Thanks for the link Al (u did nothing wrong btw), I was reading through thinking to myself - I'm gonna ask exactly what is a clicker thing-a-me-jig!

just off to read up on it!

You'll need to follow the sublinks to the left as we had to break down the info!

ow wow! (I missed them btw!) There is lots of info there!! Well done for the write-up!

Why not post the articles under the 'training' section here and at the bottom give your site a plug by saying, "Reproduced with kind permission from Volsung Rottweilers" this would not only be great for the readers here but it will show you as knowledgeable and helpfull!

More than happy for them to be reproduced here if they are helpful.

Would you prefer them as static content to the site or under the forums?

yello, i got same problem with winston, he is 10months now, we have taken him to classes and he was great at recall there....just not in the park, he just wont listen, we call and call him if he starts running for another dog (to play) but he ignores us, we run in opposite direction and hide and this doesnt work (if there is another dog there, if there isnt he'll come bak) and he pulls like mad on the lead if there is another dog around, which he doesnt do wen theres no dog around. n e suggestions? any books i could buy about general obidience training (not clicker) as classes havent seemed to help with he Leave or stay.

im too scared to let indie off lead ever again after she decided to run back home toward the car. I even ran in opposite direction, but she didnt care.

scared me so much that i might have lost her cos she was running towards the road.

to me id rather jus keep her on an 8 metre retractable lead and feel safe knowing that she cant go too far away from me.

The main thing to remember is that dogs do not generalise. The fact that he recalls in a class situation does not mean that you can transfer that reliability to the park. You need to gradually proof against distractions. This takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. I think you will find some helpful suggestions if you do a search on here using "recall" as your keyword. One fast tip: do not keep calling him. If he doesn't come first time go and get him. Each time you call and he fails to return he is learning that he can, with impunity, ignore you.

The same principle of exposure to distractions applies to pulling on lead when he seees another dog. You have to gradually proof against all sorts of distractions.

When are you using the 'leave' and 'stay' commands? Are you sure that he understands what you mean? Are you using the terms interchangeably?

You could try visiting your local library to find up-to-date books on positive training.

oh i did enter basically same post twice!! lol thanx for all ur help SB (in all posts ) well we use the leave command wen he has to leave food alone and to stay to stay sitting....doesnt really listen, he goes deaf wen food is involved. and we were also told to use it to leave other dogs alone, so he doesnt pull on the lead. im quite intrested in that instant drop u were talking about in another post, but as i also sed, he only really listens to hand signals. so i just thought instead of paying another trainer to do everything we already know, id get a decent book and have a go myself.

When Tamino's recall went to the pits I just went back to basics.

I kept him on a long line or flexi while we were on walks. And in the house and garden I'd call him every once and a while just to come to me. Then when he would come I'd act like he's dome the best thing in the world I'd go through the roof in praising and he'd get a treat or a play with a toy. The rest I'm going to say is exactly what SB said, so I won't bother. The other thing I would do is when we would be out on walks I would call him randomly just from the end of a normal 2 meter lead, and then run backwards calling come and praising at the same time.

But after about 3 weeks, when he would come every time in the house I started adding more distractions.

Hope this helps.

Being so attuned to body language dogs do tend to respond better to signals than to voice commands. As I guess you know, you need to pair the signal and the command. Initially the signal should be exaggerated so for e.g. when you say 'drop' you give a big sweeping signal with hand and arm, bending over at the same time. Gradually you can reduce the movement, still using the voice command, until the dog drops just on a subtle hand signal. At that stage you should then be able to move on to successfully dropping your dog on voice alone and to then being able to drop your dog when he is not facing you. Takes time & patience but it can be done.

Always praise and reward a successful outcome. Make sure that you do not use the 'drop' word for anything other than drop. Some people unintentionally confuse their dogs by using 'down' for various things, e.g. lay down; get off the furniture; don't jump up; get out of the car; etc.