# Jack russell Recall problems



## scarlet_rain (Mar 11, 2009)

*I am writing this for some experienced dog owners to maybe give me some tips!
I own a 10 month old jack russell bitch who has learnt all basic commands like "Sit, Lie down, beg, say please" you know novelty ones and basic ones, all except recall. Now I do know that recall is the most important command for obvious reasons, and although we do alot of exercises in the house and in an enclosed park using the call back and treat method (I have also found out that playing fetch and then calling her back before I throw it again seems to work well), I still must be doing something wrong.

She is a very intelligent dog, but I could never have her out off lead in the yard with me or she would be out the gate and down the street (communial area so no gate), same principle for in the car, she has to be put on a leash and soon to be crated when ours arrives or when I open the car door she immediatly trys to bolt and also if we leave the car with her in it for a few mins she will be at the windows pawing and whining (seperation anxiety?).

She does know I am boss (she exhibits submissive behaviour, eats after me and will look away when I make eye contact) but I am wondering if she is challenging my dominance or if its something else?

I really just want to be able to get to the point where we are walking on the beach, say, and one call back command grabs her attention and ignoring any distractions she returns straight back to me! I dread to think of anything happening to her which is why I am working 2 hours a day with her but I am worried I could be doing more with this time)

The main issues I have here are that she is too easily distracted which in turn is conflicting in our progress. JRTs are renowned for being excitable and head strong but I have seen enough well trained dogs of this kind to be persuaded that shes a lost cause, There MUST be a way to get through to her! I can see shes making progress but I am worried she is going to get to an age where I then hit boundaries on her absorbing what I am training.

Any advice?

Thank you, Scarlet and Gypsy*


----------



## hutch6 (May 9, 2008)

Hi.

What do you do as far as recall is concerned in the house?

You say she is distracted when out and about, what distracts her and how do you get her attention?


----------



## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

How do you train her?

With the car situation, if I left my dog in the car, he would paw and whine. It's a way of saying where are you going, come back and i want to come with you. You say you have to put her on lead in the car. Dogs should always be tied to a car seatbelt or in a crate in a car. So when you open the door, she's attached to the seatbelt and can't bolt, until you have put a lead on her.

My dog lost his recall at around a year old and it took 4 months before I could let him off lead again, but it's only now (he's 21 months old) until his returns on first recall command. Attention training, such as watch me commands (put a treat near your eyes and say watch me, only she gives you eye contact, reward) and doing recalls on lead (recalling whilst walking on a short lead) help. 

Forget her being boss of you, she just doesn't understand what you want of her or she thinks she can get away with running off, it's training that solves this, not dominanting over them. Never punish the dog for returning to you, even if you have chased them around for an hour, always be happy when they come to you and reward every time. 

Firstly, don't let her off lead until you have got a recall command. Purchase a long line and harness, and put these on her whenever you are in an open space. Practice recalling, if she doesn't recall, stand on the end of the line and reel her in. Also another technique is running in the opposite direction, as long as she's not running away from you at the time, as running away from them encourages them to run to you as they think you are going away and they'll get left behind.


----------



## archielee (Jan 30, 2009)

SEVEN_PETS said:


> How do you train her?
> 
> With the car situation, if I left my dog in the car, he would paw and whine. It's a way of saying where are you going, come back and i want to come with you. You say you have to put her on lead in the car. Dogs should always be tied to a car seatbelt or in a crate in a car. So when you open the door, she's attached to the seatbelt and can't bolt, until you have put a lead on her.
> 
> ...


good advice


----------



## katiefranke (Oct 6, 2008)

Hi there, some good advice there from seven_pets re long line training etc...this is what i use too.

my border collie bitch is 10 1/2 months - her recall went a bit dodgy around 7-8months and we have had her on a harness and long line for a while to pratice recall when we are in areas where there are distractions...although recently we have been letting her off as i think she is ready now. it just took lots of practise throughout our walks etc and praise/games whenever she came back.

