AS I said before skipping ONE meal is not enough...........

Why cannot you train the recall when other dogs are about when he is on a long line?

You can make up excuses all day long for why your "training" is not working; the fact is you are AVOIDING training.

One thing that I have always found to work with mine, (which I had at 5 months and 2 years old), was to let them find me. Is there anywhere safe you can take them and let them wander off? Try letting them just mooch about, find somewhere to hide, call them, and then watch. It may take a while, but mine have always glanced round after a few minutes, panicked, and come flying passed looking for me. Obviously, they get loads of praise when they DO find me, but even young Jake NEVER let me out of his sight for that long again!

I am not 'avoiding' training.

I was under the impression that I was meant to start when there were less distractions at the park. Since when we went there were many other dogs, all off leash, bounding over TO us and wanting to play with my dog, it was impossible to get him to focus on me EVEN though he'd had no breakfast and hadn't eaten the night before.

The lure of the other dogs was so great, that EVEN food could not compete.

So I reasoned (wrongly??) that I should go back a few steps, and practise the recall at the park BUT with NO other dogs around.


I am certainly not claiming to be doing everything correctly SMOKEY BEAR - but I can assure you I am most certainly *NOT* 'avoiding' training!!!

I know how vital recall is - my brother's dog got mauled and almost died recently because he could not be recalled away from a vicious dog in the park!

Ah that sounds like something I should try!!

Again I will wait until not many dogs around though - 'cause frankly Dexter wouldn't care if he couldn't see me as long as other dogs were around for him to romp around with

But I will definitely take your advice and try this later this week when we go early in the morning to the park - sounds like a good idea, many thanks indeed!

A dog will only get worried about where you are if it feels vulnerable.

Your dog is now 2? It has had loads of practice bogging off so he is now very good at it, which suggests he does not feel vunlerable at all.

Do you think it is a good idea to chance your arm and see if he is bothered or not when you disappear?

WHat happens in the time it takes your dog to feel this way (if it feels it at all)? What hazards is he exposed to?

My GSD went through a phase of bogging off to see other dogs...then i ran the other way and hid behind some bushes then watch the shock and utter panicked reaction as she realised i was gone and she didnt know where! I then reappeared before she found me and ohh, it was like i had been gone days! From that one time, she never bogged off again...i do realise it was probably made easier as she is a GSD and very owner focused....

I think the food idea sounds like a good one, but you are going to have to be harsh and mean even when he asks for food!

I had the same problem with my retriever.

He kept running up to other dogs to play.I know its very frustrating.
I found playing hid and seek with him helped. Also making him stay then calling him, which is another game. Or even sitting down. One thing I did find was the more I called the more he ignored and if he wasn,t looking at me then he would never come. It does help if you walk with another playful dog. I did find with my dog he got better as he got older, i would say just after he turned 2 he suddenly didn,t want to run up to every dog. Also keep up with the whistle training, that helps.

Many thanks indeed

I take your points on board. And yes, Dex is two, though I've only had him for 11 months.

I will be witholding the food on Thursday eve and Fri morning and then seeing if he will come when called. It will be easier if there are not other dogs around at this stage - though of course I appreciate that I have to achieve a recall that works irrespective of whether dogs are nearby or not.

Really glad it worked with your GSD

I like to think it would be the same with Dex but am not sure if it would if he had other dogs to focus on...