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Need Help with Recall

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Tanya 
#1 ·
There is one thing I haven't figured out with recall -

I understand that until your dog is solid and comes back all the time when you say so, they are to be on leash (short or long) so that you can ENFORCE the come.

When your dog is solid, 100% on leash. I would go the next step - in a fenced area/off leash. So you can "practice" without any major concenquences. Rock is at like 80% with this part and I NEVER use the word come unless I can pull him to me, I just call his name and he comes to me. Oh and the 20% where he doesn't listen is when he has a tennis ball in his mouth (another issue I need to work on)

Now this is where I need help because I'm lost. Today I went to my brother's and I let Rocky off leash to get from the car to the house. Well, he took off. I finaly nabbed him while he pooped :oops: down the street. Obviously I won't be trying that again.

So how does one ever know if their dog is ready? I mean he's really great at the park or in a (fenced) yard, but if there is total freedom (front yard/no fence) he's gone!! What step am I missing?
 
#2 ·
I would like to know the answers to this post as well.  Lexie is about 9 1/2 months now and she is at the same stage.  She is fine on leash, in the house, and in a fenced yard, she will come when called unless she sees a cat (so 90% maybe).  I am too afraid to see her run off and have not tried to let her off leash in open space.  I would like to though, how do I know she and I are ready for it??
 
#3 ·
Luv4Lexie said:
I would like to know the answers to this post as well. Lexie is about 9 1/2 months now and she is at the same stage. She is fine on leash, in the house, and in a fenced yard, she will come when called unless she sees a cat (so 90% maybe). I am too afraid to see her run off and have not tried to let her off leash in open space. I would like to though, how do I know she and I are ready for it??
I'm so happy to hear I am not the only one! I guess everyone has their weakness...for Rock it is tennis balls and for your Lexie it's cats :D
 
#4 ·
Read the recall info in the "our best advice" thread.   The recall is the most difficult thing for the dog to learn and the most important.  The dog is not trained simply because it did it successfully once.  You need to successfully practice the recall at least 1000 times in each of the following situations, in this specific order.

1) on leash, no distractions (home)
2) on leash, with distractions (a park)
3) off leash, no distractions (home)
4) off leash, with distractions (a park)

I would not advise going immediately from on leash to off leash without some kind of intermediary leash. A tab or shark line work well for this purpose.

Now this is where I need help because I'm lost. Today I went to my brother's and I let Rocky off leash to get from the car to the house.  Well, he took off.
This is the mistake most people make.  Dogs do not generalize well.  Just because he does well in your yard does not mean he will come to you in someone elses.  It takes thousands of repetitions in hundreds of different places for the dog to understand "oh, come means comes to you know matter where we are or what we are doing."
 
#5 ·
Thank you!

I see what you mean, he's solid in familar places but i've gone to so few different places he still doesn't get that COME means COME...everywhere and anywhere! haha. Not sure why I didn't think of that before.

We are working hard, and once my foot heals we'll hit some new places to practice. In the meantime, we're taking Flyball courses and have been practicing so he is improving quite well.

he's such a dork though, when we head out to practice, he's perfect, but if i'm not in "training" mode he's much harder to control. I have to figure out what it is I'm doing different (stance, voice, something must be off!)
 
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