My 2 year old Labrador is very gentle and generally well behaved. But when on walks and let off the lead he sometimes refuses to come when called. I have seen other people's dog's that are so responsive to their owners commands. How do I get my dog to come when he is called first time? What methods do you recommend?

Also after being attacked by 2 other dogs, my dog occasionally growls and raises his heckles at other dogs when we are on a walk, and therefore gives the impression that he is aggressive. He is not aggressive at all, and when he has met the other dog he is very friendly and wishes to play. Is his agressive behaviour more of a defense thing rather than attack? What can I do to stop/prevent this behaviour?

Well, there ae various methods to get a good recall, and at the end of the day you really have to make yourself the most exciting and interesting thing on the planet for your Lab. Has he alwasy been a little unreliable or has it started recently?

I have been so proud of my Terv recently as she comes back almost all the time, even away from other dogs now, and horses, and exciting new people, and I started with titbits (really nice ones like sausage bits) and used a word such as "Come" or "\Here".

Did this all over the place, round the house, outside, wherever.You have to "generalise" it, as if youust practise in one place he will not learn to come in other places. But only when there's a good chance of coming. So, if for instance your dog is playing he may not come (yet!) so wait til he has nealry finished,then call, if he doesn't come, call once again and then run away. Really mean it, try to get away from him (safety permitting). Then reward when he comes.

After a period, vary titbit rewards and introduce maybe toys, tugs, just a pat sometimes, and after a while you should start getting a very keen recall.

A very good idea which was suggested to me was to save a really special toy and to use that as a reward for extra special behaviour, and so we have a Kkong on a rope and our bitch has that thrown about twice during thewalk - and is allowed toplay with it.

Differnet methods do suit different dogs, but we found toys best of all, better than titbits or anything else. And it helps make training fun for the owner too! So if your Lab likes toys it could be the answer.

Then you just gradually fade out the toys or treats, whatever, but do it "variably", so he gets a reward once, then none, then twice, then none, then none,and gradually he will be very reliable and you can be sure he will come even when there is no toy.

HTH a bit, there are other more formal ways too, you may for instance need ot use a long line for a bit.

Re the aggression, it does sound defensive and if this is your feeling too, try to relax unless it gets serious. Dogs often sort themselves out and if you interfere he may get agitated, you could try rewarding hiim when he does interact well, and praise verbally or give treats when he has a relacxed demeanour. Don't tighten the lead! And give him space and don'tmake him say hallo inless he wants to. Good luck.

LIndsay

Thank you Lindsay. Buster was rehomed by me when he was 10 months old. He was very lively when we got him, but luckily calmed down extremely approximately 6 months ago. As far as I know he was taken for a walk about 6am and let free to run down a quiet lane. Since we've had him he has actually improved, and does come when called sometimes, but it is just when out on a walk, he may find a smell, and well, then his ears seem to get blocked and he can't hear a thing. We often run and hide away out of site, and he does then stop and run like a bat out hell to find us.

I do have a special toy, called 'Supervision Toy'. It only comes out with adult supervision as Buster does get a bit excited with his toys and tends to nibble them a bit too hard, so in this toy's case it fell apart (but I fixed it!). I could use that initially in the house I suppose. Also when on a walk, Buster loves fetching sticks, he tends to try and pick up fallen branches (twice the size of him). So when on a walk and you mention the word 'stick' Buster gives you his full attention and does come when called, and even drops the stick at your feet, he previously didn't because I think he was afraid you would take the stick away, but now he's realised that if he gives you the stick then you throw it again.

To be honest many friends and family do compliment Buster and say how well behaved and calm he is, especially considering how he was when we first got him. My concern is his love for other dogs, he is just too friendly, and wants to go and greet every new person or dog. As Buster has been attacked twice by 2 unruly dogs in the village (and other local dogs have been attacked too), I have to be careful, as all the nice dogs seem to be a bit wary of one another. So I just worry a bit about him meeting other dogs, because if the other dog started, he would obviously retaliate I'm sure.

Anyway, I think if I just keep the training going, I'm sure he will improve, in fact I know he will!

Thanks

Jenna

Hi Jenna

Glad to hear Buster seems to be going in the right direction, just keep at it youll get there in the end. MY two dogs when they were younger sound very similar, I know "selective hearing" was one of their favourite tricks if there was something more interesting around. A word of warning about sticks though, I used to throw them for my two until a girl I used to meet regularly on my walks came out one day with only one of her two dogs. She had tragically lost the other one a few days previously after a stick got impaled in his throat. I have heard of this happening now on quite a few occassions and so never throw sticks for my dogs now. Its tough on my boy Oscar as he still, even after two years, drops a stick at my feet waiting for me to throw it but I darnt take the risk.
Keep going with the training you will have the perfect dog in the end!

Totally agree, it's often a matter of just plugging on with the training - and don't forget, youwillhave bad days! And a reliable recall can take months and months depending on the chance to train, time, dog, age, experience etc etc etc :)

I forgot to say, try to put him on the lead several times during th ewalk if you can, praise or play and then release. Use a word for the release too, or he may just think he has gor away from you!

You sound as if you are doing very well, but I know, one can't help worrying!

Have you tried a Kong on a rope? They are very tough and my Terv loves to have a good shake and prance around with it proudly when she gets it! We've had it for 7 monthsnow and it's almost as good as new.

