my nearly year old staffie bitch has a new trick. She is very good on recall till i want to put her lead on. We are treat training , she does not get treated every time i recall, about 2 out of 3 times, but gets a treat every time she goes on lead. Ihave been puting her lead on a few times when were out , hopefully to let her know its not only when we head home. And hints would be very helpful. She has been going through a rather bouncy adolecance but is doing pretty good with training. Thankyou

What if you gently took hold of her collar THEN gave her the treat?

Excellent advice. :)

Good idea but she wont come close enough after ive tried this , She becomes cautious , she will come to me but when i try touching her collar she bolts a couple of feet away.I have tried not letting her off lead for days then having her on a long rope and extending it .She always comes to me but is very quick to pull away when i hold her collar. She has no issues having her collar touched at any other time. She needs to run and use energy or she cant settle at home.

Dont you just love it when they come up with these new tricks?  :-)

I do like the fact that you sometimes put her leash on then take it off again.  That way, recalling and having her leash put on is not ALWAYS a negative thing.  That being said, in her mind, apparently it is TOO OFTEN a negative thing, so she would rather not risk it by letting you get close enough to leash her up.

A couple of things come to mind.  Can you put her in a down/stay and have her hold it to let you attach her leash or approach her and treat her or throw a ball?  Keep her off guard about your intentions when you approach her.  When you approach and touch her, this should be a good thing FAR MORE OFTEN than it is a bad thing, like being leashed up and going home.

Another idea.  Have her drag a leash around.  Maybe one of those 15 foot things.  Then if she does decide to evade capture, you will have something to grab ahold of.  But even using this method, I still think it is important that she think your approaching her is good.

That sounds usefull. I would certainly try leaving rope on, hahe been a bit scared she may get entangled but could give it a try. She is so loveable and very funny, but i need to crack this as she laughs at me from a safe distance. Thanks for all replies, got some good advice to practice with.

some advice given to me a while ago when my older girl did this was to drop some treats at your feet but stand upright when she comes for them hold her collar treat then praise.

Our girls drink from a normal water bottle which I usually carry around she gets drinks from it at various times around the park I just offer her  a drink while doing so I clip her lead on.

In desperation (not in this weather) sit or lie on the grass they soon come running to investigate.

Roni

MAke sure you don't give anything away with your body language the times you intend to put her lead on - I've seen so many owners call their dog, reward them and let them go again, then try and repeat it with the intention of putting the lead on and wonder why the dog won't come anywhere near them - and they are totally oblivious to the fact that this time they've already taken the lead and are holding it in their hand!!

I have a similar problem with my 7 month pup. I do also call her back, put her lead on, play with her and treat her then let her go periodically on our walk but still as we approach the car she develops the same evasion tricks. I've found that if I use a rope slip lead, when I want to catch her I make a big loop and put my arm with the treat through the loop so that reaching for the treat means ratbag is now on lead :D  

I woud definately advise leaving a lightweight long line on, so that everytime you recall and she complies you can just quickly stand on the lead, touch her collar as you gove the treat and then let her go again. Just make sure you aren't lunging out for her al lthe time because they do get wise to it. I would reccoment a harness as well, not only for safety with a lonbg line, but becasue there is something extra to hold onto that she may percieve differnt to a collar. bending down and ignore her is another good option because they want to come and see what on earth you are doing. Finally if all goes wrong and you are absolutely desperate you could sprinkle a load of treats of the floor and whilst shes busy finding them you could get hold of her.
My collie went through a stage of doing this but thankfully she has grown out of it, so don't panic!

When doing recall i asked the pup to come back and when they did so they were immediately clipped to the lead treated then clipped off again in a 2sec motion.

They got used to coming back but had no negative association with being clipped to the lead and being restricted as they were let off immediately.

So when the time come to keep them on the lead they didnt care as they knew i'd let them off asap.
If that makes sense.

digger, you are so right i'm sure she reads my body language like a book. Will have to be more laid back  with her. Sometimes i just know im being taken for a ride.

sorry nearly forgot, thanks to every one who replied.

I've heard of this sort of thing, they always have a trick up their sleeve don't they!! Luckily my lot are so stupid that if they do come back at all (which they usually do nowadays) they then just stand there vaguely watching me as I put the lead on. :-)

when you intend to get hold of her collar make sure you are down on her level & go underarm to reach the collar. i found my pup became jumpy & would bolt when i tried to grab him then realised that was why - i was in fact grabbing at him. now i bend right down, take hold of his collar underneath then treat once i have him secured & it's made a massive difference. i also call him frequently at home & treat if he comes straight away. I've been told by my trainer to remove a third of his diet to be used as treats throughtout the day to keep him keen & make sure he doesn't get overweight with all the treating. i also use special treats like livercake for recall work in more public areas where i know he will be more likely to leg it.

