Recall around other dogs

[Art24]

Hello all,

This is my first post however I have enjoyed reading your helpful information over the past year and was hoping for some help.


I am the proud owner of Ettie, a 13 month old Boston terrier who is absolutely incredible. We've had her since she was 12 weeks old and she was remarkably easy to toilet train, teach (some!) obedience and lead break. Ettie was a very shy puppy when we got her, we did our best to socialise her with other friendly dogs from the get go, however we lived in a bit of a rough area and so a lot of the dogs (Staffordshire bull terriers) were quite aggressive so we had to be careful


In the last 4 months we moved to a much nicer area with a beautiful park and friendly dogs. She even has a couple of fellow boston terrorists who she is very friendly with. Our problem is when we let her off the lead and there are other dogs around, her recall is terrible. She point blank refuses to come back, will chase another dog who is on the other side of a field and want to play (whether they do or not.) She is always very friendly with them but some owners take it better than others. My major concern is the lack of control we have when other dogs or cats are around- if one ran unto the road she would follow suite.
We have tried various interventions to work on recall- treats when she comes back and there' are no other dogs around, working on distance in the field, diatraction techniques by making noises/ bringing her favourite squeaky toy but all have been futile.

Ettie gets a lot of exercise, I bring her for an 'on lead' structured hour long walk in the morning, where she has short bursts of off lead runs and then we being her for another 2 walks in the evening where we let her off the lead to play with other dogs. she acts very giddily when she meets other dogs when she is on lead- pulls, spins round, jumps at them. We considered getting another dog for companionship, but not sure that is the answer.

I know she is only young but I'm so scared something will happen to her if we don't gain some amount of control. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. We are very open to suggestions/criticisms.


Many thanks in advance!

[Art24]

Forgot to mention- we've also tried long lead and short lead training. We obviously use a harness on her too. Thanks!

[Ari_RR]

Hi

If you get another dog - you will likely end up with 2 dogs with bad recall!
Nah, the only reason for a second dog is that you (humans) want it, and want it so much that you are willing to spend a lot more time and effort training them (and quite a bit more money too).

Recall - well, if you search the forum you may find some good advice.. Or experts will comment.
My 2 cents (and I claim no success in training reliable recall with my own dog) - for the near future she needs to stay on leash. Every time she runs away, you call her and she ignores it - it's a set back, pushing you further and further away from solving this. By now I think she's learned that your calling her is basically noise, at best announcing that there are some treats if she wants them, so coming back is optional. So you need a full reset, where coming back becomes the only choice she makes, and a habit. Which means - staying on long leash, staying away from dogs, practicing recall with no no distractions, getting it bulletproof, then with dogs in a distance, etc.

This doesn't mean no off leash time. But - off leash time where/when it's safe for her to be off leash (like in a back yard with some friendly dogs that you know), and don't call her unless you are sure that she will come back... When its time to go - walk over and get her.

Also, keep in mind - the older she gets, the less interest she will probably have in other dogs...

And - look for better treats when practicing recall with her. If need be - carry a portable grill with you and grill entrecôte for her! (seriously, resisting the pull of other dogs is hard! It needs a monster reward, not just a treat)

[vix86]

I have this same issue. My mini schnauzer, who ive rescued, ive had for about 3 months now. Hes never had walks and stability. Ive been reading posts on here and practicing recall which works when there are no dogs around.when there are...i havent a hope in hell he is very food motiviated and chicken is by far, for me the best insentive for him to come back, but it is hard work especially as he is an older dog, well hes 5 but im putting his fixation on other dogs being the fact hes never been walked until he came to me and never been sociallised

Good luck with your training

[Art24]

Thanks for your help, I just am really struggling with her giddiness with every dog we meet, even when she's on a leas. She feels like she's got a self entitlement to meet and great every dog and drag me with her. Not sure what will be the end of it but ivegot a bad feeling she'll end up injured or worst. I will persist with my treats.

[vix86]

I have Dexter on a half check chain to kerb his pulling and lunging at cars but when he sees another dog he strains so much he gags because he can't catch his breath and barks constantly which is so flipping annoying. I'm still working on his recall and calmness with other dogs. He's so friendly when he's around them and all he wants is to say hello but like you said he 'will probably come off worse' and he just goes charging over even though the other dog might not be friendly but he doesn't care and doesn't listen. He's been told off by a few dogs but he doesn't pay any attention it makes him more determined to play so he barks at them more. I'm sure he has a screw loose I'd defo go with food rewards, that works for me

I work as a nanny and the kids I look after have been helping me train him by creating loud distractions in a park near us to help me keep his focus, and my friends with dogs have stood in a field for a while whilst I walk back and forth towards them to teach him carrying on means he walks further away.

