I may have mentioned that Riley has an iffy recall when there are other dogs around. We've been working on it and on the beautiful Sunday just passed we went up to Stockbridge Down for a family walk.....husband, baby in buggy and errant Labrador in tow we headed out to find that the world (and their dogs!) had the same idea. I was a bit down as I thought this would mean a lot of on lead walking for Riley which wasn't the plan at all, we wanted to enjoy our walk and see our pup running round enjoying himself. Sooooo we decided to be brave and let him off.....and he found LOTS of new doggy friends.....and then he came back! We tried really hard to be fun and we've been doing some proofing with other dogs and it's actually starting to work It was just absolutely lovely and we had the nicest walk we'd had in a while. I was so pleased with him, we all had smiles on our faces as we headed home. I just thought I'd share as I've definitely had moments where I've felt like we may not get to where we want to be.....well behaved dog having fun but coming back when called.....but we're definitely getting closer and moving in the right direction. There's hope for us all Barbara
Re: Riley comes back Barbara you lucky girl you have a dog that comes back, oh joy!! Very well done all of you and of course Riley - what a good boy. Stockbridge is about 15 miles from me in Hurstbourne Tarrant, what a small world!! Keep up the good work. One day I hope to post that Charlie comes back and doesn't end up in Stockbridge!!! Helen x
Re: Riley comes back Oh well done Barbara - isnt it the BEST feeling in the world when your pup comes charging back to you at full tilt?? Helen - you'll get there, keep the faith...
Re: Riley comes back fabulous Barbera! It's great to see all the hard work paying off! Well done you & the entire family & Riley
Re: Riley comes back Sounds lovely, how old is Riley? Must be a great feeling when something you have been specifically working on improves. Well done you! Digby has been able to go out for 2 weeks now and I haven't dared let him off lead yet, sticking to little walks around the block. I know the advice is to let them off straight away but everywhere round here is so full of folk and their dogs and I'm terrified he would just disappear as he gets VERY excited when he sees one. He is so very confident and friendly - the first day we brought him home and put him in the garden he just disappeared round the side of the house by himself!! I may brave letting him off soon but I need a weekend to try it - at least my husband and kids would be there for moral support.
Re: Riley comes back Hi Sersi, it is really important to let your puppy off the lead whilst he still needs to be near you. Waiting until he is no longer dependent on you is a big mistake. Have you looked at this: Labrador puppy recall video? Your best bet is to go to a nice open area at a time when there are not lots of other people about. Up until he is three and a half to four months old, he will follow the people near to him, especially if you run away from him.
Re: Riley comes back Thanks all Riley is about 18 months now. He's super friendly which is great but really impacted his recall as he got older and bolder. We were a bit lucky on Sunday as all the dogs we met were fairly calm so we could encourage him away after a short play. We found a couple of sheep fence enclosed places where he'd have to work hard to escape when we first started letting him off again. It meant that we could go back to puppy style calling when he was already coming and not worrying if he was busy or distracted. We just went and threw his ball around to wear him out a bit, sometimes we didn't do any recalls at all and just popped his lead on when he happened to be close. The proofing with dogs was done with a helpful trainer using his obedient spaniels and now I ask kindly folk out and about if they would help. All it needs is for them to have control of their dog.....not always a given! Most people are friendly and understanding and happy to help so it's also been a nice way to chat to other dog walkers We're heading back to the trainer in a few weeks to do some recalls and retrieves to try and make sure life with me stays fun and interesting for Riley...hopefully more interesting than other dogs!! So nice to mark and enjoy the successes to keep the motivation up and to thank everyone for their help and support.
