RECALL
I have just aquired a 12 month old english springer called Ozzie. He is great with my 3 year old son, people, travelling etc and recall when no other dogs are present. My problem arises when another dog is added to the mix, he becomes deaf and blind to me and just runs with the dog. I am afraid if another dog runs away or into the road etc he will follow.I desperatly need a guarenteed recall for his safety, my sanity and the sanity of all local dog owners. Any ideas?
Re RECALL
Having selective hearing seems to be a trait with springers (and possible all dogs) ,what I found with Wilson and Ruby is that they must want to come back to you ,ie make it a fun thing ,Wilson and Ruby love cheese so I always have a little ready for that special treat when we go out ,I also make them curious if I feel they are to interested in somthing else I wave arms make strange noises anything to attract there attention (you may look and sound silly but it works) even calling them and moving in the opposite direction ,they dont want to be left behind ... so with Ozzie I would start with maybe a little peice of cheese or somthing he does not usually get and even in the house or garden when he comes to you after you call him treat him with the special treat ,then move on to when there are no dogs around again lots of praise and that special recall treat ,when other dogs are around if you are not confident try Ozzie on a long lead and then call him ( you will still have some control with the lead ) he will soon realize that comming back to you gets him that special treat .With Wilson and Ruby ,Rubys comes straight back no problem , WIlson always has to have that extra few moments trying to show that he will come when he wants to but he comes back he does not want to miss out on what Ruby is being treated to , hope this helps
Paul
There is a section on recall on itsaspringthing.co.uk website , it is a very good site for springers take a look.... below is what they say about recall
This probably the most important thing you will teach your Springer so it is vital to get this one right. Most Springer’s are quite greedy and therefore food can be a great reward, if you don’t want to use food then a toy or a game and praise can be just as effective. To start with use just your voice and call your puppy whenever you have anything interesting at all, dinner, a toy, a treat, affection, anything positive. It is vital at this early stage that you don’t call your dog to you when you are going to chastise it, never make recall a negative, no matter how cross or frustrated you are if you call your dog then you must praise it for coming. How many people have you seen calling their dog that has been off chasing bunnies and then chastising it when it returns because it didn’t come back when called, however dogs don’t see it like that, they think they are being punished for coming back. Start to make your recalls more fun, hide in the house with a treat and call your dog, make your recall training a game at this early stage. Soon your puppy will come running whenever it hears its name.
Many Springer owners like to use a whistle to recall their dogs, I use one so that I am not shouting at the top of my voice to get my dogs attention. A simple training whistle available from pet shops, or a high pitched gundog whistle, whatever you prefer. Whistle training is the same as the name training, hang the whistle around your neck and give 3 pips whenever you have something fun for our puppy, start where the puppy can see you, once they associate the 3 pips with a reward you can start to hide around the house and blow your whistle, and then surprise your puppy with a toy or treat for finding you. At this early stage do not be tempted to let your puppy run free in the park, it is a great reward for your Springer to be off lead playing and it can therefore be difficult to get your puppies attention, and this can ruin your previous training as you can stand and call until you are blue in the face but your puppy has spotted somebody to play with.
Once your puppy has a 100% recall in the house, move out to the garden, and only once they are doing 100% of recalls in the gardens do you train in the park, first on a long lead, or extending lead, and again once you can get 100% of your recalls on the long lead, no matter what the distraction, then you can try your puppy off lead. If your puppy has no recall off lead then you have gone too fast, back track a few stages and work with distractions on the lead until you can be totally confident your puppy will come back - and remember great rewards achieve better results. The sooner you have a good recall the sooner your Springer puppy can exercise off lead and have some fun, this early off lead time is great to instil confidence, your puppy will be more likely to stay close and watch you, this will become more useful as your Springer develops and doesn’t stray too far. A lot of problems are caused by the dog always being on the lead, and when they are let off they are so excited they pay no attention to their owner, where they are going or what they are saying.
Be prepared for some moments when your puppy goes running off to play with another dog, and doesn’t hear your first time, just remember to stay positive, happy voice, and maybe try going in the opposite direction, calling the puppy, once they realise you are moving they are more likely to respond than if you try and catch them. If the puppy turns and runs back then praise them for coming back, don’t get cross for going off in the first place or you will undo all your precious training.
Some useful tips include hiding behind the nearest tree, causing your puppy to hunt for you, running in the opposite direction calling as you go, and carrying a high reward titbit for really good recalls, for example stopping during a chase and returning, make sure you make them know they did well.
If using a whistle don’t recall all the time for the sake of it because by the time it comes to an important recall from a distraction the dog will be fed up. Use a catch up call, come along, or something mine respond to is hey hey hey, gets them look see where you are but they don’t need to come right back, just catch up. If you always ask for a perfect recall your puppy will get easily bored, keep it interesting and varied but make sure your recall is spot on each time.
The rescue dog is much harder because quite often they will have little or no recall. Start as you would with a puppy, lots of rewards in the house, then into the garden, and only once you can do 100% long lead recalls in the park should you let your dog off lead.
Most importantly - do not chase your dog, they will only make a game of it, and do not correct your dog for coming back or they won’t bother next time.