Good luck with it. I know what your going through

[Art24]

I want to cry. Just had an awful experience in the park where we were playing frisbee in the field where no other dogs were, when I called her back she ran away, kept running and I had to trick her into letting me catch her after about 40 minutes of trying to get her back on the lead. Help.

[katej215]

Art24, I feel your pain!!! I'm no expert but I do have a 2yr old fox terrier whom i've had since a pup, and have been through a recall journey with her...which we're still not at the end of, I hasten to add..We have had some 'highs' ..like a beautiful recall away from running sheep! and some 'lows' like the other day when straight out of the sea she terrrierised some sunbathers, and the only way i could get her attention was to throw a stone in the sea, and as she ran in i caught her and had to carry my dripping wet terrier off the beach!!

I think Ari's advice is spot on, and really think your girl needs to stay on a long line until you've built a better recall...I honestly believe each time they get an opportunity to ignore you you're taking a big step backwards..

I think you will see small improvements as your dog matures, Hattie no longer is interested in running the length of a field to say hi to a dog, I also think the more training you do at home and on walks builds that bond between you and you start to notice the effects spilling over into every day life..

Emmabeth has written some great stuff on building a recall, definately worth a look through to see if you can find it..

The bits of advice that always stick in my mind are..

You need to work out how you can make yourself the most exciting thing ever when you are out on walks..not easy!
including having the best recall treats ever, cheese, smoked sausage ..whatever it takes..wait till you've got a flicker of your dogs attention before you call them back, you're just devalueing your recall by calling and calling when you know your dog is 'elsewhere' act like a complete loon if you need to..squeal, roll around on the floor..pretend to run off..whatever it takes, but you need that flicker of attention first..

The other thing is, the reward needs to be equal to the task...you're asking your dog to do something pretty special here, ..you need to be OTT with the treats till you see some improvements..

[mum24dog]

15 years ago I adopted a semi feral 12 month old lurcher and boy was it difficult to get him to recall, but we got there in the end, although I always had to be alert to things on the horizon that he might find more interesting than coming back and take preemptive action by getting him back before whatever it was got close enough to attract him.

I totally agree with those who have advised not letting her get the opportunity to ignore you - keep her on lead if he might run off.

However, I was able to let my dog run free in a small safe field by allowing him to form a friendship with another dog that would come when called. Result - they both returned together and I had the opportunity to reward him like crazy.

[jodieohdoh]

Yep it seems to be something every dog owner goes through. My ginger fuzzball Ruaraidh will come happily trotting back as long as he's not focused on something else - getting his attention involves rustling the bag I keep his ball in, walking away in the other direction (or running noisily), shouting WHAT'S THIS! and waving treats, anything that will break his focus. And it doesn't always work. Work in progress Because I know he won't always come back, he is on a long, long lead which he trails around behind him in the field where we walk. This morning, he spotted a rabbit and was off like a streak of lightning before I managed to even think about saying his name! Those rabbits, they can't half shift! Dogs too, as it happens. Me, not so much!! Luckily the rabbit lost the dog and I managed to collar him when he was sniffing around trying to find it. If he hadn't had the long line on him I would still be there now, running around after him

The question is, is there anything funner than bunnies...?

[vix86]

The trouble I have with Dexter is that as soon as we go out he's in 'tracking' mode and I struggle to gain his focus. However I have just bought a training whistle which snaps him out of his tracking mode and he looks at me then for direction as sometimes I can have walked down a different path and he's gone the opposite way following something very interesting I haven't tested this when he's focussed on other dogs or people yet but I'm hoping that he will learn that the whistle means listen for command. Which so far is working.

[katej215]

The question is, is there anything funner than bunnies...?

yup...sunbathers and toddlers with ice cream

[DianeLDL]

The question is, is there anything funner than bunnies...?

yup...sunbathers and toddlers with ice cream

In Albuquerque, it is prairie dogs who pop up and down into their numerous holes.

Diane

[hannahkyle]

Hi, I can't say that my 19 week puppy has great recall but we are getting there slowly, sometimes he will come back from another dog no problem other times he won't. We try to let him off when we know there are no roads close by, we use a dog whistle and his treat for coming back is chicken. He never has chicken any other time so it is a very high value treat. We have found that if we run in the opposite direction he will follow and we have also tried hiding behind trees etc so he almost gets scared by us not being there, he definitely rushes to us when he can't see us! Keep trying you will get there!