RD said:
Elle, thanks. Thus far I have not done any major proofing with corrections. I reinforce his recall under distractions. I guess I slipped and got lazy because he responded to the command every time. I thought he had an extremely solid recall but apparently this distraction was too big for him.
From now on he'll have a long line on. If he does not respond to a recall command while working or otherwise, I will be able to enforce it. I will also be talking to his breeder/trainer about how to improve his recall, because I obviously was not doing enough by training him on my own.
I admit it took a couple of hours for me to realize the extent of what he did. At the time of posting however, I was more concerned with the other dog and whether or not it was okay.
Sounds like you're on the right track. The long line is a good idea.
A few things I would think about when working on a recall:
-How much attention work do you do? To me, attention is the foundation of everything you teach a dog. The more you work attention, the better any command is going to be, including recall. You mentioned that the distraction level was too high today, well, work attention with distraction. You likely won't be able to be able to find a safe situation in which to have a dog threatening you & Dakota while working, but you can work attention while around other dogs that want to play, etc. I don't know what level of distraction you've trained attention/recall with, but try and be creative and figure out ways to up the ante. However, if the distraction becomes too much for him to be 100% all the time, take it down a notch and work your way back up. Never ask him to work in situations he isn't ready for. It will only set you back.
-Don't accept failure to recall. When working the recall, don't EVER let the dog get away with not obeying. If the dog does not come, go get him, bring him to the spot where you called him, reward him, and try again.
-Up the level of reward for recall. Make coming back to you the best thing in the world. Don't give him any reason to not want to be right next to you when you call him. Motivation!
-If you exhaust all other possibililties, maybe consider an ecollar. Do this IF AND ONLY IF you are willing to find an experienced trainer to work with. This is not a reccomendation I would make to anyone, but I have seen how useful they can be in proofing behaviors and if you are working your dog and need a solid recall, this could be an invaluable trianing tool. Do not jump into this. Take time, research, learn, find a trainer you are comfortable with, ask questions, etc. Use this as a "last resort" option to make sure the behvior is solid only after you have done everything else you can think of to train it!
ihartgonzo said:
to say that he *should* ignore or run away from a strange, aggressive dog who is harassing his stock is incredibly... dumb! I seriously doubt the few who are telling RD to keep her dog on leash (on private property!) have dogs who would completely ignore a dangerous, strange dog and run right back to them.
Obviously, a few people here just do not have any experience with herding dogs. IF Dakota did have the shakey temperament and poor bite inhibition that is alleged, he would not be able to work! It requires a lot of restraint and a very level-minded dog to herd geese... I'm not sure if anyone commenting has actually trained or even seen a dog work geese or ducks? But if the dog were to be very hard-mouthed, they would fail miserably at working geese!
If you are referring to me, actually I do have experience with herding dogs... I had a border collie/GSD rescue - one of the driviest herding dogs I've ever met!
Again, I am not saying what he "should" have done in the situation. As we can only read about one person's interpretation of what happened, we can't say exactly what "should have" happened. Look how different our interpretations of what happened are, neither of us is in a place to say what should have happened...
However, the OP stated that she TRIED to call her dog off. Obviously, she felt that at that point, her dog should have come back to her and ceased interaction with the other dog. Whether or not her dog should be allowed to continue to "chase the other dog away" at that moment was her decision, and she decided what was best at that moment was to call the dog.
The problem I see, and OP seems to see as well, is that at that moment when she decided to recall the dog, the dog did not come.
And yes, if I am at the point in training when I trust my dog off leash with no runner line, and I call him, I expect him NO MATTER WHAT to come. I do not ask him to judge whether it is appropriate at that moment for him to come or not. I make that judgement, and if I deem it appropriate to call him, I expect him to come. no ifs, ands, or buts.
"I seriously doubt the few who are telling RD to keep her dog on leash (on private property!) have dogs who would completely ignore a dangerous, strange dog and run right back to them."
This is true, many dogs I have owned would not have paid any attention to me recalling them at that moment. That is why I suggest keeping the dog leashed. You can bet your ass that if I didn't think my dog would listen in such a situation (a situation when listening is most vital and can often be a case of life or death), I would NOT let that dog off leash!
Would you jump me if a dog roamed into my yard and my dog chased him away?
