My puppy is 8 months. He has a recall but when other dogs are around he will run right across a field at full pelt, ignoring my calls without a second glance back at me. Which, understandably is not particularly appreciated by other people! I have got total recall and have just started working through it, I just can't see that he will ever calm down around other dogs- he just loves them so much (even though most of the time they don't like him). Just looking for reassurance from someone that's been in a similar situation that can tell me there is hope?!
Yes, there is hope and life after absconding !! My boy was a shocker for running to others and ignoring my cries, but then I realised that actually, he was normal and that I had to be more consistent . Just keep working on Total Recall , sausage helps too as I discovered ! Keep the faith x
Perfectly normal, for me and Maisy anyway. She is 11 months now and getting better though. Whenever another dog is around I get her attention and get her to look at me, give a high value treat and continue until the other dog is out of sight. Repeat, repeat, repeat. The last few months she has been responding really well ... however, if there is a certain dog she knows or just fixes onto, there is still no stopping her. I find walking in woodland is better for us as an open field where there is lots of dogs is asking for trouble. Another thing that has helped recently is taking her to doggy day care for a half day each week. She is getting used to other dogs being around and perhaps this is making her less interested when we are out together.
Totally agree with above: there is hope …keep the faith Your dog is still young and we found with our dog that his interest in other dogs decreased with maturity. Things we also found helped: - try to pre-empt him running across the field to other dogs. I know this is difficult, but I would be more concerned about him running up to dogs on leads. There are numerous reasons why dogs are kept on leads, but sometimes it is because they are reactive towards other dogs. - walking with friends and their dogs (if their dogs have good recall). We found our dog was happier to stay with the little pack than run up to new dogs. - doing the activities from Total Recall with a friend who had a puppy the same age as ours (we could share our successes and wallow in self-pity together!) - once our dog discovered the fun to be had playing with a tennis ball other dogs seemed far less interesting. - knowing that all those dogs walking obediently next to their owners would have been doing exactly the same as your puppy is now when they were 8 months old
Oh yes, there is hope. I got Bruce at at nine months old because he had no recall at all. I worked through Total Recall (we aren’t allowed to use human food for Guide Dog pups so I use cat food sachets as the high value reward and fish cubes for medium). It took two months but his recall was 100% when he went to Big School and still is now that he’s working. I can’t count how many people I’ve recommended Total Recall to when they ask how I train my pups to come to the whistle. The last chapter in the book is worth going to for lost recall.
Yep, totally normal ! I'm still working on this with Cassie and she's,. well, 22 months old. I finally did the first proofing with another dog only yesterday, with sardines it went well to be fair. For her, other dogs are the best thing in the world, what I like about the T.R exercises is that she gets to play for a while as part of the reward. As others have said, I think time with other dogs does help her learn to take them in her stride a bit more.
