# Off Leash control/ recall help please



## Eagle (Jul 3, 2011)

My dog is 13months old, male. So far he has learn the sit/stay/down commands, and also the come command in some occasions. My problem though is when he is offleash...although he knows the basic sit-stay etc. commands when he is offleash he knows that i can not control him so he will do what ever comes to his head. So far he is offleash only in my fenced backyard, so its safe for him. I've tried with treats, he is coming 2-3 times but if he finds something more interesting to do, he will immediately forget the come command and do whatever he wants to do. Its a bit frustrating because he knows the commands, he just knows that i can not do anything so he will do what ever he wants. Also because of this behaviour i only have him offleash on my back fenced yard, but this is not a solution, i also can not leave him offleash anywhere else because i know he will run away or do whatever comes to his mind and ignore me (it happened one time,luckily it went to a nearby house and i got there on time before trouble came up). I devote a lot of time to my dog, play with him for about 1 hour every day (playing with balls-freesbie etc. offleash on my yard) and also i take him for a walk everyday for around 40 minutes, so he is getting exercise-play time . I really have no idea what to do to correct this problem


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Easy fix...put him on a leash lol.

Put him on a long line, and don't let him fail. Reel him in each time you say come. Give a treat. Try again. It will be difficult to break this now that you've allowed him to not listen to you. The first rule of recalls is to not say come unless you can guarantee the dog will come in or you can force the dog to come in. But with time you will be able to break your dog of this habit. Just don't say "come" unless you know the dog will be coming to you. You can even help by just saying come when the dog is already going towards you.


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## vickip9 (Mar 28, 2012)

One word: e-collar. Or would that be 1 1/2 words?  

Anyway, I had the same problem with my boy. So I got an e-collar, took him to the off-leash dog park, and began training. I would let him run and do his thing and then I would give the come command. If he didn't come immediately, I gave him a little buzz. He started coming to me after that.  Now I've gotten it to where I just give a little whistle and he immediately turns around and comes back to me. 

However, it's a different story if he's chasing something.. Then all bets are off. Needless to say, we're still working on that one.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

I wrote an article on training a great recall... worked on my boy, Hunter. I am extremely confident about having him off leash. You can read what I did here:

K9 Instinct - Dog training, dog obedience training, raw diet, raw feeding, minimal vaccines: Dog Training: Teaching your dog the perfect recall.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I would re-visit focus...get that down 100% and then continue working on the recall..the long line is a pretty good idea.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

> I would re-visit focus...get that down 100% and then continue working on the recall..the long line is a pretty good idea.


This is the first thing I would do as well. Keep treats on you and everytime your dog voluntarily gives you his attention, treat him. This reinforces their focus on you. Soon, you won't be able to get their focus off of you!



> Easy fix...put him on a leash lol.
> 
> Put him on a long line, and don't let him fail. Reel him in each time you say come. Give a treat. Try again. It will be difficult to break this now that you've allowed him to not listen to you. The first rule of recalls is to not say come unless you can guarantee the dog will come in or you can force the dog to come in. But with time you will be able to break your dog of this habit. Just don't say "come" unless you know the dog will be coming to you. You can even help by just saying come when the dog is already going towards you.


And this. Until he has a solid recall, every time he ignores you he is reinforcing himself. I recently had a foster that had a very bad recall and after a few days on the long line he would come to us.

You can also play a game where you have yourself and at least one other person standing across from each other/in a circle, and call him back and forth, rewarding each time.

Does he get nervous when he can't find you? If so, you can also go outside with him and when he turns his back, hide and he will try to find you-it will scare him and keep his focus better on you.

I would not resort to physical punishment like an e-collar at this point. There are many ideas you can use to teach him what you want.


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## pfitzpa1 (Apr 26, 2011)

My recall rules.

