Recall with a Lunge

Recall is a fairly common problem and one that really needs to you to go back to basics.

Practice the sit stay command at home as this will be your basis for the recall when your dogs starts to get selective deafness at about 4.5 to 5 months of age or later and doesn’t want to listen to your commands to return.

Once again the dog should be on a lead preferably 5 foot long with a Jingler. This is not totally necessary and will just take a bit longer or a couple of cat bells will suffice. Get the dog to sit with the dog on your left side holding the lead in you left hand. Using the cupped palm of your right hand bring it to the dogs nose saying “Stay” three times. Swivel in front of the dog so you are facing it pick up the loop of the lead but make sure you keep your left and on the lead as well as this is your control hand , slowly back up to the length of the lead with the left hand about as third of the way back up the lead.

If your dog moves or tries to follow lift the lead smartly upwards with your left hand and say “Stay” this will activate the Jingler, you may have to take him back to the original position keep repeating till you can get to the end of the lead a give it a few swift tugs with the right hand always have two hands on the lead, if the dog moves then move the lead upwards again and say “Stay” if the dog stays then go back and praise and treat.

Keep repeating till you think the dog has got the message and then start dropping the lead and moving further backwards. If your dog starts moving you have gone to far to fast, therefore shorten the distance again. Do this about 3 times a day for about 5 minutes per time.

Then after a couple of days call your dog to you with every third time, use either Come or Here or his name. But don’t call him to you every time or he will start anticipating the command and start creeping towards you. Only treat the best stays and the best results.

Once you feel you have and he has mastered this, it is time to use the lunge rein. Practice the sit stay in the park or field but this time with the lunge rein take a friend who will hold the dog whilst you hide behind a tree or fence. Then call the dog he will come looking for you when he finds you give him a favourite treat and repeat the exercise cheese, puffed jerky or frankfurter.

After a couple of days allow the dog to walk free but with the lunge rein still kept on dragging behind, keep standing on it at different lengths so the dog thinks you are in control at all distances.

If you see the dog takes off after a bird or another dog. Either stand on the lead or pick it up to stop the charge. The dog will get the message that you are in control and cease chasing after a while. During all of this work we must give the dog lots of praise and treats when things are going well. After a few weeks of keeping the lunge rein on you can reduce it down by putting on a normal lead then after another a few more weeks remove it completely.

Best of luck

Stan

Hi Luck Star glad you found Shadowboxers article interesting and useful, if you follow her easy to understand instructions you can't go wrong ...good luck

Thats interesting I actually got a negative point on this post for my help in pointing you in the direction of Shadowboxers post !! I wonder sometimes if it is really worth the effort

I wonder who & why Mini :smt017 I would appreciate any constructive criticism from anyone who thinks the article is incorrect, unhelpful or misleading in any way.

Thanks for the info and advice. We took Loki back to the field with the horses - on a long line - and he made a lunge for the field. He got as far as ducking under the barbed wire again before the line went tight and he was soooo not impressed with us

We will persevere and Doglistener, we will also try this.

Minihaha - I cannot imagine why you got a negative point (I don't really understand the point system) for this VERY constructive advice. :smt017
Could it have been a mistake?

Well, I'm going for a negative point too then, as I have just read your article Shadowboxer and I have to say I totally agree with everything you have written! Especially, the bit where you say if you absolutely know that they are totally distracted and you have no chance of getting them back (like I did this morning with some rabbits!) Then I do NOT call my dogs either! I would either go and take them by the collar or walk on until the distraction has passed enough for them to be at least listening to my call to "come".

I also found when my dogs were puppies and failed to come when called, I would squat down on the ground and call them in a different way, i.e. as if you were going to play with them and it worked every time. I also managed to catch a dog belonging to another woman the other day who had no chance of catching it herself, by squatting down and calling the dog and it came running straight over to me! Try it, it worked for me

Just to emphasis the patience bit I let Molo off yesterday at a cocker spaniel meet - despite 7 fun cocker spaniels to play with nearby, he disappeared over the nearest hill, not to return for 10 minutes (was I panicked?....well maybe just a bit )

I put him back on the long line; and his recall returned immediately I'm guessing the next step is more loose-line work, slowing making the line lighter so that eventually he can't tell its there

Hi, i have had my JR terrier for 3 months, she is now 10 months old. i just wanted some advice about recall. i walk Tilly out on a long line as i live in a rural area with lots of rabbits and she has a very strong hunting instinct. However, i wondered if it is okay to let her off the long line occassionally for instance when down the beach as i know there will be no rabbits for her to chase and i know she is safe or do i need to keep her on a long line on ALL of her walks until her recall is good in all places.

Hope this makes sense and i haven't rambled on too much!!