with the car stuff - I did LOADS of training with 'wait/stay' from when she was young and really proofed it with distractions. so when i open the car door i would already be saying 'wait' and maggie will wait until i have opened the door and put her lead on or released her.



scarlet_rain said:


> ...and will look away when I make eye contact) but I am wondering if she is challenging my dominance or if its something else?


would just add...surely you WANT eye contact? I actively ENCOURAGE eye contact and would worry if a dog of mine looked away whenever i looked at her?? part of building a bond with them is the attention/focus given to you & eye contact is part of that...personally i think that without a strong bond, they are unlikely to be reliable with a recall...

please forget the dominance stuff...it isnt necessary...you just a have a normal puppy - please enjoy this and dont spend your time worrying that your pup is trying to challenge your position.


----------



## scarlet_rain (Mar 11, 2009)

SEVEN_PETS said:


> How do you train her?
> 
> With the car situation, if I left my dog in the car, he would paw and whine. It's a way of saying where are you going, come back and i want to come with you. You say you have to put her on lead in the car. Dogs should always be tied to a car seatbelt or in a crate in a car. So when you open the door, she's attached to the seatbelt and can't bolt, until you have put a lead on her.
> 
> ...


*


Ok I have a crate now, she has calmed down since I have started using it, when I open the boot to let her out I make her lie down while I switch leads. Next I am going to focus on calming her when I leave the car.

With regards to her recall, it is more the distaction side of things I have been concerned about, I let her off lead in an enclosed park and for the last month I have been working with her one-on-one using a ball and treats to reward. After using the leash-and-treat-then-release method I read somewhere she will now allow me to call her back and leash her where as before she would come to me and dodge my attempts at leashing her and it would take 10-20 mins to get hold of her! when I attempted to touch her.

In regards to the eye contact, I am happy that she looks away - I might not have explained myself fully on that one though.. When I am eating I do allow my dogs to be in the same room - thats my own personal preference, however, all dogs have to be on the floor and not anywhere near me so they can not beg. This has worked well for me in the past. When she looks at me with the expression of "Please give me a bit mummy" I look her directly in the eye and she seems to read this as a "NO" and turns away or backs off in a pack the lower ranks would not get any food untill the alpha has finished and I feed my dogs after I have eaten.

However, when I am training her I do ask for direct eye contact and she knows that by giving it she then gets her reward. Today I have realised that the reason I have been fighting a losing battle is not because my dog is stupid or untrainable,it is just that we have been mis-interpreting each other but I now feel we are starting to make that vital connection which allows me to communicate to her exactly what I want in regards to commands and for me to understand the subtle signs she gives me.

I have had a long think about my approach and realised I was getting ahead of myself and maybe even being a little too cocky thinking that I could take short cuts - you really cant though.

I have started gaining her trust, she is never scolded when she doesn't return straight away and all the risks have been eliminated when it comes to her chances of escape (using a crate in the car and baby gates by the front door etc)

This whole process has been such a uplifting experience and knowing that Im not even halfway through is exciting, I love working with her and now I am seeing progress it can only get more fun! Training is becoming a fun game for her and she is starting to show me how much she wants to please me, her re-call is so much better, her concentration isnt perfect but I am working on it!

Thank you for all your tips they have been really helpfull! And thanks for taking the time to read this, I have been wanting to express this for a while to like-minded people! :thumbup:

Finally...
If anyone has any tips on the seperation anxiety - in the car (at home shes fine with being left alone as long as shes with the other dogs or a radio is on) then it would be much appreciated!!*


----------



## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Hi Seven pets

What a wonderful journey you have been on (It was a great read).

I got a little JRT x Westie pup last May when she was 12 weeks old and have thoroughly enjoyed our learning curve too and the training has been great fun. You definately need to get tuned into their ways and react accordingly. I have learned that if all else fails, distraction with a lot of praise (treats) works well. 

