Recall. Core Rules Applied

Transcription

1 Recall For effective recall you will need: 1. Long line (25 feet to 100 feet) - My preference is 50 feet. 2. Harness to hook up long line - connect to the front of their chest. Core Rules Applied 1. Energy Spectrum (Hyper vs Tired) - You want your dog Energetic for Recall. 2. Training Phase vs Management Phase - You need to keep using the Long Line for at least 1 month after you have trained to your highest level of distraction. 3. A to B Rule - Work in low distractions and build your way up.

2 Recall: You generally want to practice this when your dog is right full of energy (Energy Spectrum). As they tire out you can transition into Loose Leash Walking and work your way down the Energy Spectrum. Cues you will use (you can use whatever cues you want, they will all mean the same thing): 1. This way which means follow me in this direction and only use this cue when you can tug the line within one second or if the dog is already following you. The time you don't want to say "This way" is when there is a bunch of slack in the rope between you and the dog. If you were to say "This way" and then walk 5 seconds before the rope was now able to pull your dog you would be teaching them to wait 5 seconds before coming when called. This is why you want to be able to tug the line right away when you say "This way". If there is a bunch of slack in the rope you can either gather it with your hands or start walking in the opposite direction and when you can tug the dog within one second you can say "This way". 2. Come only say this when you want the dog to come sit right in front of you. Do this by taking a treat and walk backwards and at the same time wiggle your hand from left to right to get the dogs focus. You will also say the dog's name to get their attention and when the dog starts to follow (and only when they follow) say come. When the dog gets to you have them sit and then give the treat, then say free to release. 3. Hold up say this when you are going to stop the dog with the line from moving any further. Make sure you can stop the dog within one second either by gripping the line with your gloved hands or applying pressure with your foot as the rope slides on the ground. If your dog is running quickly you want to try and slow them down, don't do a sudden stop otherwise you can flip the dog over on their back and there is also a greater chance you can break the rope or harness. You can also hurt yourself pretty badly.

3 Steps to Follow: 1. Start in Low Distractions (A to B Rule) outside - Practice your "This way" and "Hold up" commands. 2. When you notice your dog is following very close to you and you find it difficult to give the commands, this is a good sign. You are now ready for: 3. Increasing Distractions (A to B Rule) - Find an acceptable increase in distractions for your dog. Every dog will be different in what they find to be distracting. Once your dog is performing well at the new higher level of Distraction you will then: 4. Increase Distractions again. Keep increasing distractions until you have practiced in very high level distractions (Super Proofing which is A to B Rule). Come Command We practice this indoors to start with. Using your dog's kibble is the best way to train this. 1. Walk backwards and wave your hand in small motions from side to side. 2. Say your dog's name to get their attention. 3. When they focus on your hand and start to follow say "Come". 4. Keep walking backwards until your dog comes right up to you and then lure your dog into a Sit. 5. Give your dog the kibble. 6. Then say "Free" and toss a kibble on the ground away from you to release your dog. 7. As your dog runs off to get that kibble you will then repeat all over again. 8. Once your dog knows this indoors quite well you can practice it outside with your "This way" and "Hold up" commands. When outside it often helps to say "This way" to get your dog to focus on you and then walk backwards and say "Come". Training Phase vs Management Phase Once you have proofed up top notch recall with your Long Line you will need to keep that Long Line on your dog for at least 1 to 3 months of perfect behaviour before you consider getting rid of it. Otherwise some dogs can quickly learn they only need to come when they are on the Long Line. Problems to Encounter: 1. Your dog doesn't want to follow and is highly distracted. There are a number of things to help out with this: 1. Pack Structure in place - This is one of the biggest causes for a dog not wanting to listen in distractions. Something as simple as letting your dog up on furniture with you can be providing your dog with a free supply of Attention. The more

4 you make your dog work for everything the more they will see you as the leader and want to spend time with you. 2. Work especially hard for the Top 3 Pack Structure items which are: a. Food - Working for kibble around distractions can help out tremendously for Distraction Training. For many dogs I will only feed them their meal when they are in the presence of a distraction. They have the choice to focus on you for their kibble or the distraction which you won't let them go see anyway since they are on a Long Line. This may take a few days before the dog is motivated enough to work for their food instead of wanting to seek out the distraction. In this time they get no food for free at home. They only get their kibble in the presence of the distraction. Working on Sits and Downs really helps out with this. See notes on Distraction Training for further examples. b. Possessions - Proofing up games of Fetch or Tug (See notes and videos on both) will help build a bond with your dog. The more they enjoy these games and really want to play them the easier your life will be for Recall Training. c. Attention - In many cases we will pet our dogs whenever they come up and demand it. If we do give free attention for this, there is little to no value for our attention outside in distractions. Often times it can help to cut back on the attention we give our dogs in the house and save our highest and best praise for outside when they are listening in distractions. The biggest cause of failure for Recall is when your dog does not see you as the Pack Leader. The more you make your dog work and provide clear leadership, the happier your dog will be. Trust me they will not lose their personality. You can have super obedience AND that same personality you love. Long Line Handling Tips When I first started using a Long Line I would get tangled in it all the time and the rope would get all knotted up. Here are a few key tips: 1. Always ensure you are clear of the Long Line. Don't get any fingers or appendages wrapped in the Long Line. 2. Wear Gloves - Rope Burn sucks. When you go to stop a bigger dog with a rope you will be gripping it with your hands. Even with gloves on you can feel the heat pulsing to your hand. If it was just your bare hand you would have bad rope burn. 3. Always Watch the Dog - People will often change direction and not watch their dog. Always keep your eye on the dog. Otherwise you don't know if they are running off in the other direction and are about to yank you off your feet or jar your arm or your dog may be tangled and it can hurt them if you don't slow them down gently. a. Your dog may also circle around you. You want to keep an eye out for this and step outside of the rope circle your dog has just created for you so they don't take off and rope you down like a Calf at a Rodeo. b. If the dog circles around you and takes off and you think you will be tangled then Jump Out of the Rope and grab the rope again where it is not tangled. Your safety is first and foremost.

5 4. Start in Low Distractions and work your way Up (A to B Rule) - This will allow you to get the hang of handling the rope and work up in stages you can handle. If you feel like it is too much to handle you should go back to a much lower distraction area. Remote Training Collars Some dogs plain and simple were not bred to please people (Terriers would be at the top of this list). Certain dogs the only way you can get reliable recall is to use a Remote Training Collar. The ones we use if necessary are the Dogtra IQ. There are notes and videos on how to use this properly without hurting the dog (yes it can be done). The reason why Remote Collars sometimes need to be used is that you cannot make it more fun and exciting to be with you than it is to chase a squirrel or rabbit. If that is the case all you can do is provide a Negative Consequence for chasing the Squirrel or Rabbit so that you do now seem to be the more fun and exciting option.