Hi
Opinions please!  To date I have been training my now 15/16 week old pup on her own, which when out and about means being on a long line in order to reinforce recall.  In the time she has been out in the big wide world she has been out with my 3 year old boy 3 times.  On each occasion they had a 5 mins run together and then I did one dog on leash, other dog loose and then swaped over.  What I did notice was that when both dogs were running loose together and I blew the recall whistle, the older dog would immediately stop in his tracks and return and the pup would be in his wake!  However, if I blow the recall whistle when she is loose on her own at this stage I frequently need to reinforce with the long line.

So....after all that....the question is:  is it better to let a pup learn copying behaviour from an adult, to work her on her own or to combine the two?  If the latter any opinions as to the proportion of training alone versus time with older dog?

Cheers
 

I train both with the other dog and alone.

I have never used a line on any of my dogs as I have never needed to.

A lot depends of course on the temperament of the younger one and how well the older one is trained.

You have identified a common problem that I see with many owners who assume the younger dog is trained when all it is doing is copying its kennel mate!

I tend to find that training dogs one at a time works best simply because I may need to alter my approach with each dog.  For example I use food with one dog but a ball with the other one.  As they are so different I find it helps to have my mind focused on the dog in question; also it avoids "training in" any things I do not want the other dog to do and occasionally I also have different commands.

As the younger one matures I often work the other dog when the younger one is in a sit/down as it helps the young one to develop self control rather than me relying on a lead for it.  But that is just the way I work, I prefer not to use leads at all except where absolutely necessary on roads etc.

Not sure if that helps though!

It is a difficult one because a lot depends also on the environment and how you personally like to work.

I also never have used a long line on a pup this age, whistle always means a little piece of chicken or cheese I start this at 8 weeks of age and it is picked up extremely quickly.

Your pup may be 're-calling' to whistle with your older dog, but in effect the pup is just following your 3 year old back, by all means allow them walks together, but the real work will be learnt on her own, your older dog will be a distraction she will copy him, but not realise why she is doing it, on her own she will understand she is following a command not just chasing after 'big brother.'

If her training area is safe I would have her off lead to walk and run next to you and re-call will be learnt all the quicker.

I'd tend to combine the 2 but ensure you do lots independtly with the youngster. When I had 2 BSDs, I used to do what Tohme has mentioned, get one to lie down/wait whilst i trained the other. Of course you do have to build this up slowly depending on the level of training :)

One thing I've noticed with my current dog is that, although I haven't whistle trained her ever, she responds well to it!! :P Reason being that she is sometimes walked with a friend with a flatcoat and golden who does gundog training, and uses a whistle for recall amongst other things. Banya learnt by copying them - she will respond to it before they do sometimes, and then look to me for a reward, which is how I know she's not just racing with them back to me.

Have fun with your new youngster!

Lindsay
x

Thanks Lindsay!  I intend to!  :-)  She's been a long time coming!

Copying can be a problem - right now my two adults are being gits if I walk them together off-lead, because where Opi goes Remy will follow - so if she chases a squirrel and ignores my command, guess what happens!

If I'm recall training, I do it separately, as I am at the moment.  When I get it good on both dogs, I'll start walking them together again, with one on lead and swapping them, moving on to both off in particular situations (squirrel-free, hopefully!) I'm doing work with both at once in the garden as well.  It's certainly helping, and the individual work on walk is going very well - they are much more attentive without a pal to egg them on, which means the recall progresses much quicker.  It also means I can pay much closer attention to each dog, so I don't miss the first hints of an upcoming bolt after something small and furry, or to run off and say hi to a dog.