17-10-2008, 07:42 AM
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Pet Forums Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: East Sussex
Posts: 520
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Re: The dreaded recall
Quote:
Originally Posted by louise5031
Methical - for an update since we last spoke about this. I did find a dog trainer, went to see him and had a good moan about the recall. He simply asked if we had complete control in the house - I said no.
He said before we regain control in the house there is no way we'll be able to teach recall because he doesnt have a clue who the leader is; who's in charge. He has taught us how to walk to heel and has gone on holiday for 2weeks, and until he gets back and comes to our house to teach us to regain control, we aint allowed to let him off lead. Apparently the more you are letting the dog off the worse it will get as they are always being positively reinforced... every time they ignore you they get a treat (in the form of play with another dog) and so he is literally learning to run off rather than learning to come back... doh.
We apparently have to know he will come back before we let him off.
Could be his way of getting a pricey set of lessons... but I'm willing to give it a go...
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Hi Louise,
Sounds like you've found a good trainer, so you're doing the right thing.
You're trainer is right... with any training, whether recall, sit, come, etc. You first have to make sure your dog is reliable in a particular command/request at home before you build in adding distractions.
Thinking about it it's quite simple really, if we're not in charge at home with our dogs how can we expect to be in charge outside 
One very important training technique with dogs is called the
Premack Principle: An opportunity to engage in more probable responses will reinforce a less probable response.
If you're out walking Zach off-leash and he sees another dog it is highly probable that he will want to go say hello and play (I know my Harley would for sure, everytime  )
To explain the Premack Principle in humans terms, it is like telling a child "If you want to go out and play, you first have to do your homework" or "If you want to go ride your bicycle, you first have to tidy your room"
In canine terms, if Zach wants to go over and say hello and play with another dog, he first has to come back to you and check in, gets a treat and praise etc, then he can go play.
So what is happening is you are making Zach first perform a lower probability behaviour (coming back to you), and reinforcing this by then releasing him to perform a higher probability behaviour.
As with all training this takes time, consistency, patience, etc, and of course training starts at home.
An easy way to train this at home:
Have Zach on a 10 to 15ft leash/line
Throw a treat say 18ft away (idea is to throw it further than length of leash)
Hold on to the leash as Zach goes for the treat, just before Zach gets to the end of the leash
Give a gentle tug on the leash and call him back to you
Gently hold on to his collar while you praise, treat, pet etc
Then give your release cue and let him get the treat you threw
Gradually you can build in asking him to sit and stay 10 - 15 seconds before you release him, but to start off just release him within a few seconds.
Then when he is reliable performing this at home, start off from scratch out side, but with few distractions. When you build in more distractions, start from scratch each time.
Have fun! |