# Training Beagle Recall and distractions



## Carlin7142 (Jan 20, 2013)

Hi All, 

I'm new to the forum and pretty new to Beagles, when I was young I have always grown up with ex. Forces dogs German Sheps. 
Anyways cut the story short I now live alone wanted a companion either a spaniel or beagle as I do a lot walking and running.
So I found a beauty of Beagle requiring a home was recused cause the owners just wasn't bothered about him at all which is real shame.
Marley is just over 10months old and has not been neutered as of yet.
I had him just over three weeks he's house broke really well and is very relaxed now within the household too.
The issue I'm having is on the lead, alone he's brilliant but when other dogs are around he switches off will not listen he does like typical pup want to play and the other dog walkers do let them join in as I think it's good for him to get used to other dogs but its the recall I have problems with wonder if anyone could give some advice.
He also runs on a 50ft training lead in the fields and walks,alone he does come back when shouted just when there are ppl or dog or any type distraction he just won't listen.
I've been thinking would working with a whistle and use it with a treat be good start I'm right in thinking no dog is to old to train?
If anyone got some advise would be very grateful I know it's early days with him but sooner I start the better?
Also do you think training school would be great advantage too
Thanks


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## jo82 (Feb 4, 2013)

Hey there, 

I would definitely recommend a training school. Beagles are so intelligent but stubborn so they only listen when they think it's worth their while. As for recall...a long-line and lots of treats. I'm not sure if we will ever be able to let our beagle off lead as she has such a strong desire to track scents. 

Jo


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## moonviolet (Aug 11, 2011)

Hi You've rehomed Marley at the tricky teenage stage 

I always think of training in terms of difficulty so for instance one end of the scale is a recall in the house with no distractions it's like preschool level and a recall from distraction like a great scent or doggie pals is like degree level recall. to reach degree level you have to make all the recalls level in between really rewarding for him. 


What do you do after recalling, do you have have some fun? if recalling means end of fun and were off home now, it's going to make it harder. if you recall a few times during play then let him return. At this point i'd be rewarding every successful recall with a food, a game or lashings of praise.

A good class is a great way to help your dog focus on you around other dogs and a great way to increase your bond.

Training a really strong "sit" is a good way to get their noses off the ground.

Love to see some pics


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Carlin7142 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm new to the forum and pretty new to Beagles, when I was young I have always grown up with ex. Forces dogs German Sheps.
> Anyways cut the story short I now live alone wanted a companion either a spaniel or beagle as I do a lot walking and running.
> ...


I would really recommend that you do NOT allow him off the lead to play with other dogs at the moment.

The reason being is that you will quickly become merely a means of transportation to the canine equivalent of Disneyland.

I would also keep him on a long line.

When you have developed a good relationship and he is looking to YOU for leadership, fun, games, food etc THEN you can start gradually phasing in play with ONE dog in controlled circumstances and test his recall (still on a line) so that he still has one ear out for you.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

*Why can't I get a reliable recall?*

'Come' is no harder to train than any other behaviour but in real life it has a huge number of criteria that have to be raised one at a time in order to guarantee success.

Often when puppies are brought home to their new owners this is the first time they have ever been separated from their dam and siblings and so they naturally attach themselves to their new family by following them about everywhere. Owners find this quite attractive and wrongly assume that this trait will continue into adolescence/adulthood, whatever the circumstances. A dangerous trap to fall into…

At some point in time, usually from around 6 - 10 months, depending on the individual, "Velcro" dog will morph into "Bog off" dog (this is especially true of a breed that has been developed to exhibit a high degree of initiative). This is the time when owners suddenly realize that their dog will not recall when it sees another dog/person etc. Not only is this inconvenient but potentially dangerous as the dog could be at risk of injury from a car/train/another dog etc.

*How and when do I start with a puppy?*

My advice is to prepare for this inevitability from the day you take your puppy home. If you are lucky the breeder will have started this process whilst still in the nest by conditioning the puppies to a whistle blown immediately before putting the food bowl down during weaning.

Dogs learn by cause and effect ie sound of whistle = food. If you, the new owner, continue this from the moment your puppy arrives you will lay down strong foundations for the future.

By using the whistle in association with meals/food you need to establish the following criteria:

• Come from across the room. 
• Come from out of sight 
• Come no matter who calls
• Come even if you are busy doing something else
• Come even if you are asleep. 
• Come even if you are playing with something/someone else
• Come even if you are eating

Once this goal has been realized in the house, drop all the criteria to zero and establish the same measures, one at a time, in the garden.

Once this goal has been realized in the garden, drop all the criteria to zero and establish the same measures, one at a time, in the park/field etc.

