Terriers and recall - some would say that is a contradiction in terms

Seriously, terriers in general tend to be very independent dogs with a very strong hunting/chasing instinct. I would guess that the reason he bolts is because something has caught his eye or he has heard, or scented, something that you have not noticed. The instict to hunt takes over and off he goes. The obvious way of avoiding this happening is to keep him on lead - but I don't suppose you wish to do that.

I would be inclined to go back to using a long line and practising recalls with appropriate yummy treats or a special recall toy as a reward for returns. Then try him off lead in a secure area. Then, if possible, off lead in a secure area with distractions. You might also train him to recall to a whistle, as the sound will carry further than your voice.

I don't believe that any dog can be said to be 100% reliable on recall. There will always be unforseen situations where even the best trained dog is liable to ignore his owner and, unfortunately, it seems that in the case of many terriers, instinct will always triumph over training.

thanks shadow boxer

Ive always known things werent going to be easy, but this is mad,
He gets enough exercise on lead, i just love seeing him off

its a shame because he really is a very very clever boy, he does so many tricks, its just getting that cleverness into recall.


When he last ran off, he sounded like he had fun, we found this park which is enclosed, but he can squeeze under the fence, anyway he just ran off, and was running through the woods screaming yes screaming, he looked like he was having fun, and was very pleased with himself for the rest of the day, it made him so happy being a terrier, but its just horrible because you dont know what he will run into next!

How old is he? I have found that, frequently, dogs entering adolescence develop hearing/understanding problems One tends to feel very confident/cocky as "we have obedience trained"; and then, you give a command - eg 'drop' and the dog stands there and looks at you as though you are mad: "wot's Drop? never heard that one before." And then trots off to investigate the grass - which is far more interesting than you are.

Quite honestly, I would keep him on a lead - a lunge lead or perhaps a flexi. I would not want to risk the grief should he run into traffic or down a burrow.

Perhaps, and just perhaps, when he is older (assuming he is a youngster) he might be a bit more reliable off lead.

I don't know which breed he is. Have you thought about joining a working terrier club? They get heaps of fun and exercise going down burrows, finding rats (which are caged), racing, etc.

I never thought about age.

Sal went through a period of "cocking a deaf 'en" when she was about 11-13 months old not often but enough.

We went back to basic. And I invested in a training lead 30' long and her recall improved, but I think that was as much she was growning up

He is a 5 yr old cairn terrier, so gone past cocky stage, although hes always cocky, i have thought about terrier club sounds like a great idea
I would love for him to do what he was bred to do!

Ah - a Cairn.

Read somewhere that some breeders of Cairns will only sell a pup if the buyer signs a contract promising never to let the dog off-lead

How about doing agility with him? He would get to run around madly in a secure area and might even give some of the obstacles a go!

You never cease to amaze me with your wealth of knowledge ShadowBoxer! thanks for helping us all when we get stuck :smt058

I agree with Shadowboxer. & having owned several breeds of dogs & worked with many breeds over the years, I must admit terriers are not the easiest of dogs when it comes to off-lead, I've owned several Border Terriers, which some would say is one of the quieter terriers ( ) but the natural hunting instict just kicks in time after time after time.
If you can work on his obedience & then as SB said, try & channel his energy into something like agility, he'll enjoy it & it'll help occupy his mind & keep him stimulated.

well i never knew that!!! , oh well !

Yes id love to do agility, trouble is scrump has a very low attension span, i think he would just give up, if he dont want to do something he will moan! .

I will give it a try though, thanks for you help, and everyone else who has given me advice, i really appreciate it.

In that case - low attention span - how about flybal he only needs to be focused for brie peiods of time.

Karen