chasing recall

[Magz]

a web page that maybe of interest to some of you

[kendal]

i have been considering using a whistle for my two, i like the way the woman at the dogs dinner was talking about it being her brakes.
i think it would be more for Gypsy to try to stop her running back to my mum if i take her off on her own round the glen, as I'm scared she will run into a car.
_________________
microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk

[Suzanne H]

Might stop me looking like such a fool at puppy class calling back a dog who totally ignores me.

He's just too excited at the start and wants to play. MInd you would help if I used the command I used at home doh!

[Nicola]

I met a woman in the park a few months ago who uses a whistle for recalling her dog.

The reason she uses a whistle is because her dog is so easily excited and when he hears her voice for recall, he just runs round in circles! She has found that because the whistle isn't an emotional sound, and it's consistant, he comes back straight away and sits and looks at her.

[Suzanne H]

We have bought a whistle and will try it.

I think the problem at puppy class is he just gets too excited at the puppies at the start but does calm down and does other things.

When we're out, once he's got the scent of something the recall is pretty inconsistent. Ignores all toys, sometimes returns for a treat.

But to be fair to Otto, we've had a lot on recently so training outside the garden has been limited.

Must try harder - plus he's only 4 and a half months, sometimes forget because he's such a brute.

[Janice]

That was an interesting article.

I was trying to persuade Dale to leave a cat alone this morning. So far he hasn't had the chance to chase. I'm sure if ran when it saw him he'd have been off like a shot

I'm trying to develop a good distance down. Its sometimes easier to stop them that way and then recall once they've calmed down a bit. When do puppies grow up? One day he's great and the next .........
_________________
Janice and Dale

[Nicola]

My Molly was brought up with cats, so she's well used to them. In fact, on the first day we brought Molly home, Flossy (the cat) had her cornered! The cat hated Molly at first and we were quite anxious about it, but after about 4 months, Flossy and Molly were best pals and love to play on the stairs together. Flossy also loves sit on top of the wardrobe and torment Molly 'cos she knows Molly can't get at her!

There are also 2 big ginger toms who come in an out every day at my granda's. The bigger one, Thomas, is a big lump and is the same height as Molly, he likes to rub against Molly and purr. Molly loves this!

Not sure if I have any advice for you, Janice, it's always dogs and cats together we've had, and they've all been used to each other.

[Nicola]

[Ros]

Good article! Will try this too! I'm working on his eye contact!

[Suzanne H]

Well I managed to get Otto to halt in his tracks as he was tanking away from us to return to a lab he'd just met and come running back.

Almost fainted!

We took him away from his normal short-walk round the block up to a big meadow and kept him on the 10m lead throughout. Eleanor gave us a tip to drop the food either side of me so he had to think about it (assuming Ian picked that up right).

He was having a good run around on the long line, but was much more focused on us and came back every time - I think the long line helped and the area was relatively new to him, but he seemed to get what was required. A change of treat also seemed to work - some smoked sausage.

Just keep him on the long line for now I think.

[Janice]

Do you use the long line in woods? I've been using it with Dale but only in the fields. It seems to be working. I took him to the woods today without the line and he kept coming back. Though he still tries to climb trees after squirrels
_________________
Janice and Dale

[Suzanne H]

Not really been in the wood with it yet, just a few trees which ended in a bit of a tangle.

I think it just shows him what's expected of him - he can still run about but he just seems to pay more attention to us.

[Janice]

I just wondered because I worry about him getting caught in things and maybe getting hurt. One man told me it was dangerous to use a line
I'm scared to speak too soon but he's getting much better.
_________________
Janice and Dale

[Suzanne H]

We use it most to get him to run between us in a flat open space.

We have also used it to walk him in a meadow where it just skims over the grass. does get caught up sometimes, but he's not usually running in the trees, too busy sniffing so it's easily untangled.

If he runs off full pelt we do have to let it drop otherwise he'd hurt his neck, but as it's dragging behind him it does slow him down and it's easy to catch him again.

I think it works better with a harness, we just haven't got one yet as he's growing so fast. You get different lengths tho - we have a 10m one to give him more room to bounce.

But the difference in him when he's on it is remarkable - it's like he knows he's attached to us so pays more attention but still has room to move.

[kendal]

i have been using the whistle on my two for the past few days now and it is working well.
i started it with gypsy first as she is the one who pics things up faster, but it was Inca who cottoned on quick.
i used it today on the walk when my two went after a cyclist and they came back (that never happens)
so I'm dead chuffed
_________________
microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk