Great advice by all the posters here

I am currently whistle training Billy, as i live in an area where everyone calls their dogs, and having a whistle helps to distinguish

Just had one other thought - she likes the furries? what about getting one of those fur covered dummy's for her to play with when you recalling? if she knows she gets a "small furry" by coming back, maybe that owuld be a bigger incentive?

Tying a furry toy to a string and pulling it along the ground is good for chasers... swap what THEY want to chase for what YOU want them to chase

lol thats what i was trying (and failing) to say


Rabbit Dummies

have a look here, they do the fur dummys and they also sell a scent so you can keep it attractive to the dog

Just remember the aim with recall is to make you more attractive than whatever she's up to!

If that means a rabbit fur smelly dummy then so be it!

I used a longline with billy too, i think the general rule is to keep them on the line for twice the amount of time it took you to train the command - so by then its really sunk in!

Another trick i was taught was to get a really cheap lead (poundland) cut it down to about 6-8in, and tie a knot in the end. When letting offlead attatch that stumpy lead which knocks against the dogs shoulder and fools them into thinking they are still on a lead...

hope it helps x

I had this problem with my dog. She used to be really good at recall as a puppy but on long walks she would not get recalled properly - only so we could see her.
She then associated this "recall" with coming and finding us but running off again. She now knows two commands - recall to be put on the lead and recall to be seen.
I found the best way to train recall again was before a walk. Click the lead clip and recall your dog using a command, make them sit by you and clip on their lead + treat and praise. Then the ultimate treat - a walk!

So basically just be careful when recalling your dog, make sure every time you do it correctly and praise for it.

Hope this helps!.

Thanks for the advice however for now im going to try and not use a rabbit dummy or any other furry thing as im trying to get her not to chase rabbits and I feel this would encourage her.

I think im going to use the article posted by Lemmsy as that seems best suited to her and maybe combine it with a whistle so instead of shouting toy i will whistle as somtimes she goes quite far

Billyboysmammy the lead idea sounds good as she behaves with a longline on as she knows its in her best interest as I can get her anyway so if she comes she gets the reward so that would possibly work so ill give it a go but she is the most clever dog I have ever met and im sure she would figure it out in no time

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Not the case. If she's "chasey" then she's always going to have that in her. You can, however, make it work FOR you rather than against because you at least then have a good idea of what floats her boat and REALLY excites her

Yep that's the idea of the article I posted- they tend to advice you to use a ball or fav. toy that's the only difference. Check it out, I think it's on Page 1?

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Dogs leave paw prints on your heart

We are currently whistle training Zach, I have to say it's much more effective at cutting through his deafness than voice commands.
We started as other posters say, in the house blowing the whistle everytime we fed him or gave him a treat, building up the association. We now use it in the fields, when he returns to us he gets treated with chicken, we shred it and feed small amounts for 30 seconds or more so that he really feels the reward is worth it. He probably doesn't get more treat as we shred it into small amounts, but his attention is focused on you whilst you shred and treat.
We're slowly building up the distractions, it works at the moment (touch wood!!) when he catches a scent but I doubt it would work against an actual chase yet. But it's a work in progress!!

When you think about how much your dog hears your voice and how many commands we give them, it's not surprising we fade into inane babble to them when something is more attractive!

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Sh & Zach


Lifes too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly

So true! And a very easy trap to fall into. I've even noticed that if, say, I'm out with the dogs and walking along talking on my mobile, it will take longer to get my dogs' attention after I've finished my conversation - simply because they've tuned out the "blah blah blah" of my voice. Ditto if I'm walking along chatting to a dog-walking friend.

For the same reason, the children are banned from calling the dogs when we're out for a walk; otherwise the dogs find themselves being called from two different directions at once and within a VERY short time, there is a danger that their name ceases to be "special".

The recall practice is going well and she is getting realy responsive although she is still on a long line in rabbit fields but I have come to a problem. When she gets excited she tends to nip at my ancles and she has started going this when i call her to me somtimes, when she was a pup she did this alot and it was solved by me just tellng her no but the problem I have is I don't want to tell her no for the nipping when she has just done somthing I realy want her to do (come back) so for now I have just been ignoring it when she does it on a recall but other times like when on a lead I will tell her no. Is this right? and does anyone have any other advice on the nipping? It doesn't realy hurt and I know its kind of a collie thing.

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