Recalling away from poop Hi, I'm looking for some advice or suggestions on how to improve Molly's recall away from other dog's poop. She is nearly 10 months old now and she is generally very good at recall in most situations. The only time we have a major fail is if she manages to find some poop. I've been using the 'leave it' command which works most of the time if I manage to stop her before she starts munching. The problem arises if she has already started munching and isn't immediately next to me. She'll quite happily ignore me whilst continuing to eat. If she ignores the whistle I don't continue to blow it (I have a copy of total recall so have followed that approach). At the moment I tend to move towards her and the closer I get, she eventually listens and comes back to me. I did try running away from her (as in the puppy recall) but she'll just carry on eating! She also hunts for poop if it's in a high dog traffic area. I tried doing the about turn walk to encourage her to keep an eye on me but if she finds some poop in the meantime she'll just eat that instead of following me. I have also tried throwing balls for her or playing with her toys which works up to a point until she sniffs out the next pile of poop. She isn't quite as obsessed with hunting for poop as she was a few months ago but if she finds a particular pile that appeals to her it is difficult to get her away from it once she's managed to tuck in. I'm just wondering if there is anything more I can do or whether I should be doing something different? I can recall her away from food in the house so should I be doing this out on walks to try to 'proof' her response in a live situation? What should I do if I catch her mid munch and she's ignoring my recall command? I'm determined to crack this issue as apart from it being a disgusting habit, she's cost me over £50 at the vets today to sort out a stomach bug which she picked up after munching some deer poo. Grrrr! Vikki
Re: Recalling away from poop Hi Vikki, If it were me (keep in mind that I'm a novice trainer with my first dog!) I would stop trying to recall away from the poop if it is that attractive. Instead I would get right next to her with the highest value treats that you have to entice her away - as soon as she moves away you click (if you clicker train) or just use a verbal marker (like 'Yes' or 'Good') and reward her with the high value treat. Be on the lookout for opportunities (ie poop!) to practice leading her away and gradually build-up the distance that you are able to do this from. This approach worked for Harvey (although for some reason his chosen delicacy was sheep poop rather than dog poop) and he now just trots past most poop, sometimes a brief sniff but no more eating Good luck,
Re: Recalling away from poop Hi Vikki, you need to find something that she values more than poo. This might need to be something very messy like raw tripe or canned sardines, or it could be something slightly easier to handle like warm roast chicken. The only way you'll find out what she prefers I'm afraid is trial and error. Once you have a reward that she will choose over poo, then you can teach a cue for this word - this method will work Magic Word
Re: Recalling away from poop Thanks Pippa and Uncle Bob for your replies. I have to say today's afternoon walk was particularly frustrating- three incidents of munching and despite me standing right next to her and giving the 'leave it' command she completely ignored me. I could have screamed (or collapsed in a heap of tears!). I'll have to come up with a new magic word as I think 'leave it' may have become poisoned. She's on antibiotics and a plain chicken and rice diet at the moment to try and help her get over the stomach upset she has after munching on the deer poop. My vet also said to keep her on a lead for a week to restrict her munching opportunities. I have been doing this but I decided to let her off in a remote area where there normally isn't any poop and she still managed to find some! Grrr... My mum came round today with some doggy liver cake that she made. Once her stomach has settled down I'll give her a try with this and then move on to other things which might tempt her away from poop. I'll also have reached the formal end of our obedience training soon when we hopefully (ha!) pass our gold level KC good citizen award so I thought it might be an idea to check out some gundog training options to try and keep her puppy brain ticking over. Vikki
Re: Recalling away from poop I just wanted to update you on how I'm getting on- I tried a bag full of chopped sardines yesterday when we went on our normal off lead walk and success !! No poop eating at all! Yay! I couldn't believe it. Even at a distance it worked with the click and treat method. I'm so glad I posted this question as I've been struggling for months with this issue. Thank you!!!
Re: Recalling away from poop That is brilliant news! Well done! (goes off to order sardine dispenser.. )
Re: Recalling away from poop Ah I'm glad you've found something to break a horrible ...but very common habit x
