My 18 month DDB is being a real pain of late.  Her recall has completely gone to pot, she is a big dog who needs to have a good run every day, but every now and then  she ignors us calling her and does her own thing which makes me want to put her on a lead for her walks.  Its not all the time, its not even once a week, but im worried that she will harm herself and run out of the field into the road.  Not sure if a long line would work as its not a case of coming up to you and running off, its a case of her running off over the opposite side of the field and coming back when she has had enough (usually 45 mins later)

I can hardly believe that she passed all her doggie training achieving her Gold last July....  i thought at the time that it was a fluke and asked if there were any further classes that we could go to to maintain training after the gold.  The only classes they held were for competative obediance and i know that she just isnt in that league ..   Any advice is gratefully received.

If it the KC Gold Good Citizen that she has passed then that is excellent and shows you both have worked really hard.

Don't despair, it is not only dogs that go through the teenage 'Kevin' stage, bitches can be quite good at it too ;)

As you have put in the work before this, it will come back, but you need to remind her with short positive recall training sessions.  In the home and garden at first, don't forget to use treats.  When you feel she is concentrating at home, call her back on walks during the walk, treat her and send her away to play again. 

It is probably your relationship as a whole that need working on while she is going though this.  It is very easy to forget to praise as they are growing up and doing things right (we have all done it).  When she does good things in everyday life, give her a boost with some praise, tell her what a clever girl she is.

I personally would keep her out of any danger areas near a road for the time being, as it will be a while before she is reliable again.  Does she play ball? that sometimes helps when they are going hell for leather in the opposite direction, if you can shout bally and throw it in the opposite direction she may go after it (I don't know your dog or her reaction to toys)

One bit of training I would put some effort into is an instant down, you can often stop your dog with this easier then a recall.  Don't forget never to call her from the down, but return to her and praise while she is in position.

Good Luck, some others might have some more idea's

Sandra

Why not carry on to the competetive obedience classes. You say she is not in that league but she might surprise you. Even the top obedience champions had to start somewhere. Just because you go to classes does not mean you have to enter trials. You & your dog will have fun learning and just because she is not a BC, GSD, Lab., etc. does not mean that she cannot give a creditable performance.

i had a similar problem with one of my Golden Retrievers at that ade. He became a little stubborn, not recalling on commannd. I went back to basics of the recall, but the most effective thing I did was to take him out, walk in random directions, and occassionally hide behind trees. This seemed to break his confidence when he couldn't see me / find me. Over a period this has made him far more aware of concentrating on where I am. Even if he his trotting off in front he keeps looking back to see where I am and if I have gone off in another direction he comes pelting back.

I was also probably overcalling my dog previous to that. He must have got confidence in always knowing i was around and never bothered to make the effort to recall.

OK - so I looked like a nutter in my local park, but it has changed our relationship back to what it was before.

Is there something enticing her away from you? I ask because if you say she rarely does it (not even once a week) i wonder if there is.

Do you use any particular reward for when she comes back; or, have you been doing so and over a period of time phased this out and taken the recall for granted a bit more ? (Easy to do).

Its best to not put the dog in a position where it can practice ignoring you; how big is the field and where does she go? :)

Lindsay
X

Yes, it was KC good citizen and yes, she did do very well, but out of class she never was quite so perfect.  I think i will see if i can get her back into some sort of training, for both our benefit...  we both looked forward to going and put in alot of hard work, but i have probably let it go a bit,  my fault, got complacent!!!

We try to take her to different parks,  she seems to run off when she gets over familiar with a place.   I can understand her distractions (usually Squirells, or other wildlife) we try to stop her chasing but she see's it as a game and off she runs.  She caught up with some rabbits the other day which seemed to be cornered in and so they didnt run,  she stopped, looked at them and came back as frightened of them as they were her!!...

We have cooked up some hot dogs for her as her normal biscuits dont cut the ice for her to run back for...  We do play ball with her which she loves but i guess with all games she eventually gets bored and looks for other simulation...   Thanks for all your replies,  you have given me some great ideas to try...