Training recall on a long lead

[miccmill]

This weekend we started working on recall on a 20ft. long lead. 20ft. is really not that far away and Hannah starts looking back for us before she's at the end but eventually she got interested in things along the perimiter of the park we were in so we could call her back while she was distracted.

She turns and comes back as soon as we say "Hannah come" in our happy voices but she trots back in an arc, kind of out to one side, not straight back, sometimes landing in a sit off to the right but mostly in front. We didn't correct this as we thought she was doing great just coming to us and we never had to reel her in.

As we continue on, how do we straighten out her approach? Bait her into a front? Reel her into a heel position?

We're a ways away from the next level of class that teaches this so we're just doing new things now to keep her interested.

Oh, the first thing she did in this open field, 20ft. down the line was sniff and turn her head/neck down into something to roll in. "YOOHOO, I'm here and what are you doing?"

[Judi W]

I would suggest that you concentrate on a fast, I can hardly wait to get to you recall. If you have that it will be straight instead of wandering.

[SABELLESMOM]

Something that might help is to add some indoor recall as well. Carry some yummy treats and with or without a clicker, simply call your dogs name ONCE. Click or "Yesss!!!" and treat. Do this at odd intervals thru out the day. You can cut back on treats gradually, treat every other time, etc.

Very quickly, you will see that head suddendly pop up excitedly at the sound of their name. They are usually happy and enthusiastic to come and learn quickly to destinguish their own name. It transferrs easily to long lead recalls, and should speed up thier run back.

It also works with multiple dogs. I started with Raven in the house alone for a day or two. I let the other two in on the game, individually. First with two then all three...the ONLY one who got clicked, praised or treated was the one who's name was called. They get it fairly quickly, and find it rather fun.

Oh...just a point of interest. I trained Sable with "Sable, come." Sable, sit!" "Sable, (everything!)" Then I asked myself WHY? So redundant. So with Raven, I decided differently: "Raven." should work to call her to me. "Sit!" or the handsignal there of should have her sitting, etc.

Do I ever use come? Yes. One time might be when I'm not in a position to enforce it. I also use come for "Come on, let's go!" (ride, walk, hurry up, etc.)

[Judi W]

If you are going to use the formal command "come", then require a formal response which is a front and sit. If you just want to dog near to you, then use another word such as 'by me" or something. Otherwise you devalue your formal command and teach the dog any kind of response is just fine. Decide what you are teaching and rewarding whether with praise or treat before you start the training.

[SABELLESMOM]

I didn't realise she was training obedience. I erroneously assumed she simply wanted a recall. If I call the dogs name, the "front" (for me) is a handsignal only.

[Judi W]

Well, since we never know at the beginning whether the team is going to go on to look for a title, it is always good to lay the foundation. Many a casual student converts to desiring more.

Should that be the case, the dog should never respond to the name but only a command. If a verbal is used in the name, then a verbal must be used for the come. Signals are great if the dog is looking at you, but if it is distracted, the back or head turned or even if the dog is out of sight (which easily happens in hiking) it is a good idea for the dog to know the verbal. I have a really pretty good trainer in my Open class who just discovered the fact that her dog only knew signals and did not at all know the verbal commands. She thought by only teaching the signals she would be ready for Utility ahead of time, but instead has discovered that the drop on recall is happening a lot faster than utility signal to drop - which is done from a stationary position. So now she does not have a DOR and has to start over by teaching the dog the meaning of the word down.

There is nothing wrong with teaching informal responses and I use them often but when using a formal command word, it is a good idea to stick to the meaning of the word.

Hannah has a very good chance to go on and get a CD. She has worked hard and I think it is certainly a possibility for her.

[Luvs]

Do you have somebody that can help you with recalls? Something that I like to do in my obedience class is "restrained recalls" (I don't know what else to call it).

The puppy or dog is on a long line. I will hold them while the owner runs away from it talking to it happily as they leave. Most of the time the dog is trying REALLY hard to follow the owner. When the owner gets to the end of the room or another designated spot, I have them turn and call the dog to them. This is done with the owner standing straight, no bending over and clapping ect, unless it is a young puppy that needs a lot of encouragement in the very beginning. The dog usually goes racing to it's owner as fast as it can, and the owner quickly rewards him/her for the fast recall. In the beginning I don't have them ask for anything other than a fast recall. The formal sit will be added after the dog is consistantly running to it's owner.

If the dog tries to take off and go some where other than to it's owner, I use the long line to stop it and then guide the dog to the owner. Most of the time the dog is so focused on it's owner running away from them that they don't worry about anyone else in the room.

Sometimes throwing a treat or toy between the legs just as the dog gets to the owner helps with speed. Don't make it obvious that you are going to do this. Stand like it is a normal recall and wait until the last second to throw it between your legs. Be ready for the dog to follow it. Make sure that you are tall enough for your dog to go racing thru your legs or you may end up on the floor.

[miccmill]

Our trainer has taught us to use the verbal "come" and we're still in basic obedience so he's looking for the dog to turn around at the end of 6' leash and just plain come back.

I've got her out there on a long lead for more to do and her return is basically good, meaning she turns around and comes back on the first command but meanders a bit coming in crooked and slow.

If she is in a down at the end of the long lead, she comes straight in with a hand signal because, I think, she's looking at me and sees the body posture and relates that to "come straight in and sit down in front".

We will go ahead and do whatever she proves up to. Thankfully, we have a whole raft of people looking at us on a weekly basis that will help with that decision.

The SFE will be a big hurdle and I can't even see it coming yet. Our trainer says he DOES see that in her future. Glenn and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows when he said that.

She's sharp and not just shy/sharp so her career in obedience might end in the classroom but even so, I think the more obedience we can train the more she'll be able to get out in the world.

[miccmill]

Carol, that's something we've never done and I can see that working with her.

Right now, in class, we are doing "distracted" recall. There are two class assistants that she will go out into the room to visit. They visit for a minute, I call her back and that's the recall.

I think we could start by working on a more excited attitude about the recall.

Just in the yard, if I call excitedly she runs right in and sits down "there must be something in this for me".

[Judi W]

I think the main thing I always suggest is not to limit yourself by laying a foundation that will be contrary to changing goals. There is nothing lost by adhering to formal procedure in the foundation. If you don't move into a higher arena - no fault, but if you put down a sloppy foundation with commands that mean one thing one time and another the next, and then decide the dog is up to more and higher levels of achievement, you have to go back and rebuild, attempt to change habits and just generally start over. It is easier all around (especially for the dog) to form things in such a fashion that bad habits don't need to be reformed.

[flyballmom]

Yep. And from Lisa's describing, it sounds like the exercise isn't really "come?" We do something like that in every ob. class I take, with the distractions becoming more and more...well...distracting, as the classes progress. The idea is to get the dog to come away from the distraction and to the handler, but isn't necessarily asking for a formal come and front. So, I use "here" for that. (My dogs also pretty much understand "get your butt over here" but not in the class setting . I want come to mean come and sit square in front ALWAYS, not sometimes you do and sometimes you don't.

And yep, everybody here LOVES restrained recalls!!