This unhelpful trick is now up Nipper's sleeve. And he's all the more likely to play it when the OH accompanies us on a walk - probably because he thinks there might be an every grander game to be had if we were daft enough to chase him round! What is particularly annoying is that his recall is excellent ON a walk but as soon as he thinks he's on the homeward stretch he goes selectively deaf and is far too quick to be taken in by the "treat in one hand, collar grab in the other" device. And not being particularly food orientated you can almost hear him thinking "hmmmmmm, that's a very tasty treat. But I'm going to be having dinner later anyway so I'd much rather run around like an eejit for another 10 minutes".  Because of where we live and walk I don't want him on lead all the time so the problem has got to be solved but given what a splendid little dog he is in every other way I'm finding it really frustrating! At 7 months he's only a pup and may well grow out of the habit but I can't bank on that so I'm trying various things.

Someone posted a similar question not long ago and I can't remember who it was that offered the Point A, B and C advice but it does work. Because basically the dog will come back to you at Points A and B on a walk but knows full well that Point C means back on the lead and home - no matter how many times you might have put him on and off the lead during the walk.  So the idea is that you don't let him get anywhere near Point C before putting the lead back on. Easier said than done, mind!

I've taken to treating him whenever he goes back on the lead as a matter of course and not treating him when he doesn't. But I'm also conscious that if he gets a thoroughly good telling off when I've had to catch him in order to get him back on the lead he'll associate this with the thing I want to encourage and I could be setting up a vicious circle. Or am I in danger of applying too much psychology here?

No Roz, you are quite right I believe.  I cringe when I see people vent their frustrations on a dog whose taken a long time to recall, because I know they will feel better afterwards, but the dog is thinking along the lines of 'now I remember again why I don't like coming back to you - 'cos you always throw a fruit loop - note to self - don't go back to Mum again, she obviously don't like it when I do.......  I'm confused, is it really worth trying to do anything these two legs want?'......  And you are witnessing the break down of a relationship :(

years ago we had a gsd puppy that would ignore my hubby & come straight to me when she was called back. he couldn't understand why he would call her & every time she would run round him to come to me & sit at my feet. i used to tell him not to chastise her if she failed to come the first time & always to praise her when she did come back, even if it took a while, he didn't agree & said she came to me because i was too soft with her - berk!

It's a good idea to train for maybe giving 2 treats, so the dog waits for the second treat which means you have plehty of time to put the lead on. Of course this is training during puppy and adolescent, once mature you will be giving tasty treats as a surprise reward rather than anything else. Also, toys can make a fab recall reward, if the dog loves a special toy.

I was taught to train my dog from a pup to be called, have collar taken, given titbit, then either lead on, or "ok off you go" . It works - you can start training it in the home for about a week, then gradually in the garden and then out and about with no distractions, then start practising with distractions. Never ever call if there is a chance of the dog not coming back, you should gradually work up to the dog coming back form more difficult situations :)

Sorry very rushed, hope that makes sense! :P

Lindsay
x

im not sure if the problem may be conected with using a head collar. When i used to take it off for her run she would not come back at all, now i leave it on when she runs, she seems happier with that.Took her out today on her own (i have two other dogs ) and she was much better.Wonder if its connected ? I dont usually put other dogs on lead till we are leaving or getting in car  maybe i should try putting them on lead to. cant often walk them seperately but may try more if it helps. thanks to everyone.

Going slightly off the subject, (but not really)  we use to own a pony many yrs ago, that we rescued, it had been very badly treated, and was evil   in the stable, out side he was   a  star, but went to pieces in a confined space, his attitude was " Iam going to get you before you get me" and he would watch you come into his stable and then lunge, if you were`nt quick enough , he would bite you any were he could............. My vet at the time ( lovely man) still does a bit!............had just read a Monty Roberts Book! ( note surggesting you do)...........but he was a brilliant horse vet, and had to come to this pony on a weekly basis............ he used to trick the pony into confusion............by going into his stable Backwards, not making eye contact, back up to the pony, (you could see the pony thinking, what the ***** is he doing) then my vet would bend down and touch his foot(the ponys) stroke up his leg, then pick his foot up, and reach up to get hold of his head collar!......before the little monster could work it out he had his headcollar on, tied up., and being checked over by the vet......................... So I am going around the houses here, but the jist is................if your pup is expecting to be grabed every time he is called and the lead put on, mybe you can confuse him, by leaving a short line on him, call him to you , then do something completely different, Like bending down, tieing your lace/ looking at something in the grass...........I am sure he will be so noisey he will come to investagate , and then you can grab the line........... and put his lead on!