To train this, or any other behaviour:

1. Make it easy for the dog to get it right
2. Provide sufficient reward

Do not expect a dog to come away from distractions in the park until you have trained it to come to you in the park when no diversions are around. Be realistic and manage your expectations; your sphere of influence/control over your dog may be only 20m to begin with, therefore do not hazard a guess that the dog, at this level of training, will successfully recall from 50m or more away. Distance, like every other criterion, must be built up over time.

Some simple rules to follow when training the recall:

• Whistle/signal/call only once (why train the dog to deliberately ignore your first command?)
• Do not reinforce slow responses for the dog coming eventually after it has cocked its leg, sniffed the tree etc (you get what you train!)
• If you know that the dog will not come back to you in a certain situation, go and get him rather than risk teaching him that he can ignore you. (If you have followed the programme correctly you will never put your dog in a position to fail).
• Practise recalling the dog, putting him on the lead for a few seconds, reinforce with food/toy etc and immediately release the dog. Do this several times during a walk etc so that the dog does not associate a recall with going on the lead and ending the walk or being put on the lead with the cessation of fun.
• Eventually, when the behaviour is very strong, alternate rewards ie verbal praise, physical praise, food, toy and also vary the "value" of the rewards, sometimes a plain piece of biscuit, sometimes a piece of cooked liver etc so that you become a walking slot machine (and we all know how addictive gambling can be)!

In my experience recall training should be consistent and relentless for the first two years of a dog's life before it can be considered truly dependable. You should look on it as a series of incremental steps, rather than a single simple behaviour, and something that will require lifelong maintenance.

*What about an older or rescue dog?*

Follow the same programme as outlined above however for recalcitrant dogs that have received little or no training, I would recommend dispensing with the food bowl and feeding a dog only during recalls to establish a strong behaviour quickly.

Your training should be over several sessions a day, which means you can avoid the risk of bloat. It is essential that the dog learns that there will be consequences for failure as well as success.

Divide the day's food ration up into small bags (between10 - 30), if the dog recalls first time, it gets food, if it does not, you can make a big show of saying "too bad" and disposing of that portion of food (either throw it away or put aside for the next day).

Again, raise the criteria slowly as outlined in puppy training.

Hunger is very motivating!

For those of you who believe it unfair/unhealthy to deprive a dog of its full daily ration, not having a reliable recall is potentially life threatening for the dog ……………

*How do I stop my dog chasing joggers/cyclists/skateboarders/rabbits/deer?*

Chasing something that is moving is a management issue. Do not put your dog in a position where it can make a mistake. Again you need to start training from a pup but if you have already allowed your dog to learn and practise this behaviour you may need to rely on a trailing line until your dog is desensitised to these distractions and knows that listening to you results in a great reinforcement. Chasing is a behaviour much better never learned as it is naturally reinforcing to the dog, which makes it hard for you to offer a better reinforcement. If you want to have a bombproof recall while your dog is running away from you then use the following approach:

Your goal is to train so that your dog is totally used to running away from you at top speed, and then turning on a sixpence to run toward you when you give the recall cue.

You need to set up the training situation so that you have total control over the triggers. For this you will need to gain the co-operation of a helper. If you have a toy crazy dog you can practice this exercise by throwing a toy away from the dog towards someone standing 30 or 40 feet away. At the instant the toy is thrown, recall your dog! If the dog turns toward you, back up several steps quickly, creating even more distance between the you and the toy and then throw another toy in the opposite direction (same value as one thrown)..

If the dog ignores you and continues toward the thrown object, your "helper" simply picks the ball up and ignores dog. When dog eventually returns (which it will because it's getting no reinforcement from anyone or anything), praise only. Pretty soon the dog will start to respond to a recall off a thrown toy. You will need to mix in occasions the toy is thrown and the dog is allowed to get it ie you do NOT recall if you want to make sure it does not lose enthusiasm for retrieving.

For the food obsessed dog, you can get your helper to wave a food bowl with something the dog loves in it and then recall the dog as soon as you let it go to run towards the food; again if the dog ignores you and continues to the food, your helper simply ensures the dog cannot access the food and start again. (It is extremely important that the helper does not use your dog's name to call it for obvious reasons).

Gradually increase the difficulty of the recall by letting the dog get closer and closer to the toy/food. Praise the moment the dog turns away from the toy/food in the early stages of training. Don't wait until the dog returns to you; the dog must have instant feedback.

Once the dog is fluent at switching directions in the middle of a chase, try setting up the situation so that it is more like real life. Have someone ride a bike/run/skate past. (It is unrealistic to factor in deer/rabbits however if your training is thorough the dog will eventually be conditioned to return to you whatever the temptation in most contexts).

Until your training gets to this level, don't let the dog off-lead in a situation in which you don't have control over the chase triggers. Don't set the dog up to fail, and don't allow it to rehearse the problem behaviour. Remember, every time a dog is able to practise an undesirable behaviour it will get better at it!

