dog training advice

[Mel]

The pup (mostly border collie) is only 4-5 months old, so I may be asking too much, but advice and suggestions appreciated. She is a good girl when we go on walks and I can let her off the lead in our very large local park. If there are no other dogs about she comes back straight away on being called and I give her praise, a treat and a play. I do this frequently through the walk so that she doesn't associate being called back with being put straight back on the lead. We practice this lots of times. All good unless there is another dog in sight in which case she is totally oblivious to my calling her, waving treats or walking off and just plays with the other dog. If I go to get her this just seems to be permission to keep playing. Other dog owners have been OK as she is obviously a puppy and really cute with it, but this won't last forever. Is it just perserverance with her. My concern is that by repeatedly ignoring me she is actually practicing how to get it wrong. We go to puppy classes etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[Sproket]

I wonder if he could do to practise his Re-Call

It can take a lot of time & patience some take to it a lot faster than others, good luck in your challenge

 

[Dustydog]

Mel
All young dogs do this. At 4/5 months old she is a bairn and in human terms about 2 1/2 years old. Remember the kids at that tender age?

All our dogs got to grips with this issue very easily. Under controlled conditions where the dog is safe eg a well fenced woodland start playing hide and seek. Within a few minutes the dog will start to panic looking for its master / mistress. Wait a good while while she runs all over the place trying to find you. Then call her by voice or whistle, if you use one. Thereafter praise her up and say "stay close". Gradually the dog gets to understand the command. More importantly she will never take her eyes off you.
Ours are six now and even if they walk afar they always keep an eye on us . We still hide , they panic , then get really happy when they find us.
In fairness though your dog is still very young . I'd be worried if you haven't fixed this by the time she's one year old. So a while to go maybe.

 

[Mel]

thank you. I like the idea of hide and seek and there is a nice wooded area in the parlk where we can do that safely. It isn't helped with her being so cute that all the dog owners she encounters fuss her dreadfully. I do remember she is only a toddler but I was concerned that we were just practicing getting it wrong.
mel

 

[JimD1]

Hi Lady M,

Remember you've got an extremely intelligent, active & at this stage most importantly, curious puppy. The world is still a hugely interesting, exciting & new place. Personally, I'd be more worried If she wasn't behaving as she is now.

Dustydog's tip re playing hide & seek really works. I would definitely try this.

One other thing to try is when you're recalling & she won't come back for whatever reason (people, dogs, or just being plain stubborn), make yourself the most exciting person/thing she can see & hear. The volume at which you call her isn't important, but your tone of voice is. Raise the tone a notch or 2 & sound really excited, calling her name repeatedly. When she looks at you ( & she will..... possibly eventually

) call "come" repeatedly with the same excited voice. If she still doesn't come, start running excitedly in the opposite direction ( cue to feel stupid, but hey, who cares.....

) - her natural curiosity will want to know what the excitement is about & why you are running off. When she gets to you, heap her with praise & treat her generously. This can be scaled back as she improves, but it's important that she knows when she has been good. Whatever happens, don't tell her off if she doesn't come immediately. This can be hard, as if it's taken some time, it's difficult to treat & praise when she's been slow to respond. Only postitive rewards work in this scenario. Negative vibes will only stop her coming.

Our 2 rehomed collies have never had recall problems - the 2 we got as puppies took some training. The important thing is not to stress - the dog will pick up on it & react accordingly. She won't be a puppy for long. Enjoy it while she is. Border collie puppies can be hard work, but they are worth every second. They don't come fully trained like the ones you see on 1 Man & His Dog (actually, you can buy fully trained sheep dogs - but I promise you wouldn't want one in the home environment ....but that's another story).

Good luck & let us know how you get on.
Jim

 

[Dustydog]

Jim makes a very important point about praising the dog.
Never lose your temper or show frustration.
I saw a bloke a few years ago , red faced , screaming at his dog to come back. When it did return he gave it a very loud telling off and a whack!
If you were a dog would you come back to such a nasty person? NO.
Lots of love and praise will always work , but above all plenty of patience and no more than 5 continuous minutes of training during a walk, eg 5 on 5 off.

 

[Mel]

Thanks for this guys. I did the hide and seek today and she, very quickly, started watching me more. I think that keeping her more interested in me than other dogs is the key as she doesn't look at me when other dogs are near. I never tell her off when she eventually comes back. I will stay patient and keep at it.
mel

 

[mullsy1]

My Alsatian responded better to a whistle command to return as opposed to a shouted call.At the end of the day,its all about perseverence.Best of luck!

 

[Mel]

Thank mullsy. Our training class recommends a whistle but I was bothered that this mean't always having to carry one. I have been following the advice of DD and Jim and things are on the up. Except the other evening the local cricket club, which has an unfenced pitch in the middle of the park, were having a youth practice (thank the good Lord it wasn't a proper match) and Jazzy just ran into the middle of it like a bat out of hell. The whole Fenton scenario (see sprockets link). Now as I go into the park, if there is any thing on at the cricket field we go the other way.
mel

 

[kopite]

Dont worry mel wait till you meet our baylee at stowalot he has a curfew and an asbo

 

[JimD1]

Thank mullsy. Our training class recommends a whistle but I was bothered that this mean't always having to carry one. I have been following the advice of DD and Jim and things are on the up. Except the other evening the local cricket club, which has an unfenced pitch in the middle of the park, were having a youth practice (thank the good Lord it wasn't a proper match) and Jazzy just ran into the middle of it like a bat out of hell. The whole Fenton scenario (see sprockets link). Now as I go into the park, if there is any thing on at the cricket field we go the other way.
mel

Luv it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I told you she's curious - a bunch of people playing with a ball - she's just got to investigate

Seriously though, the trick is recognising these situations before she reacts & distracting her to keep her attention. It's as much about you gaining experience as about her training.

Keep up the good work,
Jim

 

[mullsy1]

Thank mullsy. Our training class recommends a whistle but I was bothered that this mean't always having to carry one. I have been following the advice of DD and Jim and things are on the up. Except the other evening the local cricket club, which has an unfenced pitch in the middle of the park, were having a youth practice (thank the good Lord it wasn't a proper match) and Jazzy just ran into the middle of it like a bat out of hell. The whole Fenton scenario (see sprockets link). Now as I go into the park, if there is any thing on at the cricket field we go the other way.
mel

O come on Mel! Just purse your lips and blow!

 

[Sproket]

O come on Mel! Just purse your lips and blow!

 

[Dustydog]

Mel
Get a lanyard for the whistle. That stays with the lead and poo bags and soon you wont go anywhere without all three.
How are you doing with wait, stay , sit and down?
Looks like we could be having a dog training session at Stowfolot

 

[Mel]

Purse my lips and blow! You want me to train her to come back to the sound of a raspberry?
King DD please do run a dog training session at Stowalot. Jazzy and I will be there. Have a dunces cap on standby.
mel

 

[mullsy1]