I would be grateful for some advice regarding recall training for my 10 mth old male GSD - Alfie. Alfie has grasped the basics and i's sure he knows what i mean when i say 'come'. If we are at home he does it 90% of the time but when we are at the park it is a different story, especially if there are other dogs to play with, he looks at me and then does what he wants which is usually walk in the other direction or come towards me but not close enough to get his reward.

I have noticed that lots of you are talking about using a long line for recall but my local pet shop didn't have a clue what i was talking about. Pls help

I would recommend a longline for your guy - it will allow you to correct him for ignoring you calling him.  Every time he gets away with it right now, it reinforces the fact that he can - and he'll get worse!  Have you tried using tasty treats to get him to return?  I find tinned ham or cheese works very well, hotdogs too.  If you cut them up small you can do a lot of training.

I got my longline from B&Q, I find that many pet shops near me are a bit clueless :) Mine is cotton webbing, about 2cm wide, you can get it on a blue plastic thingy (kind of like for a kite), it comes in 50ft lengths - or loose from the rolls.  How much you need depends on the dog - for my dobe, I have 100ft, but I'm going to get another 100ft - he is a fast dog, and likes to exlpore far away from me.  Ditto for my other dog.  The 50ft lengths there are £5.38, btw!!  If you use one, leave it on the ground next to you and step on it when he ignores you - if you pick it up he may well connect you with it, and get wise to what you are doing, then ignore you when he's off the longline again.  If you tie knots in it every 10ft or so, they catch under your shoe and help you stop him - good for big strong dogs!  Oh, and if he runs fast, I'd invest in a shock absorber - pets at home do them - it'll protect him from damage when you step on the line and he is stopped.

I would do some basic training without distractions at the moment if you can - either take him to the park when there won't be dogs around, or just the odd one that you can keep well away from, or take him somewhere quiet and fairly boring :)  When he's reliable there, start uppnig the distractions - take him to the park at a busier time, but stay away from other dogs, then start moving closer.

When it comes down to it, it's all about repetition - the more times he comes and gets rewarded, the better his recall will be.  Use his favourite things to get him back - my rott X's recall improved dramatically simply by me gonig crazy when she came toward me - high pitched voice, woohoo!s, arms waving, the works!!  and ham, of course :)

Work on him at home as well - try to get him totally reliable there, it should improve him outside then as well.  For now, outside, I'd keep him on-leash or longline until he's reliable - or only let him off when there aren't any other dogs around to distract him.

Recall needs to be 100% at home before it can be used outside.   Don't call your dog until you can expect him to respond otherwise he will just learn that not responding does not matter.    Work at conditioning a reliable response away from distractions.    If you do find yourself in a situation where the dog is off lead and you want him then go get him instead of calling him.   Also teach an 'emergency stop' so that you can stop the dog and go get him if you think he will not respond to recall.    A 'Turn' command can also help to get him away from distractions.

Hi Mich do you take your dog to any socialisation classes, it's well worth it if you find a good one, because while you are there, they'll use many distractions while you are recalling your dog, in a safe place of cause.

Warm regards susan

Hi Nikita
Thanks for your advice i will get down to B&Q and invest in 100ft i think as Alfie likes to wander and explore. Does it have a clip on the end to attach it to his collar or do you just tie it on? (sorry if i'm being really stupid). I am using liver and cheese to treat him when he comes back.
Alfie goes to a weekly class and he is always a star pupil while he is there (typical)and his recall at home is always very good, it is just when he is out in the big wide world that he gets selective hearing but i will get the long line this week and hopefully he will get the message, do you think i should continue to let him off lead or would it be better to do some more work on him in the garden? Also do you think age has anything to do with it? he is still only a baby (although a a very big one at 42 kg's) and obviously finds all other dogs very exciting and thinks they are there for him to play with!

Look forward to hearing from you

Personally I'd keep him on leash when there are distractions like other dogs around - anything that might possibly get his attention.  It depends on him really.  You'll see from a post of mine that my rotti X can't be let off at all, regardless of what's around, whereas my dobe can be if the park is empty - it's kind of individual.  But if you're in any doubt about whether he'll come back when you call, keep him on the leash.