1. Never recall to punish
2. Always praise/reward on recall
3. Never set your dog-in-training up for failure. Do not call your dog if you know you cannot reinforce the recall. Start in a fenced area or with a long leash. Punishment only comes in when the dog fully understands the command but refuses to obey.
4. Never repeat the command (unless you are absolutely sure your dog did not hear it)
5. Don't wear out the command. Don't train repetitive recalls. 2 or 3 per session is plenty.
.. for dogs that have learned the basic recall...
6. The recognition and start to return must be immediate, no avoidance, finishing up what they are doing then coming, etc etc.
7. Random recalls. Don't leave your dogs only "come" of the day to be the one where you leash him at the end of a hike or playing in the dog park.
8. Proof periodically. When in the middle of play, sniffing around or otherwise distracted.

If the dog (already has basic recall training and) does ignore (or is slow to begin) the recall I..

1. Mark the disobedience Immediately with a loud "Naaahhh!", even if it takes you a while to get to the dog to punish, the disobedience has been marked.
2. Got to your dog calmly but deliberately. Even if you have to follow your dog around for an hour, he/she will know that eventually you will get to him.
(at this point my dog know she has disobeyed and lies down and waits for me to get to her. I never issue a second recall to correct the first, I go straight to step 3.)
3. Punishment, no more off leash for at least 30 minutes. (don't get frustrated and moan at the dog and drag it home, carry on on-leash and in 30 minutes you have another chance to train/help your dog again)


The greatest gift you can give your dog is freedom off leash but that freedom must be deserved/earned.


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## pfitzpa1 (Apr 26, 2011)

And this might be of help...

Earning Your Dog’s Respect | Doggy Times


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Wild Wolf said:


> I wrote an article on training a great recall... worked on my boy,
> K9 Instinct - Dog training, dog obedience training, raw diet, raw feeding, minimal vaccines: Dog Training: Teaching your dog the perfect recall.


This is similar to how we taught Annie recall. It actually worked really well. The first time my husband held her back so I could call her, (off leash) she ran towards me at full speed and knocked me over. The trainer must have laughed for 5 minutes.


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Whiteshepherds said:


> This is similar to how we taught Annie recall. It actually worked really well. The first time my husband held her back so I could call her, (off leash) she ran towards me at full speed and knocked me over. The trainer must have laughed for 5 minutes.


It worked so well for me. Hunter has beautiful recall!


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## robfromga (May 10, 2012)

Very good tips here!


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

vickip9 said:


> One word: e-collar. Or would that be 1 1/2 words?
> 
> Anyway, I had the same problem with my boy. So I got an e-collar, took him to the off-leash dog park, and began training. I would let him run and do his thing and then I would give the come command. If he didn't come immediately, I gave him a little buzz. He started coming to me after that.  Now I've gotten it to where I just give a little whistle and he immediately turns around and comes back to me.
> 
> However, it's a different story if he's chasing something.. Then all bets are off. Needless to say, we're still working on that one.


Sorry but this is something that is definitely very easy to teach without an e-collar. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but its the "easy way out" and your dog comes to you out of fear of getting shocked rather than wanting to come to you because something good is going to happen. Many dogs like this won't recall when the e-collar is off because they know that they can't get punished for not listening. It took me a good 6 months to develop a 100% recall no matter what is going on, and no matter what he's chasing, be it a dog, cat, or other small animal.


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## pfitzpa1 (Apr 26, 2011)

martemchik said:


> Sorry but this is something that is definitely very easy to teach without an e-collar. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but its the "easy way out" and your dog comes to you out of fear of getting shocked rather than wanting to come to you because something good is going to happen. Many dogs like this won't recall when the e-collar is off because they know that they can't get punished for not listening. It took me a good 6 months to develop a 100% recall no matter what is going on, and no matter what he's chasing, be it a dog, cat, or other small animal.


I agree. Don't expect instant results, a perfect recall takes time and exposure to many proofing experiences that will happen as you give your dog more freedom.