Lindsay

I like the kong on a rope too for my GSD cross, and he loves it! - that is until the day he retrieved it minus rope!! Little monkey had scampered after it, found it, bitten the rope off and THEN brought it back! Ho hum! Rope now replaced! So the kong part is indestructable, but as for the rope...............
Sas

Could I have some encouragement please? My 8 month Springer Spaniel is a darling and will come every time I call - unless there is something more interesting like a pheasant around. I started off badly as I was sure he needed a lot of exercise and so let him off the lead in woodland too soon. He still comes unless he doesn't want to but that's not good enough. So I've gone back to basics and have read all the advice here -but it seems such a long job. Probelms are - 1) if I put him on a long lead he just romps about trying to chew the lead and doesn't behave at all as he would on a walk 2) If we just exercise in the garden is it enough? I'm worried about him getting bored - he does seem slightly more "naughty" since we've not been having those nice long but stressful walks. How long each day should I spend training/playing with him. 3) I haven't found the ideal toy yet - balls , sticks and frisbees will attract for a minute then he wants to chase birds in the hedges - I''ll try a Kong if I can get one. 4) How long is this likely to take? I've been keeping him in the garden for 10 days but can't see much change yet. 5) Is it really important that he walks to heel or is it enough that he doesn't pull on any lead? I've read Jan Fennell's book and do like the "kind" approach but I've still got lots of questions. He's a lovely dog and I really want to be in control but it seems like one step forwards and two back - can anyone tell me some success stories? Lots of people say I worry too much, that he's only young and that it will all suddenly fall into place - is that right? The other probelm is I live in sheep country - he has already chased sheep a couple of times - only if they run as he thinks that's a good game - he ignores them if they stand still - but I don't feel in control.
The local dog training class doesn't deal with outdoor situations and my husband isn't any help - he just wants a perfect dog but won't put in any effort or help with the training. I'm feeling very lonely - some support would be great please!

Welcome to the forum Bertie :-) Leigh

Hi there Bertie. What do you mean you let him off too early in the woodland? Pups should be let off their leads as early as possible, mine arent on a lead from about 9 weeks old. If you've only just let him off at 8 months then there could be your problem. Do you put him back on the lead everytime you call him too you? I find the best thing is to completely ignore them. If he runs off or go another way walk away from him without making a sound. When you call him do you just call his name or do you give the command come? Not taking him for a walk will cause far more problems for a dog such as a springer and I wouldnt recommend that course of action. Keep him on an extending lead and if he plays up just stop and stand still until he lets go of the lead or stops. Then continue, He'll soon learn that playing the fool gets him no where. Practice your recalls on the lead then let him off for a bit. Call him back reward him then send him away again dont put him on a lead everytime you call him because they learn that one pretty quickly!
All the best
Bec

HI Bertie

My best friend had a ESS and had to work so hard to get her back - the dog was superb and I suspect would have been a great working dog. But she did just go deaf when "busy". My friend resorted to a whistle and had some luck with that, you could try training him to a whistle command maybe? Acme do them - they have a website.

To be honest though, I suspect the dog will improve greatly as he grows, he is in his adolescence at the moment and you do need to just keep on with the training. Hard graft ;) YOu say your club doesn't train outdoors, but that doesn't matter. Does your club teach you how to get your dog away from things, and allow practice of recall when say, other dogs are loose and they are playing, that sort of thing?

If not consider changing to one that does.

Be very careful with the sheep chasing, as you don't need me to tell you what the outcome coluld be :(

What area are you in Bertie?

lindsay

Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for the advice. I'm near Oswestry on the Shropshire/Welsh border - sheep everywhere and even when the fencing is good there are usually big gaps under the gates. We have an Old Racecourse which is great for walking but I'd like to go further afield. I might try the class again - they're very keen on proper heel work which is a bit off putting as for my needs just a calm dog on a loose lead would be fine. Still, it would be good to have recall practice with other dogs and distractions around and it's the only club that I know of around here. I'll work on the long lead too as at least then we could walk happily anywhere, although being a Springer he really wants to go where a long lead can't follow!

Thanks Bec,
I have been walking him in woods since 12 weeks - it's just the last ten days I've kept to the garden as I kept getting advice to keep him on the lead until he was trained but I wasn't at all sure it was the right thing. We went back to the woods yesterday - a very happy Spaniel! His recalls are perfect unless he's distracted so I guess I must just persevere and make myself more appealing than a pheasant!

Chelsea used to REFUSE to come until she was ready. We finally found the 'toy she wanted more than anything'. It was a frisbee - so we started taking the frisbee on walks with us. WE decide when the game begins and when the game ends. This way when we call 'Frisbee!' she comes immediately - afraid of missing the game. This will bring her away from other dogs, it will get her back from everything. Once we got that mastered and we knew she would come back for that - she also then started to recall because we called 'come' rather than frisbee.

The other thing that's really important is don't only call your dog back when you are putting him on lead and taking him home. He then leanrs that 'come' means the end of the walk. We call them back often during the walk - they touch base and then we let them run off again.

WEndy

Wendy hit the nail on the head there I think - Call y our dog back frequently when you're out - and make it really rewarding for him - a 'high value' treat like a bit of sausage (hot dogs are good I'm told - but a bit messy in the pockets <G>) My little b*tch adores gravy bones! When they come - ask them to sit, hold the collar briefly (so they don't get into the habit of ducking away from your hand when you go to grab) give the treat - then 'send away' with what ever phrase you like. HTH

Fran