[Deb]

my 8mth old collie seems to be regressing in her behaviour. She used to be good on recall but now we have a standoff and she wont come near me!!But the main problem is when she chases her ball. She used to bring it back for me to throw again but now after she retrieves it she runs a good few yards behind me and drops it. I either have to go and get it or if i persuade her she will go and get it but then runs and drops it behind me again. I have tried treats/toys but outside of the house these do not exsist!!!!

 

[Freyja]

At 8 months she will be going through the teenage stage. My whippet Holly is 9 months and she wanders of on her own and doesn't come when called. I use a safe enclosed area to run them in so I know she can't go anywere.

I would put her on a long line and reinforce the recall using plenty of treats.

 

[Badger's Mum]

My springer was the same. they do get over it in the end

 

[Matrix/Logan]

I had the same thing with my last gsd, he went through a stage of running off and not recaling first time( he was 9months), it can be so dissappointing just when you think you have got them trained, he grew out of it very quickly i have to say. I upped the rewards for a bit and had him on a longline, i started using pepperami which he just could not resist coming back to and within a month i had taken off the longline and never needed to use it again.

Another tip i used to call him back on the longline then get him into a sit, give the treat, hold his collar count to three and send him off again, it just reinforced that play didn't have to stop as soon as he came back, he never really knew which time i would be putting his short lead back on and going home!!

So trust me this phase does pass!!

 

[Deb]

How long do you make the longline??i have a training lead at the moment but it is not massively long

 

[Sleeping_Lion]

One thing that surprised me when I started gundog training, is how little retrieving is actually practised. And when you get more into it, it makes more sense.

If you pick the ball up for your girl every time, she doesn't need to bring it to you. Tau used to spit her retrieve occasionally, and I've been working on her delivery to hand, it has come on nicely now with only the occasional glitch. She gets retrieves on my terms, I don't just constantly throw the ball/dummy for her, so then it becomes not so much of a reward but 'the thing we do all the time on walks'. Tau knows that I've got the ball or dummy when we go out, and she is always checking back to see if I'm doing something that might involve a retrieve. Throughout a walk I'll recall her and praise her with a bit of a fuss for coming back, I'll also do bits of heelwork, and stops with her sitting to heel; all of these are just basics that she can easily get right and be praised for, and I use that to build on for her other training. You might find your recall improves if you have that reward factor involved with a possible retrieve as well.

 

[haeveymolly]

2 out of my 3 springers went through this although it is very normal and it does pass, dont assume when this stage is over she will start back where she left off during this stage go back to basics for a while puppy training with the treats and loads of praise.

 

[Matrix/Logan]

We had a 20 foot longline just to let our previous dog feel like he wasnt on one and carried on his recall training on that, we just stepped on it if he decided not to come back straight away!

The best thing when they go through this is not to let them fail, so haul them in on the longline and give loads of praise when they get to you.

 

[sequeena]

Mine is going through this at the minute, though she has been very good the past few days.

It's the dreaded teenage stage