# Am I training him right?



## sadiep (Jun 19, 2014)

Hello everyone 

I have a 6 month old golden retriever puppy called Bailey. He has an amazing temperament; is so chilled out and friendly.

We've been going to puppy classes and doing training at home so he has become really good at the basics like sit, lie down, stand and come back. However, recently when we are out walking or at the park he becomes so interested in the sights and smells around him that no matter how much I call him back he just doesn't listen. I've tried him with all sorts of new treats but sometimes they just aren't interesting enough for him to want to come running back to me.

He does everything so well when we are in class or at home, is he being stubborn or am I doing something wrong?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

sadiep said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> I have a 6 month old golden retriever puppy called Bailey. He has an amazing temperament; is so chilled out and friendly.
> 
> ...


Imagine you had to write a 2000 word essay whilst being surrounded by

a) your favourite music star
b) your dreamboat film star
c) your favourite shops
d) your favourite foods

How difficult would that be?


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

sadiep said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> I have a 6 month old golden retriever puppy called Bailey. He has an amazing temperament; is so chilled out and friendly.
> 
> ...


No, you aren't doing anything wrong, but your training class isn't giving you the information you need to go from working nicely in the training hall or in your house where there are no distractions to taking it out into the 'real world'.

With a young dog, every time you go into a new environment you have to start your training from Day 1 again. So all the things you did on the first day in the training hall for recall need to be done again in your garden, then the middle of a boring field with not much in it, before slowly working up to what can be the biggest of distractions - hedges and shurbbery! Each time you start back from the beginning you have to work up slowly, and you should find by the 4th or 5th new environment your dog will start to realise he has to respond no matter where he is.

The trouble with food is we never withold it forever, as we have to feed them, I would try getting him more into play rewards, but again, you still have to build this up slowly.


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## sadiep (Jun 19, 2014)

Well, I realise that is true and I understand that there are many distractions for him but what can I do to get him back whilst he has all these distractions? (sorry didn't see your post Boredom Busters before I posted it)


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

sadiep said:


> Well, I realise that is true and I understand that there are many distractions for him but what can I do to get him back whilst he has all these distractions? (sorry didn't see your post Boredom Busters before I posted it)


Well I have just the thing, first of all do not use treats, only feed during recalls, see below..............

*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)

Below are some sources from reputable trainers and behaviourists which may also help you.

*Courses*

How to Change Predatory Chase Behaviour in Dogs with David Ryan

Saturday 5th July 2014
DOGS TRUST 
Roden Farm Lane
Telford
TF6 6BP
9.30am - 4.00pm
£50.00: which includes lunch
David Ryan

Date: 3 - 6 July 2014

Venue: Wales

Contact Gail Gwesyn Price on Tel. 01686 688920 or [email protected]

.
*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

Teach your Dog to Come when Called
By Katie Buvala

Training your Dog to Come When Called
By John Rogerson

The Dog Vinci Code
By John Rogerson

Total Recall
By Pippa Mattinson

*DVDs*

Line Training for Dogs
By Monika Gutman

Really Reliable Recall 
By Leslie Nelson

Training the Recall
By Michael Ellis

Training the Whistle Recall 
By Pamela Dennison

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/

Train a

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

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

The First Steps to Teaching a Reliable Recall: Kathy Sdao - Bright Spot Dog Training

More on the Reliable Recall: Kathy Sdao - Bright Spot Dog Training

Lesson 6


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## PawsiblyPawsitive (Jul 7, 2014)

sadiep said:


> Hello everyone
> 
> I have a 6 month old golden retriever puppy called Bailey. He has an amazing temperament; is so chilled out and friendly.
> 
> ...


I had the same problem with my dog Snowie. Here's a quote from an email from my friend:

"He should be taught to greet calmly before engaging and play. This is for their own safety as well as to make them well mannered and socially acceptable.
Repeatedly exposing him to new environment and unfamiliar noises helps to reduce anxiety. Conducting training outdoors or in a newer busy environment is a true test of your dog's ability to restrain himself and perform with many distractions.
Very common theme at training classes is while he can do it at home, I don't know why he won't do it here. At home, which is his regular safe environment, he will perform desired actions quickly once he grasp the concept. This is because there are very few distractions and no strange people or animals.
To combat this, you should train your dog away from home as much as possible. Even if it's just giving a few simple commands while you're up for a walk or in the park. The more he's exposed to training with distractions the quicker he will learn to ignore the distractions and focus on you, his pack leader."

I hope this will help youas much it has helped me and my dog.


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