Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Ah he's responding well Lisa,you will make headway now you can get some practice in x
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Ahem, Lisa. I do believe this thread started with a "please hold me to account" request. ;D ;D ;D How's it going?
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Groan....well, okay. Not so well. Excuses, excuses, busy, busy, blah blah blah.... BUT now that I'm done my little stint of full time work that was SERIOUSLY interfering with important things like recall training, I'm back at it tomorrow. I was out in the garden for fetch a couple times, though. That is going okay. He brings it back eagerly about 90% of the time! but it's the other 10% I'm worried about. The times when he gets it and promptly lies down mouthing it, which would result in him taking off with it if I approach him, or, conversely, the times when he runs pell-mell towards me and does the fly-by veer at the last minute, daring me to chase him. Those habits of "look what I have, come chase me!" are pretty ingrained. Of course neither of those things are what I want to happen when I'm out on a walk with him off-lead, so still a work in progress. He has come quite a long ways, though, when we first got him he would NEVER bring the ball back, so, hopefully we can get the rest of the way. I might add I bought a special ball just for "fetch", and I only do short sessions, maybe 4-5 throws a time, always leaving him wanting more. Hopefully this will all work. As for the recall, I continue to be a bit stuck on the "recall away from people". I have to improvise a bit on the instructions, as I don't really have a big enough room that has a door I can shut in order to do it exactly as per described in the book. My girl is home from school tomorrow, though, so I hope to try it a couple times tomorrow. Thanks for the accountability, Julie, as you can see, I need it!!
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall [quote author=Lisa link=topic=5557.msg77747#msg77747 date=1400203557] but it's the other 10% I'm worried about. The times when he gets it and promptly lies down mouthing it, which would result in him taking off with it if I approach him, or, conversely, the times when he runs pell-mell towards me and does the fly-by veer at the last minute, daring me to chase him. Those habits of "look what I have, come chase me!" are pretty ingrained. [/quote] That's nothing, don't worry, Charlie was much, much, much worse - he'd leg it round the field for 20minutes, laughing his head off, while the gundog trainers muttered "bloody chocolates" - 100% of the time. A structured training of the return (clicker return) sorted it though - pretty much completely. Simba is still a young dog, you can sort that out.
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall You might have to give me a step by step on that structured return, Julie. BUT had a great day today!! Went to the dog park - no one there, which was perfect! I blew the whistle a couple times, never when he was too far away, always when I thought it likely he'd respond, and it did!! Although mainly more of a trot back, not a full out run, which is worrying. I had some special dried duck meat for treats, maybe not good enough?? I might have to borrow Charlie's butler with the silver platter and the "foie gras, Monsieur?".... : However...I call it successful. ALSO....I tried Barbra's trick of throwing out the treats as I wandered, to keep him closer....now THAT worked a charm. If he got too far away I would whistle (with mouth) to get his attention, then toss a treat...before long as soon as he heard the whistle he would stop and turn back in anticipation....and a couple times would stop ON HIS OWN right about where I had decided my "comfort zone" would be and turn back to look at me! 8) ALSO....did a few attempts at fetch with his special ball....not stellar, to be honest, a few "get the ball and then lie down" maneuvers; quite a bit of throw, he gets it, stands looking at me and then comes with some encouragement.... But still, all in all, a good day. I'll take it where I can get it!!
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall [quote author=Lisa link=topic=5557.msg78576#msg78576 date= But still, all in all, a good day. I'll take it where I can get it!! [/quote] I'd say you should definately consider the trip a success Lisa.Hes listening to you for sure so you've captured his attention with the whistle..... Upping the appeal of the reward might get him to pick up his speed running back ..... But it sounds like the speed of the response is there and if he's coming directly back and not going self employed : on the way back...so you've got a recall going on there Tidying up his fetch isn't something I'm best positioned to help you with :-[ I've got a dog who retreives for a food reward not for the love of running after his ball ..... I know it was a great opportunity having the park to yourself on this occasion,but you are going to need doggie pals for practising the future excercises.....you seem to be the only person in your community out there with your dog come on people ,come on out to play with Simba x
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Seriously, it's a challenge!! Today's experience at the dog park: 1) when we got there, there was one person there with two daschunds. One look at Simba running up to the gate and she's frantically gathering up her dogs and putting them on lead and briskly walking them to the far corner. So. I have to put Simba on-lead, or else he'll go bounding over to the dogs, and she obviously doesn't want that (so why is she at an OFF-LEASH park, I wonder? ) So, I walk through the park and take him for a walk. When I return there's no one there, great! So I had my nice fetch/recall practice. 2) someone new arrives, a couple with an Irish Wolfhound. Great, a big dog to play with!! Ya, no. Simba runs up to play, wolfhound is growling and stiff, owner keeps saying "She's not usually like this!!" Give it a few more minutes, but wolfhound is not interested. We give up and go home. That's actually pretty typical. It's about 50/50 (60/40?) that when we get there we will find 1) someone else there or, if there is, 2) that there will actually be dogs there that are not too grumpy, too small, too old, etc. Oh well....
