Hi All Wondering if anyone used any methods other than a long line to proof their puppy’s recall? We’ve got a nearly 8 month old Lab who pulls like a stream train (working on it) and has an OK recall but we are in the ‘proofing stage’ which is where we are coming undone. After an off lead running off incident yesterday (which scared the crap out of me) I’ve lost confidence in letting him off lead and working through the proofing that way. However, when we used a long line on him as a puppy he got constantly tangled in it so we stopped using it. We haven’t worked his recall from young enough which is our mistake but trying to rectify now as best we can... I don’t believe the cue is broken, just not sufficiently proofed to be reliable in a distracting situation and without the lead, ignoring us is rewarding. Any suggestions on how we can proof the recall without a long line? Happy to suck it up and use it again but it was such a pain in the arse before and we spent most of the training session untangling him Thanks!
The long-line is not a perfect tool (nothing ever is) but it is the best thing we have - and the only thing we have. I don't know what type of long line you used in the past, but I highly recommend using a biothane long line because it is made of a thicker rubber plastic and it doesn't get tangled up so easily around the dog or things. You'll also find that now your dog is a bit older, his movements will be different - puppies tend to dart about, run in circles and they are also smaller physically so it's easier for them to get tangled up. So I'd suggest you give the long line another try but be sure to use a biothane one... 10m long.
