Watson and I are having a love hate relationship with recalls. Basically, I feel like I did everything "right" to instill a good recall when he was a puppy (and continue to do these things), but he still has a crappy recall when it counts. I'm pretty much at a loss for what to do next.
First the love part.
- He thinks formal recalls in obedience class are the most fun game EVAR. He comes like he was shot out of a cannon.
- He loves to play recall games in our field. My husband and I will take turns calling him back and forth across the field, running to different spots and hiding, etc. He's super enthusiastic. We try to play this game as much as we can and it's a great way to wear him out.
- On a 6ft leash during walks, he'll almost always whip his head around when I call his name, even if he's sniffing or interested in something else.
- From 2 to 9 months, he was exclusively off leash on our property and really good. We did tons of calling him back, jackpotting with treats, then letting him run on. This is the point I'd like to get back to. After we lost it at 9 months I assumed it was a teenager thing and if we managed him with a long line and practiced a ton, his recall would return. It's been 6 months and it hasn't.
Now the hate.
- On our property, I have a horrible success rate at calling his name and getting any attention from him if he's sniffing, even on a long line. Not actually chasing an animal, or even tracking a recent trail, but just sniffing around to see what's new since yesterday. Sometimes he'll look around, and then go back to sniffing. I don't let him ignore me and will reel him in if necessary (after trying to run away, make crazy noises, etc), but reeling him in doesn't teach him to recall.
- He's run away a couple times and while he doesn't run for the sake of running, he only comes back when he's done hunting whatever he was hunting, not when we call.
- If I call him and take off running in the other direction, or hide behind something, he sometimes comes after me, sometimes ignores me. If we play a ton of these games one day, his attention on me is better for that day (though I still wouldn't trust him off leash), but it never seems to carry over to the next day and I don't see progress overall. It's like starting fresh every day.
What am I doing wrong? I feel like I did everything everyone recommends to train a recall, and all I have is a dog who only recalls as a game or in set up situations, but not in real life. I hoped he would grow out of this independent phase and get his great recall back, but so far it hasn't happened.
My only idea right now is to buy a hunting whistle and re-train the recall with that. I think a sharp whistle might get through to him better when he's sniffing than me chattering away and calling his name.
I honestly don't expect him to ever have 100% recall off of a running animal or anything. It would just be really awesome to have him off leash on our property like we could when he was young, and not worry that he's going to blow us off when we call and make us chase him across 10 acres. Tips? Tricks? What am I missing?
First the love part.
- He thinks formal recalls in obedience class are the most fun game EVAR. He comes like he was shot out of a cannon.
- He loves to play recall games in our field. My husband and I will take turns calling him back and forth across the field, running to different spots and hiding, etc. He's super enthusiastic. We try to play this game as much as we can and it's a great way to wear him out.
- On a 6ft leash during walks, he'll almost always whip his head around when I call his name, even if he's sniffing or interested in something else.
- From 2 to 9 months, he was exclusively off leash on our property and really good. We did tons of calling him back, jackpotting with treats, then letting him run on. This is the point I'd like to get back to. After we lost it at 9 months I assumed it was a teenager thing and if we managed him with a long line and practiced a ton, his recall would return. It's been 6 months and it hasn't.
Now the hate.
- On our property, I have a horrible success rate at calling his name and getting any attention from him if he's sniffing, even on a long line. Not actually chasing an animal, or even tracking a recent trail, but just sniffing around to see what's new since yesterday. Sometimes he'll look around, and then go back to sniffing. I don't let him ignore me and will reel him in if necessary (after trying to run away, make crazy noises, etc), but reeling him in doesn't teach him to recall.
- He's run away a couple times and while he doesn't run for the sake of running, he only comes back when he's done hunting whatever he was hunting, not when we call.
- If I call him and take off running in the other direction, or hide behind something, he sometimes comes after me, sometimes ignores me. If we play a ton of these games one day, his attention on me is better for that day (though I still wouldn't trust him off leash), but it never seems to carry over to the next day and I don't see progress overall. It's like starting fresh every day.
What am I doing wrong? I feel like I did everything everyone recommends to train a recall, and all I have is a dog who only recalls as a game or in set up situations, but not in real life. I hoped he would grow out of this independent phase and get his great recall back, but so far it hasn't happened.
My only idea right now is to buy a hunting whistle and re-train the recall with that. I think a sharp whistle might get through to him better when he's sniffing than me chattering away and calling his name.
I honestly don't expect him to ever have 100% recall off of a running animal or anything. It would just be really awesome to have him off leash on our property like we could when he was young, and not worry that he's going to blow us off when we call and make us chase him across 10 acres. Tips? Tricks? What am I missing?
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