Quote:
Originally Posted by Methical
What dog do you have? I know it doesnt matter all that much but... I did try a whistle, and it started to work really well, i think mainly cos i used 'come' to often and reinforced it by putting her on a lead and telling her off for eating poo or small dogs  . The whistle i made sure was associated with only good things.
Now what i need to ask you. Did u put any effort into getting her interested in you running away ? Its just that if Daisy is interested in something, and i blow a whistle, she'll stop and look at me, see im running away and its almost like she thinks "Oh good, he's distracted by something in the opposite direction, ill carry on with what i was doing" and pays no attention. More often than not i find myself totally puffed out, miles away from my dog looking totally irresponsible as at the time my dog needed attention, i was running away lol. |
Ah, but when I run away, I am running away with the BEST food on me!!
Start in the house and garden, blow whistle when you're calling her for her dinner. Progress to calling for treats but they've got to be the BEST treats - I spend more on flipping Tesco's Chunky Chicken and cocktail sausages than I do on normal food lol! Teach her, slowly and methodically, that the whistle means WONDERFUL food (I am assuming your dog is food orientated - if she prefers toys, then use those as rewards). When you progress to using it on walks, if your dog is a little hungry, so much the better (obviously I'm not recommending starving it). The important thing is, work in the house, then the garden, absolutely CEMENTING in your dog's mind that when she hears that whistle, NOTHING is nicer! So you can blow the whistle and run away from her in the garden - when she catches you (make sure she gradually has to make more and more effort but keep it FUN) she gets the treat. Treats are always even better when you've had to make a bit of effort to get them!!
Only when she is responding really keenly in the house and garden, all the time, is it worth trying on walks and even then, for the first few times, do it when she isn't distracted - then gradually build up etc. Make it easy for her to do it right
Oh I've got a Collie/Poodle crossbreed.