Hi all,just a quickie
does anyone have any techniques for the recall of a boxer?
any tricks and skills will be much appreciated,i've probably tried most of them but any ideas would be great.
Bruce is 22mths and Lucy is 19mths,both give more attention to a falling leaf than listen to their owners recall!! lol
thanks Gary and Louise

A clicker?? and treats... ?? Or just pleading lol.

No tips re Boxers but empathy. If Morse turns and looks at me off lead I chuck a chunk of Frolic and shout CATCH, when I want him the Frolic lands nearer and nearer me. Like your two everything outside is more interesting than Mum. After a bad day we go back to jankers ( long line) until the point is made - again. Im seriously considering carrying a chain to throw past him to stop him invading a field which will contain sheep after Christmas and is home to a million rabbits.:)

LOL,its an absolute nightmare!
they have their good days though,its like their just teasing me and laughing to eachother,shouldn't it be me laughing at them?
yeah,i've just bought a clicker actually and to be honest,its not loud enough when they're 1/2 mile accross the plains lol its quite good in the house,they just wonder what the hell is going on,
thanks any more ideas???? pleeeeez

I think i read somewhere if you crouch down when calling your dog, it's like saying you are no threat to them.

So at this point i suggest you crouch down, whilst clicking away and chucking frolic at them lol. (They will be laughing to each other then!)

well if mine starts running away i run a tiny bit then turn and run the other way. she thinks hey where the hell she go! and runs back after me :D and bingo i got her ;) . plus i leave her harness on when letting her off the lead its easyier to grab

I'm sure loads of people know how you feel, Buster is slowly improving but we have our bad days, I was in the other park yesterday morning and he'd had a good couple of days, staying near me, recall etc., then I bumped into a Rottie that he absolutely loves, they played, his owner and I walked together chatting, then he had to go, so he called his Rottie, off they went, I called Buster, he looked at me and it was a split second eye to eye contact, "shall I go to her or find something more interesting?", the latter won unfortunately, he spotted a spaniel in the middle of the park and bombed off. I said "okay, bye then", ignored, I turned and walked rapidly away, broke into a run and he appeared by my side after about 20 seconds of playing. Mmmm, back to basics with the line again methinks. Nicki

Sparky is testing us at the moment too. In the house/garden he always comes straight away when we call him, and is doing really well with recall at obedience classes, but, when we are out on walks, he now thinks that "come" means "come somewhere over here within a 30 foot radius and laugh at us for a few minutes". When we try running the other way, he does run after us, but carries on running when we stop and runs straight past about 50 feet! When we hide from him he comes to find us, but again won't come right up to us, just close enough to check we are still there. I've tried waving exciting looking blades of grass in the air, picking up huge branches, really tasty treats on an empty stomach, throwing his ball, taking a favourite toy with us. He does seem to respond better to a whistle at distance, and at least heads in our direction, it's the final bit he's avoiding. We used to call him back and treat him constantly before putting him back on his lead, so it's not as though he thinks he's always going to be restrained when he comes to us. This morning we tried a long line but it nearly took my fingers off and ended up tangled around his legs :( . What do you reckon? Back to basic training with distractions?

HI Tracy, the long line needs some practice and I dont use an extender for this as I nearly lost my fingers too. I use baler twine or a plastic washing line atached to his collar and call him, then when hes about to whirl I step on the line. No hands move to give him a cue and hes stopped. A tip I learned is dogs always look in the direction they bolt as if sizing up the distance between handler and object of desire and the trick is to move behind them, getting between them and the direction of bolt - FAST. Sparky is doing well coming towards you when you call and its worth remembering no young dog has 100% recall. He sounds a clever lad like Morse so you will have to vary the distractions before he gets the idea hes being conned. Whatever happens DONT GRAB - I did and regretted it for months. :)

" I've just bought a clicker actually and to be honest,its not loud enough when they're 1/2 mile accross the plains lol its quite good in the house,they just wonder what the hell is going on"

It sounds as though you are using the clicker as a recall aid, and although you can do this as you say it isn't loud enough as this is not what it is meant for. A whistle would be better to grab your dogs attention.
A clicker is a sound that is supposed to mark the behavior you want. So when i call my dog to my i click when she gets to me and give her a tasty treat. A whistle will tell her what to do but the clicker tells her she did what i wanted. This only works though if the dog is properly tuned in to what the clicker means. Even when using it as a means of recall the dog has to realise that a click means a tasty treat or a fun game. (The same goes for a whistle). Using a clicker can be an excellent aid for training recall and many other things. Prehaps you could get a book about clicker training. The book by Karen Pryor is good.

Do your dogs react ok on their own? Sometimes it pays to train dogs separately first.

hi lucy and meg,
not to sound rude or anything but every owner has different techniques to train their dog(s) in my case i'm using the clicker as a recall,and it works to an extent.
Its the owner's choice how to train their dog and if a system works,then great,if not,try something different.There's no set purpose for each technique,everyone has their own little tricks which a dog understands,its just a case of which one.
thanx anyway for all opinions and advice,
Gary and Louise

The sound of a whistle will carry further than that of a clicker, so perhaps it would be a good idea to try it.
If you do decide to use a whistle carry it with you at all times, plus a pocketful of special 'recall treats'. Whistle at random indoors and in the garden, both when the dogs are in sight and out of sight, and reward when they come. It is a good idea to whistle prior to meal times, even if they are sitting right at your feet and drooling for it!
It is not a good idea to try and recall your dogs when you absolutlely know that they will not respond (eg when they have found a particularly fascinating leaf). In that case it is best to go and fetch them, otherwise they just learn that they can get away with ignoring you.
It is not a good idea to let them off lead in public areas until their recall is satisfactory. Lots of people, and dogs, do not appreciate being the focus of even freindly attention from dogs they do not know, and accidents can, and do, happen.