I have a slightly different idea. I've not tried it myself but would be interested in other people's views on it.

It seems to me that your dog is quite happy to come to you at any other time so he obviously has fun with you so your training is obviously working BUT he doesn't want the fun to end. You need to find a way that will mean that although this fun ends another fun starts.

So you need something really good to happen at the end of the walk. Ideally as soon as possible. For instance if you travel to your walk by car you nead to have something he really likes in the car, and make sure he knows it's there. This could be his breakfast (although it would probably need to be a pretty good breakfast) or possible a favourite treat like a chew, his kong filled with his favourite filling, a chicken wing, a whole sausage,  I don't know but it neads to be something he thinks is really good. Then at the end of the walk you have to catch him somehow (perhaps using one of the suggestions already given) but then when you have him on his lead say something like "let's go get your . . . . then" and run as fast as you can, with as much excitement as possible, back to the car to give him his fantastic treat. You want to make it really exciting to be able to go back to the car and get his treat. You shouldn't need to do the running bit more than once or twice but should continue the treat bit for sometime just using your voice for excitement. (If necessary once the excitement is there the treat can get smaller, for instance cut the sausage in half length wise or only half fill the kong.) Of course it will be more difficult if you're lucky enough to be able to walk to where you free run. In that case you will have to carry your treat with you but I would still give the treat at a recognisable end to the walk, say a suitable place near the park entrance.

What do people think? Am I barmy? Perhaps I'm living in cuckoo land but it seems like a good idea to me.

Regarding the headcollar, now that i think of it, megan started doing this round about the time i started using the headcollar. Shes totally used to it now, but she still runs away in the house when i first get it out to go for a walk, despite the fact that she has being using one for nearly 4 years and doesn't bother with it once its on. I would say there is a definate connection there.

EXactly the same with mine. We are working hard on heel walk. She still insists on pulling like mad , always has ,
no matter what we try. Just have to keep training.

Aussie mad am trying your suggestion regarding kong, which she loves. THink it will take time for her to realise
it will be there every walk.

Jalle ,
when you lead train (walk to heel) do you do it seperately to trips out to the park for free running or together ? some people tend to walk to the park on the lead and wonder why the dog pulls I always lead walk everyday for around an hour (depending on age)   they know its just a walk...                  
I do a trip to the park for free running seperately otherwise I would be dragged thier everyday....
Once they are lead trained well ....I can do both.
also I think that you need to do quite long walks for them to get used to walking to heel not just a quick walk around the block (not suggesting that is what you do)

It is very frustrating training walking to heel  I use a training lead with a handle lower down the lead I hold the lead across my body handle in left hand with a treat.....I teach the look at me first so that when they pull I say "look at me" then treat its hard work but both my girls  walk on a brace they heel brilliantly and look great!

well worth the time and effort.

Roni

I usually give her a run first as she responds better after using up some energy. We also do a street walk at night cos she has been very nervous on the street and in the dark after an encounter with fire-works. She is better in the street , but i think that is mainly fear making her cling to me. Sometimes i only lead walk with no run particularly if i've had difficulty getting her on lead the time before.My son takes her out and she pulls on the way to the park but not on the way back, he is stronger than me and can hold her back plus he only walks her on her own as she is harder to walk on her own. thanks for your reply.

I totally agree with you Bint (not sure if it will fall in the right place :rolleyes:) our dobe does a pretty much perfect recall with me(unless there is major distraction then can take a bit longer.) but OH goes out and comes back with lead and no dog! :rolleyes: I then ask what has happened, has chastised him for not coming to him then wonders why when he has lost grip that he won't come back again!! luckily he knows his way home and was sat on driveway when I went to get him!  I have now taken OH out for some good training on how to get a recall with the dog, although OH wasn't impressed with my noises when distracting him from another dog to leash him back up again, but it works... so now OH is banned from letting dog off lead and is restricted to road walking only till he can have better control ( of himself not the dog lol)