My lab/collie x has always been very sociable, but just  recently has started to ignore my attempts at recall when we are out. Whenever she sees other dogs or humans she goes bounding over to them and I generally have to follow to get her back. Most people are fine with it, but there are the odd few who have their dogs on leads who pull a face- fair enough.
Today this happened on 5 seperate occasions and I've arrived at the conclusion that some training is in order, but what?

She's 5yrs old and has a cocker spaniel sister who's 2 who couldn't give a monkey's about other dogs!!

Any ideas??

Does she like a ball ???
my dogs are not the least bit interested in anybody or other dogs because I trained them to play with thier ball while in the park if I carry it they will follow me anywhere in the hope that I will get it out to play again if they begin to venture way from me i just shout wheres the ball and thier back in a flash .

I did train recall from a very early age so one goes along nicely with the other.

hopefully if your girl is treat orientated then thats where you begin ....if you take treats out with you ...sausages work very well and keep calling them back to you ask for a sit and treat then use a command which is suitable for you I use "go play"as the release then periodically call them back and treat .
Practice recall at home throughtout the day calling her to you and treating she will soon catch on .

hopethis helps

~Roni

Thanks Roni,
Sounds obvious really- she LOVES playing with balls etc so I'll have to take one with me in future- and of course she loves treats.
You suggest trying calling her while at home- how long should I make these sessions do you think?

Cheers, Liz

Hi Liz,

I dont do it as a routine I just call them periodically to me ask for a sit and then treat .
sometimes they will be in thier bed or in the garden or the living room it  doesnt really matter just call them to you eventually just a big hug will be enough but I would stick with the treat for a good while yet.
Also make the treat tasty when outside sausage or cheese something they really love usually a bis is not enough to start off with!

>but there are the odd few who have their dogs on leads who pull a face

Try and see it from their point of view ;) I have Malamutes who can be a bit iffy with same sex ...if a dog comes leaping and bounding over to mine 'to play' they can see it as a challenge ........

I get fed up with people who allow their dogs offlead when they don't have great recall (not you as you are obviously concerned enough to try and do something about it) but sometimes, walking our 3 can be a nightmare because of them ...

Basically, your dog has discovered a) that she CAN ignore you and b) tormenting other dogs is far more fun - and no, it's not appreciated by owners with dogs on leads, as that dog is often on lead for YOUR dogs safety......

Rules for enforcing a good recall - make sure you can offer something far better than the reward they are getting by staying away from you - as suggested, sausage or cheese is good, hotdogs also work for most dogs (and can be cheap as chips!)  Another good thing to do, particularly with the dog who'd rather play, is to take the dog out before it's main mean and take the  meal with you (easy if it's dry, but still acheivable if you feed tinned food) The dog then gets a small portion of it's meal when (and only when) it returns to you. Show the dog the food before you let it off, let it go a small way, then show it again, and call the dog.  Grab hold of its collar before you give it the food, then let it go again and repeat over and over again.

Some people use a 'long line' or horses lunge line to reinforce the command, this way the dog can make it's own mind up wether to come or not, but if it decided not, you can put your foot on the line and reel it in - again, make sure you reward, but be ware of the potential for injury to other people or dogs if they get tangled up - the idea is to not let this happen.

NEVER call your dog to do something the dog might find unpleasant, such as bath or ear treatment. Always vary the last place you call your dog to put her back on the lead, infact it helps to recall, put her on the lead, and then let her off again - be unpredictable ;)

HTH - please work with it, if you had a dog aggressive dog, you might realise what a nightmare dogs that won't recall can be - there is often a very good reason why a dog is on lead when yours isn't.

Starryeyes, many thanks for the advice and encouragement. I took the girls out earlier -with treats- and Ellie only ignored me for a very short time on one occasion and that was when she went to say hello to a dog friendly couple who's dogs she plays with regularly. So I'll certainly keep at it on a daily basis.

Melodysk- Ellie has previously been very good at recall- I think she's just 'trying it on'. I wouldn't let my dogs off the lead if their recall was hopeless.
Ditto Digger- thanks for the recall rules. Just want to say to Digger and Melodysk that I realise none of us know each other as individuals but please be aware I'm NOT a novice dog owner and just feel that some of your remarks do come across as a bit 'preachy.' Needless to say , that sort of approach can be off putting for people wishing to seek advice. However, e-mail can be a dangerous medium and hopefully you didn't mean it to sound like that!

Apart from that, Many Thanks- to everybody- I appreciate it.   

How on earth did my comment come across as preachy? I even stated that I didn't mean you!

Jee whizz ......it is getting so you cannot express ANY opinion unless you agree totally with the OP

AsI said , e-mail is a dangerous medium and often leads to misinterpretation- a big failing on my part!

I write my replies to all the other dog owners out there who are reading the responses to problems they don't get around to posting for themselves - if you feel 'preached' to I hope you will take that into account - I don't know how much you DO know, so I start at the bottom and hopefully work up........

Oh dear I seem to have touched a nerve...

As I said before I appreciate the advice.

As I said before e-mail is open to misinterpretation...

It's easy to forget that on an 'information exchange' like this that others can read the replies, and many people will be reading these messages for relevant information, not just the person who posted the original question.  It's also important to be concise, for precisely the reason that it IS open to misinterpretation.....

Never mind, onwards and upwards huh? ;)

YOU BET- we could go on like this forever!