Speedy recall

[Jordan]

Well lack of it actually!

So how does one go about getting a quicker recall. Domino  tends to take the long scenic route and savour the sights and smells along the way ........but eventually gets to me. 
This is his usual responce when nothing is up but I would like to get him to respond quicker just cause I say so!

[Adrianne]

practice an 'emergency recall' but don't use it every day ..it will wear out!

...team up a new noise, a new command, a new method and train him from the start, use a clicker or other marker and find his very favourite reward. use your new command and only mark/click and reward the responses that you prefer.
Practice it in the home first and then in from the garden,

Cupars whistle recall is standard when he is working, but I have a 'frantic over exaggerated' whistle which is higher pitched and that is his emergency.

[kristina]

I liked this Adrianne have had put this type of recall into use a few times with Xena,her recall is almost always excellent but now and then down the woods she ignors or takes a long route round to come back so my emergency recall is just a loud LA-LA-LA !! She will come straight back,guess she's just getting to the stage of being a bit older and a bit bolder and pushes her luck.I hide behind the trees also and that panicks her,sounds cruel but it works every time just 2 seconds of her not being able to see me scares her and she will stay with me then.Also the field which we cross has now been ploughed so my new training bit for her is she is not allowed to run across it and has to keep to the track which is allowed for us to walk across about 2foot wide,so far so good a few times she has strayed but I just call her in and so far she is learning to keep on the track,it's hard work but in the end I want her to be good and respectful in and around the country side.Kristina

[Adrianne]

I wish more owners would be so dedicated to not just training... But doing what you are doing, which is lifestyle training, teaching her how to live in your environment with your needs.
It is hard work, it would be much easier to just let them run off and do their own thing, but xena is going to be an adult dog to be enormously proud of, she won't need your constant instruction, because she will just 'know' and your training will have paid off
The best part is that you know each other so well for having trained together..and there is not a better thing in the world than a true friendship that crosses species.
You will never have any real problems with her now, Cupar is my best friend, to the point where I don't feel like an 'owner' he is my friend and lives with me and my work colleague. I have to listen to him at times too, (he understands dogs better than me)
I just wanted to say well done.

[kristina]

Thanks Adrianne that post meant a lot to me but it's also very true I need Xena to live with me and do what is best and safe for her,some times I feel I am being hard on her but it's all for her own interest I can assure you an example Xena just loves everyone (apart from my brother-in-law) so she will jump up at them given the chance,so now I tell everyone she meets that they have to just point at her and say OFF when she is sitting she gets a fuss,every one down the woods we meet gets told the same thing and bless them they do that now,the message is getting through to her and she is much better,can't say the about the other dogs some are big and heavy and come bounding up to me and jump up it hurts me and several have knocked me over I can't have that and I don't want Xena to do that to anyone,especially if they are covered in mud which Xena almost always is as she just loves to swim in the pond then just's gets  blacker along the walk that doesn't bother me as it's her fun time and what dogs like to do and it makes her happy.She is coming up to 8months old now and has learnt bucket loads of stuff all for her own good the tricks will come later and can't wait to start them with her,but for now the guidance that I try to give her is for her own sake.Kristina

[Jordan]

Made a start last night opted for COME, come come come come come! In a high pitched tone Hopefully that will translate into a whistle recall from a distance when were out. I sent him upstairs waited a minute and called.............result he came rushing downstairs. Tried a few times and i think hes made the connection. Decided to try it when we were out on our walk and see what happened. It was soooo funny........He was up ahead sniffing about, I called, he stopped immediately, turned around and looked at me totally puzzled then ran straight to my side. So yes i think hes got the message ..... once he got over the surprise. The expression on his face was soooo funny! So will practice this and try to speed it up more.

OH i just reread what you said Adrianne ........ a new command! Should i not have used the word COME as that is what i already use for a recall........but just a single call ?

