Maxx recall
- Thread starter Lab_adore
- Start date
- Location
- East Sussex
I'd suggest thinking about practising recall a bit less on your walks (I get the impression you do it quite a lot) and focusing more on doing things wit Maxx to engage him in staying near you on walks - games like tug or 'flirt pole' type activities (an old sock tied to a length of bungee cord works just as well and its easier to carry) or train retrieving a placed object rather than throwing a ball.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Yep, plan to never have to use your recall. If you’re using it all the time, there’s something else more fundamental that needs addressing: focus.
When you have one of “those days”, stop, take a breath and go back to the start. If you have no focus, you have nothing. What does the start look like? For me, it’s the “reorient to me” game. Throw a treat on the floor, when he lifts his head, click and toss another. When he’s fluently looking back at you, start to toss them a bit farther so that he has to make more of an effort to look around at you. Then you can start adding in behaviours before the toss: a sit, a down, a hand touch. Keep it easy, wait for fluency before moving on to the next bit. It’s a fun and easy game that sets you both up at the start of a walk. When he knows the game well, you can play it with other people and dogs in the distance, and gradually closer. I fall back on this regularly in tough situations. I even did it about twenty minutes ago when we were nearly home and a cat ran in front of us!
When you have one of “those days”, stop, take a breath and go back to the start. If you have no focus, you have nothing. What does the start look like? For me, it’s the “reorient to me” game. Throw a treat on the floor, when he lifts his head, click and toss another. When he’s fluently looking back at you, start to toss them a bit farther so that he has to make more of an effort to look around at you. Then you can start adding in behaviours before the toss: a sit, a down, a hand touch. Keep it easy, wait for fluency before moving on to the next bit. It’s a fun and easy game that sets you both up at the start of a walk. When he knows the game well, you can play it with other people and dogs in the distance, and gradually closer. I fall back on this regularly in tough situations. I even did it about twenty minutes ago when we were nearly home and a cat ran in front of us!
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
Great advice, thanks @Joy and @snowbunny. We will try this tomorrow
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
I do have a question; do we ever let him 'be a dog' and just let him go and sniff sniff sniff? Or should he be focused on us 100%?
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
I'm no dog trainer but I do let Ella sniff and be a dog. I know if she's really focussed on a smell then she's not likely to recall (so I don't call her) but she almost certainly will if I call her at the moment when she's leaving one smell and hunting for another.
Because I walk Ella off lead in so many on lead places, she's so used to getting called back to have her lead put back on for 10 metres (while we walk past people) and then getting let off lead again. She gets a treat each time I put the lead on, each time I take it off and each time she checks in. 99% of the time she'll spin on the spot and race back to me if I say her name.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
"Focus" to me means that the dogs are aware of me, can do what I ask, when I ask it. It doesn't mean walking by my side and staring at me for the duration. Some walks are "doing stuff together" walks where we are interacting the whole time, but we have plenty (the majority) which are them mooching around and sniffing, but they are still tuned in to me.
Shadow is a dog who needs to run and chase smells, far more than the other two. He loves to work with me, too, but I think it would be a sad life for him if he couldn't run far and wide. When we are out in the mountain plains, if he hears the marmots call, he will chase as fast as he can to find them, sometimes travelling hundreds of metres. I'm more than happy with that. He doesn't have a chance in hell of catching them, because they sit on top of their holes while they're shouting their alarm and pop in at a second's notice. But he also checks in with me all the time, and I know that if I need to call him, he will come back ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Most definitely. I do not expect 100% focus on me. My daily walks with Red are 3/4 off lead - we play ball
for about 1/4 of that; I let her sniff a lot (cos she loves it) and I can generally see her. It’s only when I can‘t see her that I call her. I have noticed that she likes to keep me in sight.
