My dog is 13 months old and up till the last couple of weeks was coming back well to the whistle both in our garden and off the lead. I have been rewarding him with cheese as he is fiood motivated. He has now started running off from our garden, getting over our fencing and running through neighbouring fields. Calling or whistling him results in him looking back briefly and then him determinedly running away. Similarly when out walking off the lead, during the latter half of the walk he has started running off, refusing to come back when called/whistled and returning after probably 5-10 minutes. Does this mean that my recall cue is "broken". Should I stop letting him off the lead at all or will this make him worse. I am only taking him out in the garden on a lead at the moment as I am worried about him running off. I have the Total Recall book. Do I go back to pre-recall or do I start at step 1. Any help or advice would be gratefully received as I feel that I do not know where to start.
Hi Kate, I also posted a question about recall today and I think all the recall answers have been coming on that thread. I will hazard an answer to this but as I have my own recall challenges at the moment I can't claim to be an expert. Hopefully others will come along soon to help. When your dog gets out of the garden, how long is he away for? It sounds like he is escaping and absconding, and that he is finding both to be great fun, which is obviously concerning. I would be hugely worried by the dog disappearing for 5-10 minutes - once he is out of your sight and out of your control then he could be distracted by any exciting scent and who knows when he will come back. If he is enjoying himself on those adventures then he is sure to continue them, and probably to go further every time. In terms of Total Recall, it sounds to me as though your current cue has stopped working and that it would be best to start with a new cue, and to work from the section on 'absconders'. I would also think that it's best to keep him on a lead at the moment, and maybe even the dreaded long line? I would try keeping him on a lead, working on rewarding focus and attention on you and rebuilding a new recall cue by working through the exercises in total recall . I would also try and find a safe enclosed area to let him off-lead so that he can get a good run in the meantime. As a starting point can you dog-proof your garden so that he can't escape?
My recall cue used to be 5 short pips on a whistle. If this cue is broken could I still use the whistle and just change to say two short pips or does the new cue have to be something completely different. Will it have to change to a voice cue or have to buy a whistle with a different tone?
I personally don't think you need to change the whistle nor how many pips you use. First thing though is management. If your dog is allowed unsupervised time in the garden then that area needs to be totally dog proof even for the most determined escapologist. Management also applies outside when you are out and about. So walks should be training walks and not self rewarding whilst free running. Retrieving, walking to heel, sit/stay, those sort of things keep the dog engaged with you. If you feel you want to give him a break from the training for a few minutes to go and sniff then invest in a long line attached to a back fastening harness. Then after a few minutes go back to re-engaging with the dog.
