Pup is 17 weeks and pretty good at coming when called, especially when there is food on offer, I’d say 95% reliable in our large garden and 100% reliable if there’s food on offer! I really want to start practising out on a walk but live in a busy area. Do I take her to an enclosed field (there are a few we can hire out) or a large park where there are distractions? Do I attach a very long lead to her in case I need to stop her getting into danger? I’m not great at running so I worry about losing her. It probably sounds silly but I think she would be good but I don’t know how to just do it. I met a lady in the park who said my pup is getting to a hard age to train in recall. Is that true? I’d be so grateful for any advice on the best environment and techniques. I need some confidence to just do it I think! Thanks!
Hey there, if possible I would start by taking her to an enclosed field. The large park with many distractions might be too much for her to begin with; you need to increase the distractions very slowly. Arm yourself with high value treats, take a deep breath, and let her off the lead... I'm not a great fan of long training leads, but they can be very useful right at the beginning when you are unsure about your dog's recall. Safety first ... Good luck!
Start in an enclosed field so you can just focus on the recall. Take something really yummy and perhaps her favourite toy. Make coming back to you the best thing ever. Let her go and have sniffs and then every now and then call her over to you, sound really positive, lots of fun and games and then let her off to explore again. After she's got really good in the enclosed area you can start to move somewhere with more distractions but slowly does it. Recall is a hard but very important skill to train! Good luck
Start somewhere quiet without distractions. Once your puppy is getting the idea of recall you can progressively add distractions.