Regarding critters, there's a part of a local island I go to that is infested with rabbits. I take my dog to that spot a couple of times a week and we practice heeling, release and come. Rabbits and squirrels will run across our path and she will not chase until I release her, similarly she will recall in the middle of a chase. Most of the time I just let her have fun but the location is very close to the road so I have to be sure I have good control. It is a very good proofing ground.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

pfitzpa1 said:


> I agree. Don't expect instant results, a perfect recall takes time and exposure to many proofing experiences that will happen as you give your dog more freedom.
> 
> Regarding critters, there's a part of a local island I go to that is infested with rabbits. I take my dog to that spot a couple of times a week and we practice heeling, release and come. Rabbits and squirrels will run across our path and she will not chase until I release her, similarly she will recall in the middle of a chase. Most of the time I just let her have fun but the location is very close to the road so I have to be sure I have good control. It is a very good proofing ground.


 
I also agree! And, that's funny I also used squirrel chasing to proof and reward and because of that can also call him off of a chase (requires more than just "come," I have to get his attention with HEY or huuuuuuh sound). This has come in handy in real life too, we were out in our front yard and he started after a squirrel that was going to cross the street-not a busy street- but anyway I called him off of it and he came screeching to a halt and came back to me. Since he's so good now, I usually just let him chase at the park and call him back after and reward for coming.


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## ShoshanaRVT (Dec 28, 2011)

My GSD was always an easy recall. I don't think the idea even exists in his mind to not promptly come when called. My husky we trained on a long line for about a year before it was reliable, and an emergency with the dobie made me grab an electric collar. We had just adopted him about a month previous and were working on his recall. He was leash-smart: he knew when there was a leash there to pull him back, period. We live on a very busy road and one day he slipped out, ran directly onto the road (unfortunately the park is on the other side) and got hit. (Luckily he took the car bumper in the head and there's not really much in there to damage so he was fine). The next day we bought an e-collar, and continued training. Within a week we had reliable recalls. By the following month, he was off-leash and able to be recalled while chasing a rabbit. *However, if you have no experience with an e-collar consult a trainer first.


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## SewSleepy (Sep 4, 2012)

We're working on it with a long line. I believe it's 30 feet. I try not to use "Come" unless she's on the leash so I can give her a little tug. 

We practice in the open space near our house and at the dog park. Each time just 3 or 4 times. As soon as she comes without the tug I take off the leash, or just stop of we're not at the dog park. We practice a few times a week, and I've definitely seen progress, but we aren't done yet.


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## AgileGSD (Jan 17, 2006)

This is another great recall program: Lesson 6

E-collars are not always the quick fix people want them to be for recalls. While e-collars can get fast results, those results tend to be dependent on the collar. The above protocol does talk about the use of an e-collar but only after the entire recall program has been trained and that most dogs trained with this program never "need" it. The recall program outlined above uses positive methods that make the dog want to come to you every time, rather than relying on compulsion to make the dog think you can correct him for not coming. The discussion of the e-collar use in this article is more for special cases which the author says those cases are and should be rare.


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## brandeeno (Jan 3, 2012)

Nala does just fine when left on a loose long leash. She knows I can enforce for her to come, so she almost always listens when on the long lead without the need for me to pull her in. Once she knowns she is off leash though, thats when other things can distract her.
To be clear... I can take her on the train loose, and without distractions, she will recall. With other dogs, she will not listen at all. How to break this barrier between long leash working, and without not?


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Well my pup's recall went out the window last night at our first grade 2 class!

They threw toys and treats all over the floor! LMAO! It was just plain cruel! My pup saw one toy that she just HAD to have. Finally got one good recall, she sat in heel position and whined at it though.


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## Red Dog (Oct 25, 2012)

Wild Wolf said:


> I wrote an article on training a great recall... worked on my boy, Hunter. I am extremely confident about having him off leash. You can read what I did here:
> 
> K9 Instinct - Dog training, dog obedience training, raw diet, raw feeding, minimal vaccines: Dog Training: Teaching your dog the perfect recall.


Excellent article. Simple method but very effective.


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