coming when called

[debbiej]

my 7 mo old is always on a lead when we go for walks. In the yard and in the house she comes when called. If we go out of the yard to take out the trash or something and we let her go with us, she follows. I've put her on a long light rope and played ball with her and she comes when called. In the morning we go up to the end of the drive and I get her to pick up the paper-on leash, and I let her go and she runs to the house with the paper. But I am afraid to let her off her lead to play or walk. Our yard is so small she really can't get any real energy burned off exercising in it. I'd love to let her off lead more, but am afraid she will not come if I call.( I don't want her to find out that I can't catch her if she dosen't come) How does one determine when their dog is trained to always come when called? I would like to find a fenced, safe park where we could go to practice --let her run after a ball and play, but I can't. I also have noticed that she doesn't jump.. I have to boost her into the car and she never tries to jump the yard wall even though it is only about 4' high. she jumps out of the jeep or car and if really encouraged, jumps on the bed, just doesn't seem to like to jump. Is that a puppy thing?

[Rott-Wiley]

At her age, it should not be. Do you suspect she may have a joint problem? If you are concerned, a good ortho vet could examine her and possibly take xrays or give you an opinion.

About having a good solid reliable recall, that will come only with time and training. Keep working with her recalls and try to provide as many distractions as possible.

[Judi W]

And also even for those of us with fully trained dogs, most communities have a leash law and it is best to obey it regardless of the dog's training.

As far as conditioning goes, I bike with my dogs (on leash). If the dog needs an activity, join a club and do some real training, agility, flyball........ there are lots of productive ways for a dog to use its skills and energy.

[debbiej]

I do worry about her hips. I have a rescue sharpei that has had two knee surgeries and has elbow dysplasia. But Hilda dosen't limp at all, and although I know xrays are the only way to check for sure, the vet examined her and dosen't think there is a problem. I wonder if it is because she was kept in a confined environment for the 6 months before I got her.

I live outside of town, in an area where there is a lot of undeveloped land, and trails to walk on. although I would never let her out without me, I would like to take her for walks off lead and feel that as we walked, she would not go running off. I guess as we work more on obedience, I will have a better idea of how she will behave. I have tried biking with one of my dogs, and it was tricky! she really liked jackrabbits. she is now chasing them in doggie paradise.

[Luvs]

The only time any of my dogs run loose is in an enclosed area. Akasha has a very good recall, but she is still young and I don't trust her to come to me 100% of the time. Sometimes there are things that are MUCH more interesting than me (shocking as that may seem ;) :D )

I try to take our dogs to the softball fields to let them run and play since we don't have a fenced yard.

Neither Akasha nor Keil will jump into our vehicle. They are fully capable and sometimes if you throw a tasty treat in first they will jump in. Usually they put their front paws on the floor of my truck and patiently wait for us to lift them in Keil is 105 pounds now and it is getting harder and harder to lift him into my truck. They both jump right in my daughter's S10 Blazer, but I think that is because she opens up the tailgate and they have more room. Plus the Blazer is alot closer to the ground than my truck. That is good that she doesn't try to jump the fence:)

At our house Akasha is the jumper and Keil prefers to keep all four on the floor. He will jump but it is a rare sight;)

[Judi W]

OK, Debbie, now I see what you want. I do hike certain familiar trails in the mountains with my dogs off leash and yes, they come at a dead run when called.

I will tell you though that this is my 4th generation of doing an early imprinting for this type of thing (about 10 weeks of age) that stays with them so they always make sure they are aware of where I am rather than it being my job to know where they are. As a result, they stay within visual (they can see me) range at all times and the further training and imprinting has them tearing back to me when called.

With a dog that has not had that imprinting, I am not sure at what point, if ever, you would have that same thing but here is what I would suggest. Always have a pocket full of excellent treats. At random times when your dog is sniffing or looking at something, call her to you and give her a treat or several treats, then release her again. Do this consistently. Then take her someplace outside your yard/home and have a long line on her (about 30 feet or so), and let her drag it. Call her and repeat the process. If necessary you can reach the end of the long line and give her a pop, happy call and treats. This will take a long time, but should get you where you want to be. Don't rush the process and you don't move from one step to the next until you see the immediate response at the level you are at. Rapelling line is less likely to get tangled or caught than a purchased line.

[debbiej]

oops. hit enter by mistake, and I can't delete

[debbiej]

thanks for the replies. We will work more on basic stuff, then try the long rope. I seldom meet anyone on the trails, but worry about a loose mean dog, or like Carol said, something more interesting than me! There are lots of rabbits out there, and I've seen deer and coyotes too. Hilda does the same thing with the car. puts her front end on the seat and waits to get lifted up. she will jump in if treats are thrown on the seat, but usually waits to be boosted up. Once I just got in the car, and then she jumped in. She had the rest of her shots monday, and now weighs 70 lb. thats 10 lbs in 3 weeks. Wish I knew more about her, the guy I got her from is so vague and it has something about a domestic breakup. I think she is all rottweiler, so does the vet, but she is a bit thin and tall. My vet says she won't get much taller, but will become more muscular.

almost from the first day I got this girl, I've been reading this forum. There is so much to learn! When I spoke to the dog obedience club person to find out when classes start, (March!!) she said training methods have changed a lot since I was last in a class. I read and re-read the posts on training, I so appreciate all the information and advice. Hilda is quite different from any dog I've had, far more attuned to all we do, very much in the middle of everything. She amazes me daily as I watch her wheels turning. I could write way too much about her!

[Rott-Wiley]

Originally posted by Judi W
With a dog that has not had that imprinting, I am not sure at what point, if ever, you would have that same thing..........

