Hello! I'm looking for help!! I rehomed a black lab a year ago. when we got him he had received no training whatsoever and had picked up pretty much every bad habit under the sun. Over the last year we have spent £1500 on training classes/courses and he has done really well. We have one big stumbling block though, and thats recall when he sees another dog or person. I have booked in advance Pippas new book from amazon, but I have a wee conpetition with my dog at the end of July so would love to start now with trying to stop this (as I dont want the humiliation of him running away at the comp! ???) He is 20 months old, neutered (although he was neutered by his past owner at 6 months old which seems pretty young), fed Burns Canine Alert which is low protein to try and calm him down a bit. When we are out walking he is great, will respond to the whistle or a 'come' command brilliantly. However, if he sees, or smells another dog, I could stick a turkey on my head and dance around and he wouldnt be interested! He is off at full speed. After a play (and jumping all over the dogs owner) he will return to me when he is ready. Had a scary experience last week though when he spotted a dog at the other side of the park that was just leaving and took off. Luckily the other owner noticed him before she left to go onto the road. I wanted to cry :'( So, ive brought out the long line and am now doing recall with him lots on our walks, with chicken for treats and a clicker for when he is returning to me. Is this the right thing to do? Also, what do I do when we pass another dog? should I let him sniff it or pull him away from it? Am so keen to resolve this and want to be doing everything right so comments would be so much appreciated. If I need to I will book more one to one training sessions, am just trying to cut down a bit on expense as only working part time at the minute. Many thanks xx
Re: Help - we have made so much progress but it all unravels when he sees a dog Hi there, good for you for rehoming your lovely boy! Hang in there - sounds like you are doing a great job, and I am sure you will get more advice from the experts on the forum. Chances are too that your dog will start to calm down as he gets a bit older, but in the meantime I think that when he is on the lead he should be focused on you not on other dogs, but it will be important to give him opportunities to play with other dogs in safe surroundings where he cant run away and get lost. Just really wanted to say that it cant be easy taking on a young dog that has had no training at all... so well done you!
Re: Help - we have made so much progress but it all unravels when he sees a dog Hi there and welcome to the forum. Good for you for taking on a rescue dog. It sounds like you have made heaps of progress. Proofing the recall against tempting distractions is a long process but it sounds as though you have made a good start. With any dog that has an established recall problem in the presence of other dogs, the training lead is indispensable. One of the best things you can do is set up 'fake' training scenarios, there are lots of examples of those in Total Recall, and I hope you will find them helpful. The idea is to purposefully create the kind of situations that you and your dog are likely to come across in public, but in a way that you can control. This means getting friends to help you. There are some articles in the Recall Centre which you might find useful, especially this one Proofing is a long process, and retraining a recall in a rescue dog can easily take a year or more. So please don't be disappointed with your progress. You will get there. Take your time and set the dog up to win. Start by recalling him away from other dogs in your home and garden. Get that working really well and then move into more challenging environments. Recall him away from seated dogs that are on a lead, before trying to do it with dogs that are running around. You can see why you would need friends to help you with this. You simply cannot control what strangers are doing with their dogs. Use the training lead to help you, then gradually practice without it in very controlled situations to begin with. Use really attractive rewards each time you make the task more difficult. Roast chicken is great. Let us know how you get on. Good luck with your training Pippa
Re: Help - we have made so much progress but it all unravels when he sees a dog I cant add to the excellent advice but wanted to say Welcome and good for you taking on a rescue dog
