Benson is now 6 months..and we have been working so hard on heel work, recall and some retrieving with a dummy, dummy work needs a lot of building up, as I suspect as Benson is not working dog lines, he doesn't seem to have the "keeness" of other working type labradors, so I have to build those sessions up with me grinning and talking enthusiastically at a dummy...I must look pretty peculiar to an observer! ;D ;D The nub of the question is this: Recall in our large garden, and fields with NO other distractions is usually fairly successful, lots of rabbit and deer droppings leads to a rather slobbery Benson in 5 minutes..so much so I have contemplated taking tissues on our walks! : Recall with other dogs, people is not so good..he comes back in the end..once I have caught his attention and he decides he has had enough which I am starting to find fairly frustrating! Any advice on proofing for other dogs,..or is just his age? I am green with envy when I see other dog owners.with well behaved dogs, luckily most dog owners are patient and when I eventually get over to them and apologise are absolutely fine!
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... It's possible it's just his age, at 6 months he's just hitting adolescence so will be more inclined to act like a rebellious teenager! Stick with it! If you can get through these next few months and come out successfully the other side you should be fine! Having said that I never had an issue with adolescent behaviour with Penny, but I know the age of 6-18 months is the most common time for dogs to find their way into rescue centres as owners suddenly can't cope with them - can't be a coincidence that this is their teenage phase!
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... Labradors, pups and adults , are mostly sociable and enthusiastic creatures , I went through this with Sam too at about this age . The thing I learned was to make myself more interesting than other people or dogs , by way of tasty treats such as sausage or bits of cheese . Another thing that helped was walking with a friend and her dog so that the lure of other dogs wasnt quite so great They do get past this stage , just bribery a lot of the time
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... Kate, you could try using a 10/15 meter training line and when Benson sees any dogs you can practise your recall and he can't get away after them, and of course don't forget your very tasty treats for being a very good boy x
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... I'm at a similar stage with Molly, although she's a couple of months older. Even though I take roast chicken, ham etc. out with me it doesn't always do the trick. Today I took a squeaky toy attached to an old lead (not Molly's lead) and she rushed to me when I squeaked it - the reward was a tuggy play which she loves (she's not that keen on balls). Then I put it away in my pocket to keep it 'fresh'. Having said that I haven't tried it with other dogs present yet - today's distractions were rabbits and birds. I wonder if you could think of a favourite toy / game that would wow Benson? In 'Total Recall' Pippa suggests a trailing long-line for proofing recall (as Helen says above). I use that in some places but I find it too tricky to use with other dogs around.
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... I find a squeaky toy works wonders for our rescue terrier Millie ;D Long training lines can be a very useful tool , but as most of our walks are woodland , they can be a nightmare
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... Thank you Joy.. I might try the squeaky toy....especially after he tried to grab a soft toy of someone! : Kate..think I will look into training lines too.. It is frustrating, have just been on a walk down our lane..perfect heel..3 very good retrieves AND nice deliveries which rather surprised me!
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... My boy previously had a good recall away from other dogs (I had to pick my moment though, and the larger the number of dogs the harder it was). I'm not smug, after not doing any training for months, I shouldn't think I have much left. When I trained recall the first time (I fully expect to do it a second time) I couldn't really do the "set ups" with other dogs. I'm in a better place now, as my dog walker has agreed to help me and provide dogs. What we did instead was to control our distance to other dogs. We had the opportunity to do so, on large beaches in Cornwall and on Wimbledon Common. We'd play a recall game. And move the game closer and closer to other dogs. We took "be interesting" very seriously, and worked very hard on it. [quote author=JulieT link=topic=3001.msg31734#msg31734 date=1382465803] Just in case it helps with ideas... We play a recall game. We've taught him to run between two or three people on his recall signal - with variations eg one of us suddenly hides and then the game is "find him!" And if he anticipates going to the other person, he is called back or to a different person etc. or he'll have to wait while someone runs away, so it's not predictable what he has to do next. Treats and toys make it exciting. We can have him whizzing around completely involved in the game. We move the game closer to distractions - bikes, joggers, other dogs. It really seems to work. And it's great fun. It fills up a walk too, keeping him "under orders". If he is free to amuse himself, the best plan that occurs to him is go play with another dog/jogger/kid etc. [/quote]
Re: Am I expecting too much? Recall.... We had a fair more engaging walk today, helped by my OH. Focussed on keeping his attention and not letting him meander ahead of us, but keeping him within about 15 feet or to heel. One good game (Thanks JulieT.. ) was me walking with Benson to heel..then hubby disappearing of down one of the paths, he then used the whistle to recall Benson...who thought this was a fantastic game! ;D ;D Racing off the instant the whistle was blown to try and find hubby! One good recall from another dog ...helped by a generous piece of juicy sausage left over from supper last night I think also helped... 8)