- Location
- East Sussex
Yes, of course dogs need time to sniff and choose their own route some of the time, but your question implies that engagement with you is work / unpleasant for the dog and of course it isn't. Molly (and previous dogs) wants to do things with me on walks - and Molly nudges me with her nose if she thinks I'm spending too long bumbling along with no interaction. She makes it clear she doesn't really like walks with Whiskey (a Lab I walk a couple of times a week for an old chap) because he is quite a challenge and I have to keep my attention on him - I end up giving Molly an extra walk on those days to make up for it.
Cupar is the first dog I have excellent recall with. I did use the perfect recall book and forums like this, the perfect recall book was the first dog training book that wasn't regimented, all the books I have on dog training, intimidated me by being so serious and organised. Once I stopped seeing myself as being absolutely useless at dog training and started to relax and enjoy my dogs, my relationship with them changed.
I no longer 'train' my dogs, I now teach them how I want them to behave. I have prioritised what is important to me and recall is one of the highest on my list.
I don't know if this will help but this is how I interact with Cupar on a daily basis and in turn it's working on his recall every single day but it's not a conscious thing more second nature now.
Nearly every time Cupar goes out the door to the garden I recall him at some point as there is usually someone or dog walking past. As soon as he hears his name he races in to the house and stands by the fridge, I keep a bowl of chopped cooked meats just for dogs. He's then allowed back outside once human/dog has passed. This may get repeated a few times in a day as we have a public footpath at the back of our garden. This served two purposes, his recall and prevention of reacting to dogs at the other side of the fence. ( Cassie is a fence barker and I didn't want Cupar doing the same.)
Most of our daily walks are the same one every day. We leave the garden off lead and walk for a few yards and he has been able to sniff and pee for a few minutes then I put him on lead for another five minutes until it's safe to let him off lead again. Once he's let off lead he runs ahead for a few minutes, then checks in with me and I tell him how good he is and tell him to go play. ( I talk a lot and get excited when he checks in, I've been doing this since he was a puppy) Occasionally I will pop his lead on and try some heel walking ( the bloomin bane of my life that's my nightmare) he's then released again and told to go play. At this point he won't leave me for long as he knows the routine, we usually do some sit stays and he gets to play with the ball ( this is the highest of all his rewards). Once the ball goes away I send him off to sniff. He will go further now as he's had his game but I like to keep him on his toes, so I will hide from him and wait for him to find me and he either gets squeezey cheese or very occasionally I will throw the ball once for him.
I still practice his heel walking off lead and on lead for a few minutes, I don't do this to train him in this I do it to interact with him. This is all done not far from home.
Going to new places is similar if he can get off lead, however it's harder with new smells so I do a lot more stop and starts on these walks, Cupar is a runner, he cannot just walk anywhere he has to run but he's also not a confident dog so he will check in and make sure I'm following, I have found if I just stop walking, he will eventually look back, find that I'm further away than he likes and come running back to me, he gets squeezey cheese and lots of praise for this and then released again. Throughout these walks I still pop his lead on and try to get him to walk better on the lead, I then unclip him and tell him to go sniff/play.
The only time I ever recall him, is if I'm 100% sure he will return to me. I did start teaching recall with a whistle but it was just something else to remember to take. So I 'charged' Cupars name in a different tone, it's a Cooooooooopeeeeer and I know it works because it's now been tested on recalling him when he started chasing a hare, more than once.
What I'm hoping you take from this, is it's knowing the dog that you have, find out what he loves the most. Find a way to interact with him you both enjoy. Don't keep calling for Maxx unless you know he's going to come back. Do practice lots at home. Don't stress about having to teach recall at certain times, you don't need two people to teach recall. I never had two people, I had to make do with what I had. If you go somewhere with Maxx that he's likely to run off after someone or something, keep him on a lead. Don't let him off lead until you know he's more interested in you than everything else. I unfortunately now know where I went wrong with most of the dogs I have had, the behaviour I wanted to stop, continued because it was reinforced every time they ran off, whether it was after some child's ball, or another dog.