The lines at B&Q are just plain cotton - you'll need a clip for the end.  You can get them in B&Q for about £1.50 I believe, also they do shock absorbers for around £1.99, give or take.  Nothing horrendous!

I'm sure his age is a factor - for one thing, he's coming up to the dreaded teens now (you lucky thing!!), and for another, he's still a total puppy and other dogs represent incredibly rewarding playmates!

Hope it's not too personal, but where are you located?  Your dog is ringing bells with me, but of course there are quite a few young GSDs called Alfie in the UK!!  Don't reply if you don't want to, I'm just curious is all :)

Hiya

Thanks for your advice, i went and got his long line this morning, so will start practicising with him straight away. TBH if Alfie is off his lead and there are no other dogs about he comes back, it is just the lure of playing with other dogs that is far too exciting for him.  As you said there are lots of gsd's called Alfie, we are in Kent, are you local??

Do you think it would help if i let him play with all the other dogs, as he might not find them quite so exciting in future? The only problem is that, as you know from having bigger dogs,not all other dog owners are too happy for their dog to play with bigger dogs and Alfie is a particularly large gsd.

I'm in kent as well, in Faversham.  I wouldn't let him play with every dog - he'll probably learn that he is allowed to play with every dog!  This si the problem I've had with my girl, I have socialised both my dogs up to the eyeballs to get them nice and friendly, but not Opi thinks it's her right, not a privelege, to try her damndest to play with every dog she sees!  At the same time, don't limit his access entirely - perhaps he could only play with dogs he already knows.  Perhaps you could try using commands - e.g. "go play" when he's allowed to play, and "not this time" when he's not, or something similar, when you pass dogs - or something like that.  Only a suggestion, it's not something I've tried with mine.  Just thinking that maybe it could help him learn when he is and isn't allowed to play?

Everyone else's suggestions here are great too of course, good luck in whatever you do to get to the wonderful world of recalling dogs, I'm nearly there... almost... :)

Hi guys

Thanks for all your advice it has been really useful. You are not far from me Nikita, we are in Sittingbourne. The long line is working a treat and he is definately grasping it. Last night on the park we were alone and Alfie was doing really well, out of the corner of my eye i saw a rotti (Alfie's favourite playmates) approaching and managed a perfect recall so am feeling very pleased with myself this morning.

Have another question, what do you guys use to entertain your dogs while you are out? Alfie has a kong , buster cube and the usual squeekies etc but i worry that he is not getting enough stimulation while i am at work - any ideas??

Silly question, but do you stuff the kong?  (slap me virtually if you do :D) if you freeze it once it's stuffed, it'll last longer aswell.

I give my trio chewing hooves - i found them in the pet shop the other day, they are basically half a sow's trotter, but only the hoof bit, stuffed with something tasty.  The stuff goes quick but the hoof lasts hours!

I also give them bones (free from msot butchers, tho the odd one ask for a charity donation) - the hefty ones last days, just watch out for pokey-out bits or bits that might break off easily.  If you can get a decent barrow bone (leg type), it should be safe - completely avoid store-bough cooked bones tho, those are dangerous.

The Alfie I'm thinking of I've met at the Rec park in Faversham a few times, so probably not you.  Sounds similar though, he's a big fella!

Hiya, consider yourself slapped Nikita :-), i do stuff his kong and also freeze it but it doesn't seem to last him very long, so if you have any tasty recipes that you use feel free to let me know. He also has the odd knuckle bone but he is such a powerful chewer that nothing seems to last very long at all. I've been trying to find toys etc that provide lots of mental stimulation while i am away - any ideas??

PS - Recall is coming on well. Cheers everyone for your great advice.

Hi Mich.

I think you should halve his food for a few days, calling him to you to feed him around the house.  Then, when you go out, call him back often when there are no other dogs around or distractions - give him a big treat or a game with a toy or something he REALLY enjoys and then let him go off again.  Do this a lot - make sure that most of the time when you call him, you let him go again - because if he thinks that being called means end of playtime, then he won't come.  Be really exciting - squeal and make a fool of yourself - make yourself be someone the dog wants to be with.  Don't try to call him back from other dogs until you have an excellent recall without other dogs around.