Hi
Some of you may remember I posted earlier this year about a certain 'bunny incident'.....well, basically, since then the recall has never been as good as it was before.  Even though we went back to basics, he is cute and knows the difference between when he is on a long line and off.  I did the 'business' in the house, in the garden, in the park, in the meadow etc, but get so far and then when loose with major distractions we lose the plot!  I therefore tried clicker training, trying to make being around me the best place in the world to be and reinforcing the 'stay close' command, whilst limiting his free running.  Whilst this has improved things, this has not been the total answer  by any stretch of the imagination.  No matter what treats I use (liver, chicken, sausage),  the prospect of a bunny is proving too great.  We have also subsequently, had a similar incident with some Canadian geese.....an amusing story if you happen not to be the owner of a certain GSP.  :-(

The people I talk to with clicker experience all say that they captured the recall and 'stay close' behaviour in a specified period of weeks very early on in their puppies lives;  what I would like, is to hear from someone who has had to take remedial action once they have past that window of opportunity.  I am sure I cannot be the only person to have made a mistake, lost this opportunity or whatever.

My dog is German bred and exceedingly highly driven;  I knew that when I bought him....he is now 11 months old.

The suggestions I have had todate include: 

1.  From a traditionalist.....'have you thrashed him?'  NOT AN OPTION!
2.  From a clicker trainer.....flood him with rabbits.  Get some rabbits in a run and click the ignore/leave/drop behaviour.  Also, to put the chase on cue.  My concern with this is that he will know the difference between a black/white bunny in a run and a wild brown one and that the behaviour won't transfer over.

Any comments, suggestions would be appreciated.  Although some of you will take exception to this, I do not have a problem with him killing a rabbit per se;  what I do have an issue with, is him ignoring the recall when he decides to take off at an opportunisitc whim.

Thoughts, suggestions on a postcard, via jan_lewis@uk.ibm.com or via this forum!  ;-)

Many thanks.

Jan

Ok well - i have a dog who is very highly into chasing things - it's her very favourite reward - BUT i do believe that with tackling this from several angles you can have a dog who listens to you. My dog can always be recalled back when she is in chase - but i concentrated  on that more than anything because i know the breed and we are near plenty of loose animals where i live.  What i will say though is that if she is very highly excited, she will break off and return, when i call; but she will also need to be put on lead because it is too much to expect her to stay with me if there are exciting running things close by.

I agree with the flooding as that would help although (possibly) not cure. Also try not to let the dog get into the habit of chasing - because, even thoughyou don't mind about the rabbit, allowing it at all (if you do this) will perpetuate and excite the behaviour. It will become the most exciting thing ever to the dog and then it will be next to impossible to gain control.

What i would suggest next is to start teaching the Leave rather than the Recall for this. Firstly because it is different, so there is no "history" of the dog ignoring you. Secondly because in my view, it encourages the dog to actually "break away" rather than to just return.

I teach the Leave with clicker starting with food in the hand, food on the floor, the items on the floor (always keeping a loose lead and getting the dog to choose to Leave for the reward) then more things out and about (static things) then gradually when each of those stages are  excellent and you have faith, to moving objects such as a toys, (but never allow the dog to succeed, once you say Leave, so use a harness and lead/line). It is a long process to get a good Leave and may take 6 months or more (but i suppose it could take less - i err on the side of caution!).

I would suggest maybe getting a good trainer who understands teaching the leave this way to help :)

Even if you feel your dog already has a good Leave, i would still suggest going throughthis training and also getting the dog hooked onto a fantastic reward which is usually the key esp. once the dog is leaving something that moves. My dog always got her Kong on a rope and she loves it so, but i did train her into loving it so :D  She once put uop a deer about 5 yards away and was well into her stride, but did Leave and got her reward. It is much harder once the dog is into it's stride and more than a few paces away as adrenalin takes over and the dog may not even hear the owner!

In our class we have had some success teaching this method to all sorts of breeds and it is probably the best way to teach control here IMHO.

My next suggestion would be to take a peek at www.dog-partnership.co.uk   Angela does good work with stock chasers and I am sure could help if you needed more advice, she is very much hands on and i would highly recommend her :) She uses a "bad face" as she explains on her site, plus reward and as a last resort would use a Masterplus spray collar, always best used under supervision if at all possible.

Hth, it should at least give improvement,
Lindsay
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