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Lisa, your visit sounds great - really good progress! I love that he has got your "comfort zone" already - I found this one really hard (my recall worked, so it wasn't a problem, but I always worried that one day he'd find something I couldn't recall him away from and I'd have no idea where he was...) and I'll have to go back to working on it when we get back off lead. Does he run out for his ball keenly? Is it just the bringing back that's the problem?
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall It sounds like you are making really good progress Lisa Throwing treats to search for works for me too
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Great progress Lisa and Simba, I scatter treats on the ground too, especially if I have managed to recall from an imminent chase which takes Hattie's mind of what might have been : Hmm must remind David to do that with Charlie Onwards and upwards!! xx
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall [quote author=JulieT link=topic=5557.msg78595#msg78595 date=1400388522] Lisa, your visit sounds great - really good progress! I love that he has got your "comfort zone" already - I found this one really hard (my recall worked, so it wasn't a problem, but I always worried that one day he'd find something I couldn't recall him away from and I'd have no idea where he was...) and I'll have to go back to working on it when we get back off lead. Does he run out for his ball keenly? Is it just the bringing back that's the problem? [/quote] Yes, he loves to chase it, especially the first few times. But then it's lie down and look at me or stand there and look at me, and I turn around and run off. Then he usually comes and gives me the ball for a treat. :-\
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Grade A for persistance and determination Lisa , you paint such a picture, had me giggling away reading through the thread , but really, well done , Go Simba
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Well off I went today with determination to the dog park. Got my hot dog all cut up, leash, harness (which I have to put on AFTER we get there or he might chew the straps on route), special ball to play fetch, treats, fanny pack to put all this stuff in.....got half way there and realized if forgotten the whistle! Grrr...as I only had about an hour I just carried on, but dagnamit! Irritating! We did some of the wander around, throwing treats to keep him close, which is working pretty good, actually, he certainly seems much more focused on me. Did some "fetch"...meh. I think I'm going to have to start another thread about this. BUT.....the whole thing had a huge damper out on it as in the course of the whole thing I lost an earring...not any earring, mind you, but a special one which was a sapphire surrounded by a removable ring of diamonds, so you can switch out the inner stone. So ruined not only one pair of earrings but three in one fell swoop, as I have two other stones to go in the middle. Not sure I explained that very well, but bottom line, I am sad. A lovely gift from my hubby and I went and lost it :'( It wasn't huge and ostentatious or anything, I often wear them as an every day thing because really, not like I have fancy places to go all the time. Spent quite a lot of time combing the grass, etc, and retracing my walk I took outside the dog park as well....blah.... :'( :'( :'(
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Put a spare whistle in the car! Lisa, you should post about the fetch - your last post suggested he just wasn't returning, which (at least for us) was an easy fix. I'm so going to try the scattered treat thing! So sorry about your earring. . Years ago, my mum lost her engagement ring when she was mucking out horses. She was so sad! But it turned up! Months later someone found it on the side of a ditch by the muck heap. (She is no longer with me, but I now have that ring. :'( :'( ). Print a few flyers and post them at the dog park, saying what it would mean to you if it were found and returned.
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Yes, I was thinking about doing that, Julie. I'll maybe give pop one over there tonight. Good idea to put another whistle in the car! I did order two from Amazon!
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall I am very sorry about your earing Lisa and I really hope you find it We have similar problems with Charlie's retrieving so I have bitten the bullet and am now clicker training as per Pippa's article and so far not too bad, maybe worth a try. xx
Re: Operation Simba Total Recall Sorry about the earring - hope it turns up. I have a whistle fastened permanently on my key ring and one on my poo bum bag. This is my poo bum bag - I never go out with Tatze without it, a brill piece of kit! http://tinyurl.com/pnmoxqa :
