# Distraction proofing on a long line



## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

I have been working on Gypsy's recall in a big fenced-in area and we are now ready to move to the field on a long line to add some distractions. The line I have is 30 ft. I think I understand the basic idea but I have one question: If she doesn't come right away, I give the line a tug and then she recalls as usual. However, I am worried that doing this she will think that the tug is part of the cue and blow me off unless she feels it. This is what happened on her flexi lead and it's annoying as all get out. How do I prevent this from happening? How can I fix it if it does? The only time she blows me off so far is if she is too fixated on sniffing. I can't really tell from 30 ft away if she is just sniffing around for fun or really, genuinely fixated. Is it possible to tell from a dog's body language how distracted they are by scent? I don't want to set her up for failure by recalling her a bunch of times when she is unlikely to respond. Moreover, should I be training her to ignore scents when I recall her, or is it just natural that she goes deaf sometimes? I read somewhere that a dog's brain can't process other signals as well when they are sniffing something, but I have no idea whether or not that's true. 

Also if anyone has any tips on how to make the long line easier to grab (besides just tying more knots) I would love to hear them.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

if you have to constantly tug on the long line for your dog to come then your dog doesnt know recall well enough to be that far away from you.


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

boomer11 said:


> if you have to constantly tug on the long line for your dog to come then your dog doesnt know recall well enough to be that far away from you.


I agree. If you have to constantly correct then the task is too difficult. That's not the case. A tug is just what I do to get her attention if she doesn't come right away, which is maybe 10% of the time.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

I would say the recall command and quickly tug to get em started my way and when they were coming mark and reward. Do that several times where you don't give the dog time to beat the negative reinforcement and then after a few of those you make a slight delay btw the command and the -R and then see if the dog can beat the -R. If yes you mark and reward with jackpots. If you get blown off after that you mark with a no and punish. The dog clearly knows it at that point and is making a decision to blow you off. You discourage that with positive punishment.


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