Solid Recall

[Cranekc35]

Oh, dang! You remember that!?

@Cranekc35 I'm sorry if I missed it but what situations are you in where your dog is off leash?

I would say there are very few situations in which a dog needs to be off leash where a long lead won't suffice (trialing is a different story but you aren't generally allowed any gear and dogs are generally contained, somehow). Off leash privilege's are earned (via @Ravenbird 's story, above!) but it takes a long time to build up that trust and it's scary when it's tested.

Is recall still important to train? Absolutely! More so curious about what off-leash opportunities you're looking at.

No situation in particular. Just something I am wanting to build on. I have been keeping him on the long lead and working with him daily. I have started using his high value tug toy and it seems to be working. I will keep you posted!

 

[Cranekc35]

Thanks for all of the input here! Once again, greatly appreciated! I do use a prong collar and long lead right now. It does make me think twice about going back to using the e-collar after reading your stories.

 

[Theturtle6641]

I got my first dobe in Jan. Hes now 11 months old. Hes virtually never leashed (in stores only). I’m fortunate to spend all day everyday with him being self employed. I have a lot of experience training all types of different breeds over the years for an average joe. I will admit I have a massive handicap just due to the amount of time I get to spend with my dog correcting him throughout the day. All that being said, I have found the best way to train a solid recall in any dog is to just do it constantly. I make my dog come to me countless times a day for absolutely no reason other than just for some love or maybe a treat occasionally. When out running around the park as a young puppy I would call him back to me dozens and dozens of times. At the 7-10 month range he became defiant when he was more than 30yds away so I got an ecollar to correct that behavior immediately. I will wake him from an nap, call him off a bone chewing frenzy, stop him while eating, at the dog park playing, etc. and make him report to the boss. The other crucial factor in a strong recall is NEVER letting them get their way. If you call the dog back to you, they MUST get to you one way or another. If you call the dog and they don’t come, drop what you are doing and go get them. My dog was running trails today hundreds of yards away across ravines chasing squirrels and I can call him back no problem (other than him locating me in the echoing timber). Repetition and consistency.

 

[Cranekc35]

I got my first dobe in Jan. Hes now 11 months old. Hes virtually never leashed (in stores only). I’m fortunate to spend all day everyday with him being self employed. I have a lot of experience training all types of different breeds over the years for an average joe. I will admit I have a massive handicap just due to the amount of time I get to spend with my dog correcting him throughout the day. All that being said, I have found the best way to train a solid recall in any dog is to just do it constantly. I make my dog come to me countless times a day for absolutely no reason other than just for some love or maybe a treat occasionally. When out running around the park as a young puppy I would call him back to me dozens and dozens of times. At the 7-10 month range he became defiant when he was more than 30yds away so I got an ecollar to correct that behavior immediately. I will wake him from an nap, call him off a bone chewing frenzy, stop him while eating, at the dog park playing, etc. and make him report to the boss. The other crucial factor in a strong recall is NEVER letting them get their way. If you call the dog back to you, they MUST get to you one way or another. If you call the dog and they don’t come, drop what you are doing and go get them. My dog was running trails today hundreds of yards away across ravines chasing squirrels and I can call him back no problem (other than him locating me in the echoing timber). Repetition and consistency.

thank you!

 

[Theturtle6641]

He's 2.5 years old. I did use an e-collar for a few months earlier on, but to be honest, I wanted to get away from it because I want a relationship with him only where he listens to me and not the device. He has done so much better in other areas without it. I have no doubt that it can be done. I've watched videos of others doing it, but like you said, it takes a lot of time to train this. I work and play with him for hours daily. I don't have a problem with this type of commitment. I just was curious if anyone had any other ideas or what worked for them without the ecollar that I could try. Thanks so much for the input.

I’m a ways behind you as far as age, but I was also reluctant to use an ecollar in the beginning. I thought I could manage without and I did well for the first 6 months. It was like a switch flipped one day and he felt free once he got so far away. We left the park and went straight to TSC and picked up their best unit. My goal is the same as you, i don’t want to be dependent on the collar long term. Once he showed dramatic improvements on the collar for a few months I started taking him out late at night without the collar on. We progressed from there to familiar places like at my parents or friends places at night. This weekend I let him go hiking without it one day. Always working the recall command consistently.