I'm not sure either and for some dogs I don't think it ever does happen. But when and if it does there is a magic that is shared between you and the dog that I can't put into words.

Judi, I think you summed it up when you said the dog is keeping an eye on you, not the other way around. That is the real key.

[ACERSMOM]

Judy, what do you actually do at 10 weeks that has this effect of imprinting them to watch for you. I would like to try this on my next pup. I have had some dogs that were so aware of me and what I was doing all the time and then others that would just check in when they felt like it. I always attributed it to the personality of the dogs. The more independent the individual the less likely they were to keep me in their vision at all times.

I had a bitch that would almost panic when we went somewhere new and she would lose me. She was at my side always and would never have never needed a leash, but she was a very insecure dog. (not a rotty)

[debbiej]

Hilda does watch me a lot. maybe that is why she is so easy to train. this morning I thought since she is used to going to get the paper with me. (we have a looong driveway) I'd put her on a long line and see how it went. well, she walked beside me till we reached the paper, then she got the paper and we went back home. when she was walking back she saw the end of the line, it was a real long strap like leash material, she dropped the paper and picked it up and brought it to me. she is so funny. I first met her when she was 11 weeks old. we were shopping for a car and she was in the managers office at the car lot. I just loved her and we played for quite a while. When my daughter was shopping for a car last month, we went to the same lot. The first thing I asked for was the puppy. The man there said the owner had to get rid of her - he couldn't keep her anymore. I was so sorry, and I left a message that I would have taken her. A few days later the owner called and said the first home hadn't worked, he got her back and I could pick her up if I wanted her, she was in a yard behind the car lot. I went right over. She was there, in a yard with no gate, busy road and although she barked at the man who took me to her, she came running up to me wagging. I'd swear she remembered me. sorry to ramble, but she is such a wonderful surprise!

[Luvs]

Debbie,
Your girl sounds like a real sweatheart:) Of course she is not going to jump into your vehicle without some incentive. She is a "princess" and needs to be gently lifted into the vehicle by her servants;) :D

When Akasha was really little I played alot of hide and seek with her. That really encouraged her to ALWAYS keep an eye on me because she never knew when I was going to disappear;) Now hide and seek is one of our favorite games:D

Something else I did if we were outside and she lost intrest in me, is I would take off running in the opposite direction and she would quickly follow me. She hated the thought of me getting away from her.

I have used both of those methods when she accidently got loose. Last time she got loose she broke her collar as she took off running to the end of her rope. I was lucky that when I called her she immediately came running back to me. Had she not come when I called her I would have run off and hid from her. That ALWAYS brings her running to me;)

Have fun hiking with your girl:)

[debbiej]

hi Carol, I haven't played hide and seek with my pup, do you just hide and call? I can just see her going to sleep while I'm in the closet waiting! she will run after me if I run. long ago I used to just assume my dogs would come with me--I'm not sure when I started feeling anxious that they would run off. I think when I had crazy dog (sharpei) who wanted to run so bad she would jump on the bed and out an open window, screen and all, when she saw a rabbit in the desert. when she was tired, she would jump back in the window. I never knew she was doing it till she jumped back in the window and landed on a friend taking a nap in the bed! they were both surprised. And except in class, she never was easy to walk on lead. But Hilda is easy and not so eager to run. Anyway, I think finding a park with a fence for us to play in and walking unpopulated trails together will give me two different kinds of training opportunities. I think an obedience class type experience is what I really wish for...dogs and people in a controlled enviroment. thanks

[Luvs]

With Akasha I started playing hide and seek by just going around the corner of a room and calling her. I was out of sight but very easy to find. In the beginning I would give her a treat with alot of praise when she found me. Now I go hide in closets, behind the couch, actually anywhere I can fit and she can find me without hurting herself or me;)

I can even get Akasha and Keil to go hide their eyes in the corner of the hallway while I go hide now.:D

If you think you will be spending alot of time in the closet waiting for her to come look for you, try running from her and hiding. Since she will chase you if you run from her, you will definately get her attention and she won't be napping while you wait for her to find you ;) :D

Have you taken any classes with your girl yet?

[Judi W]

Imprinting for the young pup is another trick I learned from the field dog people. This is not a titty baby thing nor a dependency thing, but just places the responsibility of knowing who is where on the dog. Field dogs have to range sometimes long distances and often are where they cannot actually see their handlers nor the handlers see them, but they need to know where the handler is. Dogs have many more senses to do that than people do (we are pretty much limited to our not great hearing and our sight. Dogs have better hearing, smell and sight and can travel farther faster so it makes sense that they be the ones to do the finding.

At about 10 to 12 weeks I take a pup far from home where there are no other people or dogs, to the tracking fields or a distant country area of some sort. I simply turn the pup loose and drink a cup of coffee or something near a place I have planned to escape to and watch. When I see the pup is very interested in following its nose or exmining something to the point where I no longer exist, I sneak into my hiding place. I wait patiently for however long it takes for the pup to notice I am no longer there. I then wait just a bit longer for the pup to say "oh my gawd, I am just a little puppy out here all alone". And start to be a bit worried. I will then call the pup softly. Pups have to learn to follow sound, so you won't get a prompt "find", but that is not the point. You can then call, and finally peek out and help the pup find you. Lesson finished and teaching complete.

The rest of that pup's life it will make an effort to know that it can locate you if necessary. This thing is rather like the Catholic Church - just give me a pup for the first 4 months of life and I'll have it forever.

Remember this does not and should not intimidate a pup or strike it with great concern, just mild worry about who is going to drive it back home.