I have no help from my OH with any of my dogs, in fact walking with my OH has us arguing, as he insists on calling for Cupar to come back every two minutes, he whistles on him, he calls his name and Cupar completely ignores him, on the occasions he does come back my OH thinks it's because he called Cupar, it's not, it's just Cupar checking in with me, so I reward him with squeezey cheese and send him off again, for my OH to start all over again.
I no longer 'train' my dogs, I now teach them how I want them to behave. I have prioritised what is important to me and recall is one of the highest on my list.
I don't know if this will help but this is how I interact with Cupar on a daily basis and in turn it's working on his recall every single day but it's not a conscious thing more second nature now.
Nearly every time Cupar goes out the door to the garden I recall him at some point as there is usually someone or dog walking past. As soon as he hears his name he races in to the house and stands by the fridge, I keep a bowl of chopped cooked meats just for dogs. He's then allowed back outside once human/dog has passed. This may get repeated a few times in a day as we have a public footpath at the back of our garden. This served two purposes, his recall and prevention of reacting to dogs at the other side of the fence. ( Cassie is a fence barker and I didn't want Cupar doing the same.)
Most of our daily walks are the same one every day. We leave the garden off lead and walk for a few yards and he has been able to sniff and pee for a few minutes then I put him on lead for another five minutes until it's safe to let him off lead again. Once he's let off lead he runs ahead for a few minutes, then checks in with me and I tell him how good he is and tell him to go play. ( I talk a lot and get excited when he checks in, I've been doing this since he was a puppy) Occasionally I will pop his lead on and try some heel walking ( the bloomin bane of my life that's my nightmare) he's then released again and told to go play. At this point he won't leave me for long as he knows the routine, we usually do some sit stays and he gets to play with the ball ( this is the highest of all his rewards). Once the ball goes away I send him off to sniff. He will go further now as he's had his game but I like to keep him on his toes, so I will hide from him and wait for him to find me and he either gets squeezey cheese or very occasionally I will throw the ball once for him.
I still practice his heel walking off lead and on lead for a few minutes, I don't do this to train him in this I do it to interact with him. This is all done not far from home.
Going to new places is similar if he can get off lead, however it's harder with new smells so I do a lot more stop and starts on these walks, Cupar is a runner, he cannot just walk anywhere he has to run but he's also not a confident dog so he will check in and make sure I'm following, I have found if I just stop walking, he will eventually look back, find that I'm further away than he likes and come running back to me, he gets squeezey cheese and lots of praise for this and then released again. Throughout these walks I still pop his lead on and try to get him to walk better on the lead, I then unclip him and tell him to go sniff/play.
The only time I ever recall him, is if I'm 100% sure he will return to me. I did start teaching recall with a whistle but it was just something else to remember to take. So I 'charged' Cupars name in a different tone, it's a Cooooooooopeeeeer and I know it works because it's now been tested on recalling him when he started chasing a hare, more than once.
What I'm hoping you take from this, is it's knowing the dog that you have, find out what he loves the most. Find a way to interact with him you both enjoy. Don't keep calling for Maxx unless you know he's going to come back. Do practice lots at home. Don't stress about having to teach recall at certain times, you don't need two people to teach recall. I never had two people, I had to make do with what I had. If you go somewhere with Maxx that he's likely to run off after someone or something, keep him on a lead. Don't let him off lead until you know he's more interested in you than everything else. I unfortunately now know where I went wrong with most of the dogs I have had, the behaviour I wanted to stop, continued because it was reinforced every time they ran off, whether it was after some child's ball, or another dog.
I have no help from my OH with any of my dogs, in fact walking with my OH has us arguing, as he insists on calling for Cupar to come back every two minutes, he whistles on him, he calls his name and Cupar completely ignores him, on the occasions he does come back my OH thinks it's because he called Cupar, it's not, it's just Cupar checking in with me, so I reward him with squeezey cheese and send him off again, for my OH to start all over again.
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
That is awesome everyone, thank you!
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
PS @Cupcase - are you sure you aren't married to my OH? 
