Recall fell off a cliff

[Oya_Owner]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a while but wanted you all to know that this group has been extremely helpful for me. I got my now 10 month old female red dobie, Oya, in January at around 4 months from a breeder. She's been a wonderful dog overall. Some separation anxiety issues here and there but looking back it's nothing out of the ordinary. She is still intact and hasn't gone into heat yet. Also, she comes from working blood lines. S

Oya is a great dog at the park and is generally well behaved. She's a "little" ball crazy and an extremely high prey drive. She is more ball motivated that treat motivated but treats still work. Essentially she is a pretty sweet Dobie that turns into a Belgian Malinois when a ball is involved.

So here is the issue:

Oya has picked up a reputation as the super sweet but resident ball thief at the park during off-leash ours. And as soon as she get a ball in her mouth, she stops listening to me(especially with other dogs around)...and it's been becoming even more frustrating because she is knowingly ignoring me. If I call her, She'll run towards me then past me. She's stop, drop the ball, look at me, as soon as I step forward...she takes off and runs in circles with no person or other dog able to keep up. Today there was a lady on her morning jog and she started chasing her a bit. The look of fear on this woman's face was hilarious but I totally understand how she felt; it's not a great way to start a Monday morning. I know Oya is generally harmless but you never know with a dog that decides to chase. The one thing I do is pretend to leave so she runs after me, but she's getting him to that as well.

A few things to note: Because I got her from a breeder & trainer, so although she wasn't fully trained in obedience, she was essentially "primed" if you know what I mean. She knows her sit, stay, down(working on extending the duration). We've done training in high distraction areas and as long as i have a ball or a high value treat(jerky, or string cheese) she's highly trainable.

*I haven't introduced an ecollar yet*

Any tips for improving recall in high distraction areas?

 

[Doberman Gang]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a while but wanted you all to know that this group has been extremely helpful for me. I got my now 10 month old female red dobie, Oya, in January at around 4 months from a breeder. She's been a wonderful dog overall. Some separation anxiety issues here and there but looking back it's nothing out of the ordinary. She is still intact and hasn't gone into heat yet. Also, she comes from working blood lines. S

Oya is a great dog at the park and is generally well behaved. She's a "little" ball crazy and an extremely high prey drive. She is more ball motivated that treat motivated but treats still work. Essentially she is a pretty sweet Dobie that turns into a Belgian Malinois when a ball is involved.

So here is the issue:

Oya has picked up a reputation as the super sweet but resident ball thief at the park during off-leash ours. And as soon as she get a ball in her mouth, she stops listening to me(especially with other dogs around)...and it's been becoming even more frustrating because she is knowingly ignoring me. If I call her, She'll run towards me then past me. She's stop, drop the ball, look at me, as soon as I step forward...she takes off and runs in circles with no person or other dog able to keep up. Today there was a lady on her morning jog and she started chasing her a bit. The look of fear on this woman's face was hilarious but I totally understand how she felt; it's not a great way to start a Monday morning. I know Oya is generally harmless but you never know with a dog that decides to chase. The one thing I do is pretend to leave so she runs after me, but she's getting him to that as well.

A few things to note: Because I got her from a breeder & trainer, so although she wasn't fully trained in obedience, she was essentially "primed" if you know what I mean. She knows her sit, stay, down(working on extending the duration). We've done training in high distraction areas and as long as i have a ball or a high value treat(jerky, or string cheese) she's highly trainable.

*I haven't introduced an ecollar yet*

Any tips for improving recall in high distraction areas?

Play with her and work your way closer to the distractions each time. You must become more valuable or fun then any distraction. If you get to close and she gets distracted run away from her so she chases you then stop and play.

 

[Ddski5]

I have to admit that I never could become more valuable and fun than other dogs, squirrels, balls, etc.... I tried and tried and tried. Probably wasn’t doing it right or didn’t start the basics correctly.

But.....the ECollar does absolute wonders for me. Don’t even need to stim asshat anymore, the vibrate gets his attention and he turns on a dime.

 

[Oya_Owner]

I have to admit that I never could become more valuable and fun than other dogs, squirrels, balls, etc.... I tried and tried and tried. Probably wasn’t doing it right or didn’t start the basics correctly.

But.....the ECollar does absolute wonders for me. Don’t even need to stim asshat anymore, the vibrate gets his attention and he turns on a dime.

hahahah! I was going to get the minieducator as a nice birthday present but may have to purchase it sooner.

