Question about enforcing recall on a long leash

Firstly many thanks to PROMARC for being kind enough to post a link to a video in a slightly earlier thread

That video has prompted this question:

If I'm training Dexter on a long line at the park, and he ignores my recall, the training video says I have to 'gently tug' on the leash to remind my dog he has to return to me.

But if a 'gentle tug' fails, how do I then enforce the recall??

Is it by going over to him and making him heel/sit?

Must admit to being a bit confused on this one. I tried a long line with Dex a while back and when it came to recalling him, no amount of gentle tugs did anything!!

Many thanks for your help

Hmmm, well I do not believe that using a tug is particularly useful in some dogs as they are not daft, if the recall is not reinforced by the tug, they do not recall.

I think you should apply the same rules with a line as you do without one, ie you only reinforce when they come back THE FIRST TIME.

Nothing happens if they sniff, cock their leg etc etc.

This is why you should use their daily ration in recall training IMO, so that there is more than one consequence to ignoring you.

Food should be divvied up in to say 1- - 20 bags, each time the dog ignores you, you say "too bad" and remove that portion.

By the time Day 3 or 4 comes along, the dog is much more responsive.

Going over to a dog and making him do something is irrelevant, going over to him by gathering up your lead and making him walk with you (ie not allowing him to sniff, cock leg etc) is a consequence of no recall.

But that is just my view.

For domestic control, failure for me is not an option, as of course it could be life saving, so I never allow my dogs to get to this position...........

I only briefly used the long line, mainly because I have a dog who freezes/panics if he gets his legs even the slightest bit tangled...
If he didn't come back straight away, I'd reel him in and do some close walking for a while silently. May not work for all, but did for us. I also just generally walk around and change my direction of travel a lot, he tends to watch us now and keep up.

We're working on a long line for recall (and just letting him have a bit of a sniff and further wander) at the moment - but my guy's brain is firmly located in his stomach and we have the reverse problem that he won't go away to BE recalled cos he knows I have food so keeps trotting back of his own accord to sit and wave a paw hopefully in case it earns him a treat!

Had to laugh at the weekend though - had him on the long line and he comes running back towards me, head looking in completely the opposite direction (well she WAS a very cute looking lady dog!) and goes smack bang into the back of my leg! He got no sympathy - shouldn't have been oogling the ladies (especially since the vet took his little doggy assets away anyway)!

I don't think it'll be long before I risk letting him off leash occasionally - his recall's fairly good if you've got food with you now.

Hi Tabitha I think talking about 'a tug' in this context may be a little misleading because it was not a tug as many may understand it. In the video in question the dog was wearing a harness and on a long line and it was stresses the dog should not be pulled or yanked in any way.
The video explains about starting with a short distance between yourself and your dog and gradually extending the distance and demonstrate that you need to do your homework (teaching come by repeatedly marking the required behaviour with the clicker and rewarding it ) and that if you have done this correctly your dog should come. If it doesn't the gentlest of tugs on the harness to guide the dog towards you should be all that is required.

Actually this video wasn't posted as an aid to training but to demonstrate that it is not necessary to use harsh training methods to teach a dog to come to you, this can be done with gentleness and a clicker.
This is the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QonpHq930Rk&feature=relatedideo

If you want a video that demonstrates getting a dog to come to you I would suggest you may find these videos made by the Dogs Trust helpful .

Getting a dog to come to you and recall..
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd1v4s_dog-training-made-easy-coming-back_animalsundefined

Getting a recall outside..

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeqodk_dog-training-made-easy-come-back_animalsundefined

As with all training the rule is practise the behaviour constantly reinforcing it with a reward so it becomes second nature for the dog. I think many problems with training occur because people fail to practise a behaviour often enough until it is properly learnt. They assume a dog has learnt something when it hasn't really and they move on expecting too much too quickly.

If you can't get your dogs attention when reguired and it won't come to you without fail at home it is unlikely to do so outside where there are more distractions, you need to practice more at home.

That's the thing - at home Dex comes galloping literally the second I call 'come'.

It's a standing joke in our house that he responds so swiftly.

It's just in the park that it doesn't seem to work.

Thanks for the links though - much appreciated.

I use more rapid tugs, so tug tug tug. Short sharp pulls, it makes the collar tap against the neck and gets their attention.
You can also wiggle the line (better if the line is heavy).

Adam

Cheers Adam. I shall try 'wiggling' the line, I have a hunch that might just get Dex's attention

I agree with Mini here - you can start with a small distance only and build up.

Dogs often to behave well in the house and not in the park, this is usually because there are too many distractions in the park.

To solve this, you need to get the behaviour (i.e the recall) "perfect" at each stage.

So for example, if you feel it is now perfect in the house, start from the beginning again in the garden or somewhere with very little distractions... or you could try another room in the house. Get it perfect again there (say, 10 out of 10 during the course of a day) then move elsewhere the next time. Only gradually make it more difficult and more distracting.

If you do this too fast, you may "lose" him.

What do you use for rewards?
Do you have a hierarchy of rewards for him? This can help alot

Wys
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