No, that said, OH is coming around to my way of thinking. FINALLY. I think I scared him by suggesting we should rehome Maxx when I had the really bad couple of days (I didn't mean it...much)
Maxx was great today - on the walk anyway. OH was down in the garage having a good yack on his phone to his best mate in NZ and Maxx barked and barked like a banshee the whole time because, I presume, he thought OH was talking to someone who (a) could be murdering him or (more likely) (b) a new fren who just might have chikkin in his or her pocket. I can't let him down there because of all the building stuff that he could step on and hurt himself such as saws and nails etc
No, that said, OH is coming around to my way of thinking. FINALLY. I think I scared him by suggesting we should rehome Maxx when I had the really bad couple of days (I didn't mean it...much)
Maxx was great today - on the walk anyway. OH was down in the garage having a good yack on his phone to his best mate in NZ and Maxx barked and barked like a banshee the whole time because, I presume, he thought OH was talking to someone who (a) could be murdering him or (more likely) (b) a new fren who just might have chikkin in his or her pocket. I can't let him down there because of all the building stuff that he could step on and hurt himself such as saws and nails etc
- Location
- Malvern Worcestershire
Mine is always 'just a dog' - I rarely call him, but if I do, he will come pronto (mostly!). I can't bear it when he hangs around me, he has a habit that as soon as we turn round to come home, he wants the ball and dances around me. He would dance around me all the time if I let him! I am used to having German Shorthaired Pointers and they really range. Of course if I thought couldn't be trusted he would be contained closely. But I am odd compared to most people!
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
So do some Labs
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
This is beautiful @Cath
- Location
- Cornwall , UK
Reuben likes to be a little ahead of me on walks , which I can understand because when Nelly is with us , she potters about so it delays things . He does check in on a regular basis and gets lots of praise and the odd dried sprat for his diligence x Occasionally he runs on too far for my liking , especially if he knows the walk well , so I use the whistle , it works ( most of the time ) x
) x
- Location
- Malvern Worcestershire
I should add that I am lucky enough to walk where there are no other dogs, just the other two dogs I am walking with. My dog trainer when Rourke was young, said not let him play with other dogs, so he has never felt the need to rush off and play. He enjoys walking with the Greyhound and they trot off together to see what they can find, exciting smells, the ducks on the lake (which they don't chase), where a Muntjac or a pheasant might have been etc
Another thing to consider @Lab_adore , sniffing uses up lots of mental energy, apparantly it's like sorting out a big doggy crossword, working out who is who, and can be just as tiring for them. I'd let Maxx sniff as much as he wants, within reason.
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
So, just when you thought it was safe to have some hope
This morning we were at the end of our walk, coming back through the rugby field where we let him off the lead if there is no-one around. He was happily sniffing the bushes right near us when he suddenly bolted up the bank, through a hole in the fence and off! Dear God. We both ran but couldn't find him for several minutes and there is a road up there. OH found him bimbling and sniffing some grass, just before the road.
He completely ignored our calls and I didn't even bother with the whistle. Up until then he had been pretty good and we had fun with some fetch and running around the oval and sit-stays.
Why? He did that exact same thing a couple of times when he was a puppy but hasn't now for about 2 years. Now we can't risk letting him off down there as we know him and once he gets an idea in his head he keeps doing it. Gah!
This morning we were at the end of our walk, coming back through the rugby field where we let him off the lead if there is no-one around. He was happily sniffing the bushes right near us when he suddenly bolted up the bank, through a hole in the fence and off! Dear God. We both ran but couldn't find him for several minutes and there is a road up there. OH found him bimbling and sniffing some grass, just before the road.
He completely ignored our calls and I didn't even bother with the whistle. Up until then he had been pretty good and we had fun with some fetch and running around the oval and sit-stays.
Why? He did that exact same thing a couple of times when he was a puppy but hasn't now for about 2 years. Now we can't risk letting him off down there as we know him and once he gets an idea in his head he keeps doing it. Gah!