Keep him on a long line and increase distance slowly as his recall and attention improves. Work at his pace and set him up for success! Practice recall games and use higher value treats.
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Thanks for your reply!
What kind of recall games do you think are good? The problem I have with treats is that once he knows I have them, he'll get excited and follow me anyways... its hard to teach a dog to come when he's already there
We also do generally keep him on a line attached to a stake in the ground.
What kind of recall games do you think are good? The problem I have with treats is that once he knows I have them, he'll get excited and follow me anyways... its hard to teach a dog to come when he's already there
We also do generally keep him on a line attached to a stake in the ground.
Initially, you should always have a reward of some type when you take him out, so he learns that a toy/treat could appear at ANY time and he should always have at least half an ear attentive to you so as not to miss out! Put a few treats in your pocket when you take him out, and a leash on him, and periodically call him back to you and reward with a treat or throw the toy- don't lure him with it, but reveal it once he's come to you. The first couple times you may have to sort of reel him in, or you may try calling him excitedly and running backwards a few steps to entice him. Eventually, once he recalls when you call him consistently, you can wean off the food/toy rewards to a variable schedule (think slot machine- sometimes nothing, sometimes one treat, sometimes 5, sometimes toy), just giving him praise/affection the other times. You can start with him on a regular or long leash, then graduate to a long leash, dragging a long leash, and off leash only when he is recalling every time.
Keep in mind the "3 d's" of dog training: distraction, distance, and duration. Duration doesn't factor too much into a recall, but the other two do for sure. Obviously you will have to build up to greater distances slowly, and make sure he is 100% at a given distance before increasing. Distraction is probably his biggest problem, and when you add that into the equation, you will have to lower your expectations for the other criteria... ie: he may recall like a bullet from across your privacy fenced yard with zero distractions, but have difficulty doing it from 10 feet away at the park with 5 other dogs and a gaggle of people roaming nearby. So, when you increase any criteria of his recall, be prepared to have to reinforce what he's learned in the easier scenario- have him back on a long line so he can't blow you off, and increase your reward schedule and quality (he may recall for a piece of kibble under no distractions, but if you know distractions are tough for him, break out some hot dog pieces or other high value treat) until he's got it down. When you begin to introduce distractions, start a good distance from them, and move closer as he learns to ignore them. Increase intensity of distraction (ie: one dog quietly walking vs 10 dogs roughhousing loudly) the same way, and never both at the same time.
I would also recommend not recalling him when you know he's not likely to respond and you can't enforce it. If you see that he's occupied in a highly self rewarding behavior (distraction!!! ie: playing in the snow), and you don't have any means (long line or other) or desire to stop him from engaging in that behavior and refocus his attention to you, don't recall him, as that's essentially setting him up to fail and he learns that if he's engaged in some other fun activity, he can ignore you and continue to "self reward". It's up to you to set him up for success in training by choosing the appropriate scenarios
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