Most people do not play with toys correctly and therefore the dog is not interested in them or, if it gets them, fails to bring it back to the owner.

Play the two ball game, once you have a dog ball crazy. Have two balls the same, throw one to the left, when the dog gets it, call him like crazy waving the next ball; as he comes back throw the other ball to the right and keep going left right so that YOU are the centre of the game and the dog gets conditioned to return to you for the toy. Once this behaviour is established you can then introduce the cues for out and then make control part of the game ie the game is contingent on the dog sitting and then progress to a sequence of behaviours.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

*Courses*

How to Change Predatory Chase Behaviour in Dogs with David Ryan

When: Sunday 12th May 2013

Where: Otterbourne Village Hall, Otterbourne, Winchester SO21 2ET

Details: 10am- 4pm registration from 9.30am. £35 per person, lunch included

Throwing a ball for a game of chase is an enjoyable and rewarding experience for many owners and their dogs. For other owners canine chase behaviour turns into a nightmare when their dog chases cyclists, cars or sheep. When their dogs choose what to chase it can compromise owners financially, cause the target severe injury or even death, and threaten the life of the dog. This seminar looks at the reasons for the problem, the more effective solutions and how to control the behaviour.

David Ryan followed 26 years as a police dog handler and Home Office accredited training instructor with a postgraduate Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling, with distinction, from Southampton University, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for animal behaviour studies. In 2008 he was certificated as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist by the prestigious Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

He was chair of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors from 2009 to March 2012 and currently works as a companion animal behaviour consultant, being an independently vetted member of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses since 2008.

David has appeared in the internationally scheduled television series 'Crimefighters' focusing on his remarkable and fascinating work with police dogs, and as a guest on the BBC 4 programme "It's only a theory", discussing how dogs have evolved to bark. His dog behaviour articles have appeared in publications as diverse as the Daily Telegraph, Woman's Own, Your Dog and Veterinary Times.

He has been invited at various times to lecture to the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group, BSc Animal Behaviour Students at Bishop Burton College and Myerscough College, and Pet Rescue/rehoming Centres, including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Merseyside Dogs Trust and Wood Green Animal Shelter. He is currently a guest lecturer on Newcastle University's MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare.

David's unique blend of practical experience and theoretical knowledge of canine behaviour fuel his particular interest in inherited predatory motor patterns and the lengths to which pets will go to find a way to express them, usually despite their owners' best efforts

http://www.positivetrainingforcanine....php?id=events

*Books*

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Chase! Managing Your Dog's Predatory Instincts 
By Clarissa Von Reinhardt

Stop! How to control predatory Chasing in Dogs
by David Ryan

Teach your Dog to Come When Called
By Erica Peachey

Total Recall
By Pippa Mattinson

Training your Dog to Come When Called
By John Rogerson

*DVDs*

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Really Reliable Recall 
By Leslie Nelson

Training the Recall
By Michael Ellis

Your clever dog: Getting your dog to come when called 
By Sarah Whitehead

Does your dog whizz back to you as soon as you call his name?

Can you call him to you even when there are other dogs or distractions? Teaching your dog to come to you when you call is the cornerstone of training and the gateway to allowing him more freedom in the park.

If your dog has selective deafness, ignores you in the garden or the park, or would rather play with other dogs than come when you call, this specially designed training session is for you.

Ideal for starting out with puppies or rehomed dogs, and also for dogs that ignore you or are slow to come when called, despite previous training.

Including:
• How to know what's rewarding for your dog and what's not
• Five times when you shouldn't call your dog!
• Using your voice to call versus using a whistle
• What to do if you call and your dog doesn't come to you
The pack contains: A clicker, long line (worth £10), training manual, instructional DVD: 55 mins approx running time including Bonus trick, Bonus Training Session, Intro to Clicker Training, Q & A with Sarah

Dogtrain.co.uk

*Website articles:*

How to use a long line properly here (under information to download)

www.dogspsyche.co.uk

http://www.apdt.co.uk/content/files/training-tips/RECALL.pdf

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/reliable_recall.pdf

Deposits into the Perfect Recall Account

List of Reinforcers

http://www.clickerdogs.com/distracti...yourrecall.htm

http://susangarrettdogagility.com/20...call-collapse/

How to Create a Motivating Toy

http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_f...e recall.pdf

Teaching Come « Ahimsa Dog Blog

http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-...y-dog-chasing/

http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/recall.pdf

Train a

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/te..._to_you_on_cue

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/be...me-when-called


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## Carlin7142 (Jan 20, 2013)

Thanks Guys for all the information.

