[nagdu] Off-leash recall.

Sun Mar 16 17:32:05 UTC 2014

Hello!

Would not some kind of whistle be best, especially if you and the dog a wide
-open space such as a field or in the woods?

Toni

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 11:16 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Off-leash recall.

Nicole,
My point about the change in voice was that it is usually a deterrent for
the dog. How many times have you seen someone screaming their dog's name,
but their dog does not come to them? How many times have you seen people
call their dog's name in anger, and their dog doesn't come?
This is why sound cues can be more reliable, because their is no tone or
emotion to create stress in a dog, which could cause them to keep away from
you. A squeaky toy is perfect because like a click, snap of the finger, or
whistle, it is a clear, distinct sound that your dog will respond to most of
the time, if not always.
Also, the goal with the recall is to avoid repeating yourself. There's no
need for counting or even calling several times. Teach the dog to understand
that they need to come the first time they hear the sound, not after a few
times. If a dog only responds after being called more than once, this is
likely because the dog has been inadvertently trained to do so.
Also, with the off-leash recall I'm describing, I am more focused on
building the recall outside. Yes, start inside. When a dog is sleeping or
comfortable indoors, that's different. Yes, sometimes a dog doesn't hear
you. That's another reason why a sound cue tends to work better than a
verbal cue at a distance.
When building the recall outside, the dog doesn't always see or smell the
food you have. An excited voice or squeaky toy is perfect when a dog is
distracted by their environment. Will a dog know you have food when he's
making a mad dash across the park? Probably not. Will he recognize your
excited voice, the snap of your fingers, or a squeaky toy? Definitely.
The purpose of the off-leash recall is to get your dog's attention and
coming back to you when they are at a distance. Whether your dog is across
the hall, across the yard, or across an athletic field, you want to make
sure that your dog has learned to respond to your cues and will return to
you without playing games or reluctance.
A girlfriend of mine could not train her guide dog to do a reliable recall
for the life of her. She could call and call this dog in every voice, and
that dog would take forever to respond, or just decide to play keep away. My
friend decided to use my sound cue method. She can't snap her fingers as
loud as I can, but she had the box clicker, so she uses that. Her guide dog
responds to it immediately.

On 3/15/14, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> 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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--
Raven

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