning from well trained dogs is a big bonus
Hi Janette, so good to hear you moving on with Total Recall and great work Star for the great recalls and on a highly distracting beach have to confess I haven't tried that but I will be when we take our dogs on holiday to Scotland Fantastic news about the use of the paddock that will give you great opportunities to practise Star's recall, stop whistle, retrieving and having some fun too. One thing I thought I would mention is, I hand fed Charlie his entire meals whilst training him, this was the best ever piece of advise which was given to be by Heidrun. This helped Charlie and I bond as he had to look to me for every piece of food for every bit of work he did. I had roast chicken or sausage as jackpot rewards too. I have to say having the use of a paddock for a year saved our lives with training safely and no self rewarding. These rescue dogs were sent to try us It's lovely to hear you sounding so positive. Can't wait to hear how you get on with your training in the paddock and don't forget to have fun too! xx Helen xx
Oh she's been recall trained 3/4 times over the almost 3 years i've had her.... Shes a serial absconder lol But i'm persevering and trying another method, the book Total Recall. Thank you for the kind words and ecouragement though. Always appreciated xx
Thanx Helen, its hard to stay positive with her recall training but that glimpse of what she can do on the beach on sunday really lightened my heart. We will enjoy using the paddock for work and play and will let you know how its going in a few days. She is getting most of her food directly from me and like you say i'm sure that makes a big difference. I've been using sardines as her wow treat, she gets other meats at agility training so had to find something completely different. She really loves them xx
Great to hear you are making progress. When you start your quartering training remember to use the wind direction to your advantage. A head wind is the easiest and best way to start.