I can say he is doing great so far on the long lead and his training.
We have had few ups and downs, but this is to be expected seeing he has been rescued.
He used to pull like train, had so many issues dragging and jumping.
Now walks like dream, just few issues when a dog walks close and he gets over excited wants to play but he is so much calmer. I'm very happy with the progress seeing I've only had him since middle December and it's only been nearly three months he's due to turn one in April.

We are starting to get there with the long lead training now, we have resulted to road kill squeeky toy it works wonders.
When he comes back on recalls we have little game of tug of war then let him go and play/wonder whilst on the long lead. I wont make the mistake of only calling him back when it's end of play as he will just stay distance (he's not stupid)

As for going off the lead he has only been off once (by my own mistake) but lucky enough he did return on call, he got so much loving and praise....

Hi Moonviolet,

Here is few pics 1 - 4 is changes from the day of collecting him to last weekend.
He has gained weight and his coat is so shiny now, not the rough dull/constant shedding when I first had him it was a mess.

He loves long runs side of the bike now, we do everyother weekend a long ride which is 30mile, he is crawling home by the end of it bless him 

Hope you like the pics too.


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## moonviolet (Aug 11, 2011)

Carlin7142 said:


> Thanks Guys for all the information.
> 
> I can say he is doing great so far on the long lead and his training.
> We have had few ups and downs, but this is to be expected seeing he has been rescued.
> ...


SOunds liek he's doing great althoug i'm not surprised he's exhausted by 30 mile bike ride, have you gradually built up his fitness?


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## Carlin7142 (Jan 20, 2013)

moonviolet said:


> SOunds liek he's doing great althoug i'm not surprised he's exhausted by 30 mile bike ride, have you gradually built up his fitness?


Yeah we started off 15mins cycle ride where he went at his own pace then built it up slowly. In the week at evenings we do 2hrs nearly every other day he again goes balls out then on way home we take it easy let him go at his pace usually for first half hour its fast all way then we finally get to a trotting at nice pace for the rest. We did a 18mile first time long day then we went further an further. We take a break halfway he has a sniff, drink and little fuss then we carry on its been good for both of us.

But that's my limit as i feel if he went any further i would end up having dog who would need it everyday :scared:


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## Frankthewonderhound (Aug 7, 2012)

mine exactly to a tee....! my eyesight when he is off lead is now equal to that of a hawk keeping my eyes open for other ppl and/or dogs, he is so playful and doesn't realise some of the dogs about would like to eat him when all he wants to do is mess about with em!


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## moonviolet (Aug 11, 2011)

Carlin7142 said:


> Yeah we started off 15mins cycle ride where he went at his own pace then built it up slowly. In the week at evenings we do 2hrs nearly every other day he again goes balls out then on way home we take it easy let him go at his pace usually for first half hour its fast all way then we finally get to a trotting at nice pace for the rest. We did a 18mile first time long day then we went further an further. We take a break halfway he has a sniff, drink and little fuss then we carry on its been good for both of us.
> 
> But that's my limit as i feel if he went any further i would end up having dog who would need it everyday :scared:


Just make sure you're keeping his pads in excellent condition, You're right they can become exercise junkies, just don't forget to exercise his mind too


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## Holliecat (Apr 17, 2012)

Hi, I would have though you described my beagle how you described your little lad!!! Bess is 10 months too and defiantly a stubborn little miss when out and about, I do let her off the lead but usually when she is with other dogs with a reliable recall! However she does take off at times and gives me the run around:wink: she is and can come to recall in small areas but give her an open field and a few other dogs and she is in doggie 'heaven' so you are not alone with this breed, I do see lots of other beagles round here, all older behaving beautiful off lead and not chasing other dogs so I still have hope! Xxxx


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## Carlin7142 (Jan 20, 2013)

Yeah we use that paws wax never had issue so far, in the week we do alot of road work so I always keep eye on them. We did try them boots but he hated them always tried taking them off so just resulted to simple paw wax.
Tbh in so happy saying its early days just how well he has common.
I've started having a trainer he has helped us both so well, as before he couldn't go anywhere without dragging, pulling or ignoring you.

We still have few issues like now he is good on long lead for recalls but if he sees another dog that's it I've blown it so just trying to turn me into the most amazing person to play with than other dogs.
He has also started being vocal to other dogs as I've been training to learn how to walk past ppl without a fight. Its 60% there just still need work. 

Seeing I've only had him in short time its working.

Around my area I've only seen two Beagles all i can say is the poor things was fat and out control they was dragging the owner down the road.

My trainer does walks as well, he has Beagle who tbh acts like in the pics he no issue at all. I know he said its took time but the pleasure letting him off is amazing and recalls perfection.

So i know its still early days but so far so good in happy seeing he had no training, never walked and was miss treated from bad owner to what i have couldn't ask for anything different apart from his stubbornness lol


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