coming when off leash

[memenzel]

How do you work on getting your dog to come back when off leash?

Sara comes back perfectly when she is on a leash, or long lead.

And about 90% of the time comes back when i call her when we are at the park and she is off leash (she loves her treats) But if she is sniffing, sometimes she doesn't come. So I am having to keep her on leash. I would love to be able to have her off leash at a park we go to.

She is trained with the clicker, and we begin a new training class in Oct.

Thanks!!

[K9-man]

09/03/2002 6:23 AM CDT

I’d get that to 100% before I’d let her off lead in a public place.

Practice on your own property or an enclosed area first until you’re up to that 100% recall.

Let her drag around a 30-foot check-cord while you’re practicing this, that way if she doesn’t respond to the first command, you can reel her in.

Get it to a point where she is 100% reliable on your own property or an enclosed area without the check cord – then when you go to the park use the check cord again at first.

[Birdie'sMom]

I had this same problem with Birdie when we first started trying this. My trainer told me to change my tone of voice, first of all, because what I was doing wasn't working, and also to change to motivation for her to come. The normal treats weren't working, because for her they weren't enough motivation to get her to leave whatever she was sniffing. So, I tried using pieces of hot dogs as a treat to train her to come off leash. It worked! Now she does it beautifully!

[damp]

You don’t tell how old your dog is… but anyway…. if you can’t trust the recall don’t have the dog off leash in public.

There are situations where dogs and especially pups are so focused on other things, that we can predict an untrained dog/pup will not come, when we call.
Such situations are not the best moments to TEACH recall, but sure the dog learns… I don’t have to come before I am finished sniffing or playing with the other dog or marking once or twice.

So be patient, wait and the second the dog looks at you, then you call in a happy voice; play with a ball/toy, wave with a steak, run away or what ever to change the focus. Make a big fuss out of it and do a little play when the dog comes and then let it run away again.
It will soon find out, that coming to you is even more fun than sniffing around and “ come” is not equal to be put on leash and finally when/if the leash is put on continue the play for a while.

[memenzel]

Hi! Sorry, I forgot to say that Sara is 16months old.

I will bring more exciting treats for her. In our yard, and on a 20ft lead that I use to train, she has perfect recall. Its just when there are all the smells. I will try more treats that she REALLY likes! Thank you!!!

[Storm]

Also remember when it comes to giving the command, give it once and be in a position to collect the dog should it not respond. One command only, if you give it three or four times the dog learns it can respond only on the forth command etc. It's good using motivation to get the dog back and to make the command understood but once understood the dog must learn that when I call you COME! ;)

[Ramon]

Originally posted by Storm
Also remember when it comes to giving the command, give it once and be in a position to collect the dog should it not respond. One command only, if you give it three or four times the dog learns it can respond only on the forth command etc. It's good using motivation to get the dog back and to make the command understood but once understood the dog must learn that when I call you COME! ;)

I agree. If motivation doesn't get her to 100%, your next step should be to let her know that ignoring your command is not an option. Since she is already at 90%, it's obvious she knows the command but chooses to ignore it if she has something better to do.
One suggestion I have is to attach your long line to a prong collar. If she doesn't IMMEDIATELY come after your give your one and only command, give a firm and quick correction toward you. After just a few sessions, coming to you immediately will become a habit to her.

[bratdogmom]

I have a pretty sure fire way to teach recalls that generally can be reliable within two weeks:)

You first need to have two people. Next you need the dog's dinner. It needs to be souped up a little, I generally reccomend adding some peanut butter or Hamburger to kibble. (I feed BARF so I just use chicken necks:) )

You start by having one person restrain the dog by the collar while you torment the dog with the food. Let the dog sniff it and maybe even lick a bit...get the dog really worked up;)

THen while one person is restraining the toher is going to run five feet away and call the dog to "COME". When the dog gets to you he gets two bites of food and you start the game over again until the entire meal is gone.

I do this for every meal for a minumum of two weeks, and I will do it off and on (aboiut twice a month) for the dog's entire life.

(I can call even my high drive 1yr old male Dobe from chasing a stray cat...lol)

The one thing to remember witht his game is that NO FOOD is given on the floor. It will come from your hands only during the training period and if the dog doesn't come the dog doesn't eat.

Stacy