Could anybody offer any suggestions on recall of our year old rescue Saluki X, he has a brilliant temperament and wants to please. We've had him two weeks and he's just finding his feet. He hasn't been let off the lead yet but has shot out of the front door, fortunately the road was quiet, he sprinted to the nearby churchyard and clearly had a lovely time running about. Meanwhile commands to COME were ignored, and finally I managed to dive on him to catch him after 10 minutes of panic. Whilst his temperament is excellent he does not appear to understand basic commands which in time will come, but our main concern is recall, which at the moment is a vicious circle as he can't be let off the lead for fear of losing him.
Any suggestions to help?

I have never heard the words "recall" and "saluki" used in the same sentence before!!:D
Seriously though, I think you will have to get a lunge-line & do all the training on that until you are a bit more confident in him. IME the sight hound characteristics of the saluki tend to over rule the brain cell!

My friend has a saluki X. She says we all have our cross to bear, unfortunately hers happens to be a saluki cross lol. Have any of your friends got dogs. My friend used to walk with me and my Dobermann (sadly deceased) she was a wonderful dog, always came back first time. Meg the Saluki X learnt from her and by the time she hit one year old she WAS coming back.
It would be great if your dog could learn from another. You have only had him 2 weeks though, so I wouldn't really let him off the lead for a few more weeks until he has settled.
Joanne

I'd work on the recall around the house to start with - don't call him more than once or he'll learn to ignore you if he doesn't fancy coming just at the moment. Make sure when he come he gets a treat (edible or otherwise - maybe a game with a toy if that rings his bell <G>) and then gets 'released' again to do what he wants - this makes coming to you a positive thing :-) When it's going well inside progress to the garden and repeat it out there. When you're doing really well with outside stimuli, take him somewhere there aren't too many distractions (with a long line for added security - but I wouldn't choose somewhere where if he does tank off the long line could get caught in undergrowth - and always use a harness when using a long line to protect his delicate neck) and repeat the process out there - always rewarding and not calling more than once - if he does ignore you - take hold of the line and reel him in, then reward. Slowly add the distractions - add a friends dog with a good recall helps too.....

Good luck!

Saluki = sighthound = deaf when off lead and having a fun time chasing.

You will need to spend a LOT of time working with him to get a recall and even then it may not be good. We walk our whippets out on the heath or beach well away from traffic - their recall is 90% on a good day (almost 100% if we yell 'FRISBEE' and wave a frisbee round for a game), but I would NEVER trust them near a road or traffic. We are DILIGENT about the door being opened - and even then they've each escaped once. And the one with the best recall danced in the road for 5 minutes before finally deigning to come in.

You have your work cut out for you. If a sighthound sees something it thinks is worth chasing all training will go out the window.

What finally worked for us (after a year of trying) was finding a toy (in our case the frisbee) that she LOVED. We took it on every walk. WE started the frisbee game and WE ended the frisbee game. She was never allowed to start or end it that way she never knew when it was going to happen. She could be in the middle of a mad game of chase with another dog and 'FRISBEE' would stop her dead in her tracks and have her coming back. We were lucky to get that. Now she is pretty reliable without it, but we never walk without it just in case.

WEndy

use a flexi--theyre not that obedient, never seen loose before

If you choose a Flexi or extending lead - you really should use it with a harness - coming to a sudden stop can damamge a dogs neck if used with a normal collar - I would have thought this a particular risk with a clim necked dog like a Sauluki or Greyhound.

i use one of the collars with webbing and a quater chain. theyre safe as they just fasten to themselves !

Digger i agree 100% with what you have said, their necks can get broken if jerked to hard. I have a 1 year old saluki (pure bred) and i dont let him off, unless it is in a fenced area, like a tennis court or something like that, as i KNOW HE would not return to me, as yes they do go completely deaf when off lead.

kelly and malki x

Does she know what the word "come" means - it is quite possible she has never been taught the English language :)

Christine

Hi Jane, We have had our 4 year old rescue Saluki - Tchae for 10 months now. It does get better! She is a very timid thing, had been badly treated. We first fostered her for a local rescue place to nurse her back to good health, then could not part with her. They tend to like other dogs and small things - hence run off if they see anything move. We tend to move away and make a low whistling sound. Fortunately, she does not like being left and is always looking round for us. Tchae does not play with any toys or moving objects. I end up running the length of a football pitch and calling her to sometimes get her to exercise! Other times, if there is another dog around she will run and run and run. When we first got her, she had never been let off the lead. Her first time off, I thought I had killed her. She ran round and round then fell to the floor! We have spent lots of time giving her short walks (3 - 4 daily, according to weather). We always let her off the lead now, but only in woodland or fenced in fields. She usually sits outside our house (in cul-de-dac). The other day, she decided to take herself off for a walk. We had the same problem as you. Kept looking round to make sure someone was following, but kept trotting up the road, in the middle of a busy country lane. My husband was mortified. One of my sons finally lured her to him with a treat. She is so lovely though but always looks bored when not out. We are considering getting another one but are not sure if they all have similar temprement. Did you get yours from a Saluki rescue home?

All this talk about saluki's not returning to hand when called,is very confusing,i have a 1/2 saluki 1/4 greyhound 1/4 whippet & a 3/4 saluki 1/4 greyhound
both return without being called,i have had saluki x greyhounds since 1978
all have been untrustworthy in public places,they all race towards children and cyclists,
my dogs are as trainable as any other breed of sighthound,when there are no dogs and people about,
as for racing about in the street,any young dog would do the same,my brothers collie does,
what matters is what he is like when no one is around,sit in the middle of a field,let him off,he will run around till tired then return to hand,call him as he returns,never fails,repeat daily till you are confident of his return,use bribes if you have to,never walk while he's off the lead,this will give him an excuse run firther away i have allways liked a challenge,and have managed to train the,so called untrainable to a reasonable degree,never will they come to the standards of other breeds,if a dog is never let off the lead how can it be trained.
lucinda1@ntlworld.com