[nagdu] Off-leash recall.

Sun Mar 16 01:35:42 UTC 2014

I have never heard that about sound cues, but it makes sense; I just would
not use a squeaky toy. Lexia is not trained to come to the clicker, but she
probably would anyway because she loves playing click games. I agree about
changing your voice after a few tries. I think that whether the voice
becomes more panicky or more firm depends on the dog. If the dog is known
for being stubborn, then firmer is better. However, when used in the wrong
contest or with the wrong dog, a firm voice might make your dog run away
more. Even though it is not explicitly stated as such in the movie, there is
actually a movie that demonstrates this problem. Another method that we
found worked for our family pet dog was to start counting. After repeating
the command a few times, she knew that we absolutely meant it if we started
counting to three. Also, if your dog does not come right away, it might not
be that he/she did not hear you or is disobeying. Sometimes, in the house, I
have to call Lexia few times, but it is only because she was sleeping or
really comfortable. If she has been laying down for a while and I am in a
bit of a hurry, I will actually get her attention a minute or two before
calling her to give her a chance to stretch and get her act together.
As far as making yourself more important than everything else, food tends to
do the trick for that, which is actually how we keep Lexia focused on
staying in a particular area when she runs off leash.

Nicole and Lexia who loves to run for food

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 10:18 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Off-leash recall.

Deanna,
I personally prefer sound cues over verbal cues for a recall. As with the
clicker in dog training, a whistle or squeak toy are clear, consistent,
quick sounds. There's no tone, inflection, or emotion associated. My friend
uses her clicker to call her dogs to her; 2 quick clicks and they're at her
side. I snap my fingers twice without a beat in between; it brings the
Golden Guy to me instantaneously.
What I've learned from teaching other people to train a reliable recall is
that when the dog doesn't come, the person's voice changes.
They might not mean it or intend for it to, but after calling the dog's name
a third time, I notice that the voice either goes up in pitch and gets a bit
panicky, or it acquires a stern, get-your-butt-over-here! tone.
A couple tips for working on recall:
Always reward your dog for coming to you. Never punish him, even if you had
to call him 7 times.
Start working on recalls in-house. Just randomly call your dog's name in a
sweet voice. Don't even say "come." When he comes to you, just reward him or
play with him. Let him know that coming when you call does not always mean
that it's business time.
When you work on recall outside, call him to you several times while playing
in the yard, then allow him to resume playing. Again, don't make your dog
think that each time he comes when called, the fun times are over.
Also, remember that a recall is sometimes very hard to teach.
Especially when a dog is distracted or engaged with his environment, you
have to somehow make yourself more excited than everything else going on.
Sound cues really come in handy here, because they are clear, distinct,
consistent, and dog's tend to respond to them without reluctance.
Good luck.

On 3/14/14, Steven Johnson <blinddog3 at charter.net> wrote:
> Deanna, I have found that with all of my labs, who seemed to 
> mysteriously get lost in my yard, the simple command of, come, I need 
> your help, always works.  Of course voice inflection helps, but not in 
> an angry way, but enough to let them know you really need their help.  
> All 4 of my black labs have come up to me after running like wild 
> dogs, put their head down so I can grab their collar and  then I have 
> them lead me up the deck to the door with lots of praise of course.
>
> Steve
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Deanna 
> Lewis
> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 10:05 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> (nagdu at nfbnet.org)
> Subject: [nagdu] Off-leash recall.
>
> Hi,
> So all the talk about fenced in yards and off-leash recall got me 
> thinking that I really should be working on improving my dog's 
> off-leash recall. He is not bad, but sometimes, he gets sniffy and is 
> really stubborn and doesn't want to come back to me. His obedience is 
> good, but when he gets outside and more than 10 feet away, he likes to 
> poke around and I have to call his name several times.
> So, what are some good techniques for re-teaching a dog off leash recall?
> Any tips and tricks?
> I know some of you mentioned whistles, is there a specific type to 
> use, or will any kind do?
> Food? Clicker? Etc?
> Thank you.
> Deanna and Pascal
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--
Raven

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