 

[My2Girls]

Check out Leerburg.com they have some great videos on how to use the ecollar property. Many of us have the mini educator.

You’re also in that Doberteen stage where they’re going to challenge you. Very frustrating I know.

Good luck and welcome to the group.

 

[Oya_Owner]

Thank you! I'm going to post some of our training videos in the media section. Jeez! These mini educators are expensive

 

[Oya_Owner]

Check out Leerburg.com they have some great videos on how to use the ecollar property. Many of us have the mini educator.

You’re also in that Doberteen stage where they’re going to challenge you. Very frustrating I know.

Good luck and welcome to the group.

Which ecollar and model number are you using?

 

[LifeofRubie]

eCollar will help but it only reinforces commands they are already pretty good at.

Keep working recall in controlled environments and a 'leave it' or 'drop it' command.

Do you play ball in your own yard? Does she play keep away there, too?

She might be getting to the age where an off-leash dog park is a situation waiting to happen, too. My Dobe can be very possessive of things that aren't hers but that she wants (read: Balls). I actually used to get very frustrated when people would bring balls to the dog park. She doesn't enjoy that type of social interaction so she doesn't get off-leash dog park visits anymore and she could not care less.

With the high prey drive, be cautious of morons dropping their little dogs into the big dog side of the park (assuming that's how it's set up).

 

[MyBuddy]

Ok, I thought "Recall" was your dog and he fell off a cliff!

I'm so glad I'm wrong.

 

[Kaiser2016]

Ok, I thought "Recall" was your dog and he fell off a cliff!

I'm so glad I'm wrong.

Me too!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Hey there!

Oya from working lines. Oji from working lines.

With my first Dobe, one method I employed was using the throw chain. (You don't try to hit them in the head with it, or hurt them; but it was effective for me in sending his doggie, er, Dobie mind you can reach him at a distance).

Very essential too is making recall happy and exciting. Only call her if you have good things of some sort for her.

Try hard to avoid the ol' chase game!

 

[My2Girls]

Which ecollar and model number are you using?

I have the 500 series which has been discontinued (it’s was their ergonomically fit receiver). That’s a great question for @Doberman Gang (he runs an IOP group/training center). Or do a search on the site. It’s been discussed many times.

 

[Vinnie's Mom]

hahahah! I was going to get the minieducator as a nice birthday present but may have to purchase it sooner.

I JUST got mine 4 days ago for the exact same reason and am already seeing a huge difference and have only utilized the tone setting so far. I also totally get waiting till its a present but I am currently eating Cheerios so I could get it sooner lol, just saying, you might want to invest sooner and save yourself tons of grief lol

 

[Oya_Owner]

eCollar will help but it only reinforces commands they are already pretty good at.

Keep working recall in controlled environments and a 'leave it' or 'drop it' command.

Do you play ball in your own yard? Does she play keep away there, too?

She might be getting to the age where an off-leash dog park is a situation waiting to happen, too. My Dobe can be very possessive of things that aren't hers but that she wants (read: Balls). I actually used to get very frustrated when people would bring balls to the dog park. She doesn't enjoy that type of social interaction so she doesn't get off-leash dog park visits anymore and she could not care less.

With the high prey drive, be cautious of morons dropping their little dogs into the big dog side of the park (assuming that's how it's set up).

I absolutely agree with you. I actually live in New York City...Brooklyn to be exact. We have a large park near us with a huge field. I'm realizing the most important thing to my Dobie is to be near me so the dog park/open fields in general are unnecessary.

She was socialized from an early age around small dogs, german shepherd pups, and even shih tzus but you never know. Her prey drive seems to apply more to rodents and bird...and dogs that have a squeakier bark..haha..basically anything that sounds like a chew toy

 

[Oya_Owner]

Hey there!

Oya from working lines. Oji from working lines.

With my first Dobe, one method I employed was using the throw chain. (You don't try to hit them in the head with it, or hurt them; but it was effective for me in sending his doggie, er, Dobie mind you can reach him at a distance).

Very essential too is making recall happy and exciting. Only call her if you have good things of some sort for her.

Try hard to avoid the ol' chase game!

What is a throw chain?

 

[Oh Little Oji]

What is a throw chain?

It's a regular old choker collar that you attach a plain key ring in the middle of to make a figure 8. Helpful to also attach a brightly colored ribbon to it to aid in locating it after it is thrown.