Problem with Max & my Dad (a little worried)

Hi all,

The past few times that my dad has taken Max out for me, he has returned complaining that Max has run off out of sight and refused to come back to him when he is called. This puzzled me a little as he has generally been pretty good with his recall. He is by no means 100% and he can throw a deafy as well as the next dog, but around 7/8 times out of 10 he will come back straight away when called.

They went out this morning and he took Max to the woods which is one of his favourite walks. He returned half an hour later at which point I thought something might have happened to Max because he normally takes him out for around 2 hours. When I asked him if everything was ok he said that Max had been really naughty and had been chasing rabbits despite my dad calling and calling him. Apparently he also ran out of sight a couple of times and dissapeared for ages. The first time he dissapeared, my dad said that he really told him off when he came back. The second time he really shouted at him and put him back on his lead and took him straight back to the car.

I tried explaining to my dad that Max would not understand why he was in trouble. Yes he shouldn't have run off like that or been chasing the rabbits, but as far as Max is concerned, he has just been punished for returning to my dad which in short would make the problem worse. My dad just basically said that he knows what he is doing because he has owned dogs all of his life and he needed to be told off. I will add that me and my dad get on really well and he has never treated any of his dogs badly!

I am obviously quite upset that this has happened today and I am now worried that my recall training is going to be ruined. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can re-inforce this with my dad without sounding like I am critisising (sp?) him? Also any ideas for my dad to try would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Hayley xxx

Hi there, oh dear you are quite right and your dad is wrong I'm afraid, as you already know.

I suspect that Max went off chasing rabbits the first time, and either didn't hear because he was excited, or it was one of the 2/10 times he didn't respond and then when your dad told him off, he learnt not to go back to him straight away from that one lesson.

What Max has just learnt from this, may or may not apply to just that walking area, or to other places/times, it depends on the individual dog.

If your dad is likely to tell Max off, I'd actually not let him take the dog out at all. Hope that doesn't sound harsh but it could well ruin the dog for recall.

It may be better if, if he does take Max out, for you to arrange to go with him and show him exactly what you do for recall (ie what words you use, etc) so your dad uses the same commands.

I'd suggest taking Max somewhere where there are NO rabbits to hunt, as often dogs will go deaf in this situation even if they have a very good recall.

I'd also try getting Max fixed onto a toy (this could really help :smt001 ) and use it for training rewards as well as games. But keep it pretty special and alternate with other toys and keep that one a bit special (ie play only a few times with it, bring it out for extra special rewards, with great excitement, etc).

The toy may help to ensure Max stays around the person who has it, and might help with general obedience when out.

HTh a bit,

Wys
x

If it were my dog, I would tell your father NOT to let the dog off a lead at all, its an accident waiting to happen. My bitch has known Steve since she was born, she adores him, but the one time he took her out when I was ill, he let her off and she ran all the way home. Her recall is 100% always has been but not for him!
Dawn.

You do have a problem with your dad, but it sounds as though your bright little soul has worked out that he needn't return to your dad, before todays incident & if it hasn't affected your recall up until now I doubt it will. Had one bitch who refused to come back to my father when he used to take her out, thing was she returned every time to him except at the gate where she knew he would put the lead on. He often lost his temper with her but it never affected her recall with me, only made it worse with him. By bribing her & working on his recall of her in the house we improved the situation but never totally resolved it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Thanks for the advice guys. My problem is that I am pretty much housebound at the moment after a broken knee so going with my dad, or taking Max out myself is a no go Unfortunately it is either my dad taking him out or nothing which is obviously not an option and if he is kept on his lead, this one lead walk a day I feel would not be enough for him. I am really thankful to my dad for taking him out for me because he doesn't have to do it and I don't want him to think that I am being ungreatful.

When I take him out I always take his favourite ball with me and he pretty much sticks to me the whole time, so I think next time he takes him I will give him this to take.

I have actually just spoken to my dad again and he does see things from my point of view and has admitted that he needs to be praised to high heaven when he does return, even if he has been naughty before hand. He also said that his back was really playing him up this morning (he has suffered from slipped discs etc before now) and he was feeling very short tempered. I am hoping that I will be able to go on short walks again in just over a months time so hopefully I will be able to go out with them then.

With regards to his recall with me at the moment, obviously I haven't been in open fields with more distractions etc but in the house and garden he has been just as good as ever so I am hoping that it won't be affected too much!

Sounds like it may have been a mix of Max being naughty and you're dad not feeling too well today. Don't beat yourself up about it too much. It won't be long before you're able to go with them again.
Cassie's nearly 3 and she is different with me than with OH. She's daddy's girl as he works from home so does the lion's share of the walks during the week but it's him she plays up for more than me She has always been better on lead for me and better off lead for OH. He isn't soft with her but she's still a little b****r for him on lead. Even if the two of us are with her and OH has the lead, she's better but if they're on their own she's a little moo.
They're clever dogs and know who lets them away with what. Max is still a pup, it will get better.

Oh Hayley...

He sounds like my dad with the whole 'I know what I'm doing' and my dad refuses to believe any of what I tell him about positive reinforcement. (Never had a problem with recall thankfully, but he still doesn't do as I ask him on walks)

I don't know how easily you can tell your dad things, I can't because my dad hates to be told what to do so I try to avoid allowing him to take them. Not easy as recently I've not been able to walk them at all and if my mum hasn't been able to I've had to call my dad to see if he can come and take them for me.

I don't have anything to suggest as you will only have to do a search of my posts and 'dad' and you'll see how similar our situation is, but I just wanted to empathise with you

This is the case with my hubby and Bobbi; they like each other and are great together when I am out. But Adam will not let him off the lead as Bob will do a houdini!

Better to prevent the event than to regret it afterwards!

Thats how I see it, better to be safe than sorry.

Best of luck with Max.
Dawn.