I was worried with recall at first. We have a large nature reserve 2mins from home so she had socialisation in abundance but switched off everytime and I had difficulty getting her back. Relied on other kind owners to call their dog so that I could get mine. I stopped trying so hard and watched. Eventually she would start looking for me and as long as I stood and waited she could continue playing - so I kept walking. We had a couple of issues where she lost me and panicked but it's a safe area and that was to my advantage because she took more notice of where I was. Each time she came back I gave her a treat. If I felt she was getting less "tuned" to me, I would hide and she would soon come running to find me. The need to do that grew less and less. She was 8 months before she would retrieve a ball and again I used treats when she brought it back. I have kept the treats going as I found when I tried to wean them out, she lost the urge to come back. I have also witnessed a few terrier owners with re-call problems and it seems they dropped the treats after puppyhood so I may never stop them.

Now that she is almost adult I have a whistle to the ready just incase those lovely rabbit holes and other interesting smells get the better of her. She responds to it really well but I'm hoping I wont need it.

Good luck - remember slowly slowly........................


----------



## Inkdog (Dec 5, 2009)

scarlet_rain said:


> *
> She does know I am boss (she exhibits submissive behaviour, eats after me and will look away when I make eye contact) but I am wondering if she is challenging my dominance or if its something else?*


I've got to say that direct eye contact is central to both my dog training and to my relationship with my dog. I've worked hard at getting Bingley to actively look me in the face whenever I call his name, and I find that so much else follows on from that. If he's running around off-lead I now only have to call his name and he looks at me for the next instruction: come, leave, or whatever. IMO you _need _your dog to look at you!

If anyone wants to train that, here's a great little video: YouTube - pamelamarxsen's Channel

On a personal note, I love looking into Bingley's eyes. I think they're beautiful and we spend long, long moments gazing into each others eyes. I don't know what he's thinking but I know he's not planning on dominating me! :001_tt1:


----------



## Corinthian (Oct 13, 2009)

scarlet_rain said:


> *
> She does know I am boss (she exhibits submissive behaviour, eats after me and will look away when I make eye contact) but I am wondering if she is challenging my dominance or if its something else?
> *


*

What everybody else has said.

Though I would like to respond the bolded part. As an obedience competitor in several disciplines, I would hate for my dog to look away from me. I've worked very hard since puppy hood for the dogs to look at me. It doesn't make any sense for an owner to want a dog that looks away. A dog that looks away is disengaged, uninterested, in avoidance, which has a lot to do with the lousy recall.

Forget the recall and start back with the simple task of convincing a dog, he doesn't have to look away as if you were pointing a gun at its head.*


----------



## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Brilliant little video. I shall be trying that tomorrow. Heidi certainly looks at me more often now (for the first few months is wasn't so good) and I am enjoying the privalege but to build on it will open lots of new avenues Im sure.


----------



## scarlet_rain (Mar 11, 2009)

Yeah I do agree with the eye contact, I was referring to my using it in a different context but yes you are right I should probably stop doing that.

I also have noticed when out with her that she will never stray to far, she has her own range with me and if she loses sight will slow down or come running closer.

I think it has been all about me being to impatient and mis-reading her and actually writing all this has helped me evaluate and realise what deep down I already knew!

She is my very first dog I have soley owned and so training her has been tough because you expect to know exactly what to do but, only by getting to know your dog and bond with it can you really evolve with your progress.

I think I will also stick with treating her even as an adult but I dont need to use food as she is equally happy with a few minutes with her squeaky toy. The next step is her concentration and distration as she is close to adult hood I feel this is a vital move as she is going to be sexually mature and an adult and with this comes different situations. Good times!


----------



## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Sounds like you've got it all under control now. You remind me a lot of us. Took me a while to suss it out too and to watch and learn from my pup. V easy to forget that they are babies. 

Have fun x


----------