[Adrianne]

If the pitch..the frequency and the repetition have changed that will still do it, and ensure that your body language too is saying 'come to me'...arms open, shoulders back, no staring, head turned slightly away, feet turned to one side.
definitely no leaning forward with head and eyes directly facing him...begin the praise as soon as he starts to respond to keep him focussed all the way back to you...spin in a happy circle when he gets close ..show him how happy you are ..reward at the same time as holding his harness or collar gently and then let him go again! If he doesn't like to come close enough to hold...use hand targeting to get him confident to come right up to you.

[Kimmikins]

Ooohh, a speedy recall is a nifty tool to have! Great work training one in, it sounds like Domino is super smart and obviously loves learning new things....even if it is just a revamp of an old trick

I've always found that if I run backwards, Sara gets here a lot quicker! She does anything if she thinks it's a game.

[Jordan]

Oh thats interesting about the body language! Never really thought about it............so what does head leaning forward and eye contact get interpreted as?

Kimmikins Domino can do a lot of things really well in the house but outside is a totally different ball game! It can be very hard to get his attention, sometimes impossible, when its most needed. Still a lot of work to do especially with meet and greet new dogs. With the better weather were meeting more dogs out and about and he tenses up as soon as he sees them. His first thought when I call him is to scan the area for potential problem, then respond to me...........hopefully!

[Kimmikins]

Sara is the same in terms of proffing a behaviour - inside, she does everything spot on. Even from the garden she's pretty good. But take her outside on a walk and she develops selective hearing! We've been making lots of use of the nearby park that's just had it's fencing completed; it means we can let her off in a fairly exciting area and really work on her recall. If she's off on a run, her recall is next to zero, so you have to be really exciting to get her attention! She's gotten loads better recently though, since using the park, and the hope is that come the summer we can move from a fenced in small park to the nearby farmer's fields. Fingers crossed.

I love the idea of spinning in a circle as they get close...is this mimicking their behaviour in some way?

[Adrianne]

leaning forward towards a dog is threatening, so is staring at a dog..it tells them to back off and stop what they are doing! totally the opposite of what your voice is saying!..and if you are cross because they have taken a while ... it all adds up to the dog that it may be trouble ahead! Throwing your arms open wide shows the dog that you welcome him in to your body space, turning the feet to one side shows him the direction that you are about to go in, if your feet are to the left..he will run to your left, and right to the right!..and avert your gaze even turn your head away so as show him you are not a threat at all.
spinning around - think of the most excited you have ever seen your dog, and the show of affection when they welcome you home ...usually involves some spinning and circling...I like to show cupes that I am just as happy when he returns...and yes I look like a looney, but I am the looney with a dog that comes EVERY time I call, even from other dogs because he loves me and knows to trust that I would never be cross with him...

[Kimmikins]

I'm going to join you in the looney bin then, because I'm going to start circling too! I think it's a wonderful way to communicate with your dogs, it's getting to their level, involving yourself in their world just as you expect them to do with yours.

[Jordan]

Hmmmm I knew that but it never entered my head it might apply to a recall to my own dog.

I'm in the looney bin too, I have one neighbour who is totally stunned when i do a happy dance.....not done circling as yet!....when were out together with the dogs especially for her dog when it gets something right as it rarely gets praise from her!

[Adrianne]

thats a shame, i love seeing their faces light up when an owner shows them how happy they are... it is so simple ...they do it to us all the time, a lot of my training is from observing how a mother dog reacts and manages and communicates with others, like you said - we expect them to learn about us and understand us , how much easier if we speak their language (gestures and posturing and body language)
One of the things I do is always check and greet my dogs when they wake up, anytime they have been 'away' it re-establishes security in a relationship - (very noticeable with large group walking) Cupes always does it to me too, even if I just step outside of the car for a moment, he will always give me a kiss when I get back in.
I have a friend/client with wolf hybrids, she has a wonderful howl as a recall, so funny to watch her..but despite tears of laughter - it always works, whats more my Cupar responds now too!

[Kimmikins]

Wolf hybrids? Wow, that would be something to see! We've tried howling to Sara...she looked incredibly unimpressed with our efforts.