Hi Lorelei, What would I do without all your advice?! Do you just attach the washing line with simple knots? Is is coiled up? Do you also attach a short lead on your way to wherever you let Morse off? Sorry if I sound a bit thick, but just trying to get the picture in my head. Have spent this morning teaching Sparky to "catch" treats and he is showing serious Flyball potential (;)) will try throwing some treats too, as he loved the new game!
Thanks in anticipation of the answers to even more questions!
Tracy

Hullo Tracy, catch the treat is fun and useful for grabbing their attention just shout "Catch!." :) We walk to our off lead places to practice walking on the lead and by gum hes getting the idea now ( 6 months later!). The long line is attached to his half check with a granny knot and the end trails so I can stand on it. A long line is a horses lunge rein and I use a tracking harness for this. Ive got good at putting my hand up overhead to change sides. Dont curl the end of the washing line round your hand as thats how you lose fingers. Before I got the lunge rein I used to hold the plastic line in a loose coil in my other hand, or join 2 long leads together etc. The main worry with a long line with yourself on the end is if the dog plunges into woods or gets tangled up playing with another dog. We had a horrible tangle one morning involving 2 playful Afghans on extending leads and Morse doing his Tigger impersonation while on a line - knotted Afghan fur and white-fingered owners. Not pretty.

You have just stumbled on the main anti of having two pups together or very close in age. I would only let one off lead at a time, and if where you walk is Open keep the other on a flexi, and alternate, either during the walk or on alternate walks.

My new puppy will not get to be off lead with her mother, as her recall can be a bit unpredictable (Elkhounds are an independant breed, and I had her back at 8 1/2 months, so her atitude can still be, but why should I!), she will get to run with the most reliable of my gang once she is old enough for such walks.

i do the exact same thing as lovelylady. they just gotta know where you're going and why. works a treat...curiousity always wins :) although this is a bit difficult when they're not looking at you and refuse to.and if another dog is in the vicinity..there's just no chance of getting my Satine to come! something's are just incurable!

Thanx all,
will try individual training with a whistle and if this doesn't work,i'll either get back on champdogs and post another topic or maybe just plea with them to come back and hope for the best, thanx everyone
Gary and Louise

Hi Boxerlovers
Oh the joys of owning a boxer dog!!! Both my boys have selective deafness when they are off the lead!!!
I find running in the opposite direction definetly helps!

Janine you seem to be the best person to ask. My 6 month old boxer keeps challenging me. Growls, barks nips or generally goes mad if i say NO. Please help it only started to happen since fri evening. He started barging into me and knocking me flying. He is normally quite plasid his recall is quite good.

I did not mean that your way was wrong i was just telling you another way that i (and many others) have found very effective. As you said it only works to some extent as the dog can't always hear it. Therefore a whistle may be better. Also there may be a time when you do not have a clicker to hand. If the dog only listens for the clicker for recall then this could present a problem. By all means continue to use the clicker in any way you want, but i just thought you might like to know the other way that also works for my dogs who have both had trouble with recall. It honestly does work, ask any clicker trainer. JMHO. You also said it only works to an extent and and then that if something is not working try a different way. Not being rude, but you did ask for advice and i was only trying to help, as you say different ways work for different people and i was just offering advice.

hi lucyandmeg
no offense intended,soooo sorry if you felt this way
i know you were only giving advice,honestly, a big thankyou!!
Gary and Louise

Thanks, sorry, i probably get a bit too touchy about things really, so no offense taken. I know how hard it is when dogs decide to ignore you when you want them to come back. I have a 20 month old Border collie and a 6 month old golden retriever and they are such hard work. I can only now say that the collie has a fairly reliable recall, as she use to be so frustrating, ignoring me or running towards me and then dashing off again before a catch her! The retriever is even worse, i may as well not exist sometimes. I honestly think i could walk off and leave her there and she wouldn't care! Shes not too bad when i take her out on her own now, but the two of them together = nightmare! I think the only thing that really works with recall training is perseverense, no matter what method you use. (And pray for them to mature, that helped too!)
Good luck, i'm sure you'll get there! :-)

Emma
My husband laughed whe he read your comment about me being a good person to ask about boxers behaviour!!!
He thinks that I am far to soft with my boys, (i can't help it, i love them far to much to stay cross for to long!!)
You sound like you are doing a good job, and he is at that age where he will push you as far as he can, you do have to be firm with him, but not to harsh!!!!
Only another boxer owner would understand your situation because boxers are so unlike other dogs and have different needs.
Having lived with boxers all my child and adult life i know that they will push you but as long as you are firm they usually snap out of this behaviour in a couple of months and you then end up with a loving boxer and you realise it was worth the struggle!!!