Someone recently asked a question about working with a high energy dog on coming when she is called at the dog park - here is my reply:
There are lots of things you can do with this. My special children all go 100 miles an hour all the time, so I practice, practice, practice. There is definitely a benefit to starting with the dogs name, but does your dog know that when you say her name you want her to look at you, or are you just lovely background noise? That’s where I would start, teach her, at home, in a non-distracting environment to look at you when you say her name. If she’s a ball fiend teach her that to get her ball she must look at you first. Timing is everything here, that ball needs to fly the instant she makes eye contact - you’re basically doing clicker training only with the word yes and the ball. As soon as she looks at you, say yes and toss that ball. It has to happen fast though, or she’ll get frustrated. I wouldn’t start with the ball, as it’ll spin her up too quick. I’d start working this exercise with her dinner, one piece of kibble at a time for looking at you. If you get five or six looks, then give her the bowl.
Once you’ve got her head snapping around to stare at you when you say her name, getting a recall is much easier. One big thing to avoid - don’t repeatedly call her and get frustrated. Call her once, then head out of the park. Don’t nag, she’ll just learn to ignore you. I practice recalls in the dog park, during walks, at home, whenever I think about it. If your dog is learning that you only call her when it’s time to leave the park, of course she’s going to ignore you - who wants to leave? So if treats aren’t working in that environment, bring a squeaky tug toy, call her, play with the toy for a minute - don’t let her keep it, just tug for a few seconds, and then let her go play again. The idea you want to get across is “I’m going to call you and you should come play with me, get a treat, and then you get to run again.” When we play chuck it, I take multiple tennis balls, and the game is each dog has to come in, drop their ball, and go all the way around behind me while I throw the next, this brings them all the way to me, and eliminates the dancing around 10 feet out. I also will run them through some random obedience - maybe a sit or a down, and as soon as they do it I throw the ball - I mean, their butt hits the ground, that ball flies. It builds speed in obedience, and keep them on their toes because they never know when I’m going to ask for a simple “Around”, or maybe get them with a “Heel” or a “Down”. With recalls, the more you practice, the better they will be. Take her to a non dog park area with some room, put her on a long line (20 feet or so) and let her just hang out, get distracted, and then call her - this way you can follow through with the leash (reel her in like a fish, happily encouraging her the whole time), and make her come to you. I also tell me dogs to “Come” when I feed them breakfast and dinner - come always means happy things - food, play, cuddles, NEVER anything bad like nail trims, getting in trouble, or leaving the dog park.
The biggest mistake I see clients make is giving the dog really confusing body language and not giving the dog a clear command. I will tell them to call their dog - “Fido, Come” - crisp and clear, and they will then say “hey, hey, c’mon, c’mere, Fido buddy, c’mere” in a quiet, “I don’t really expect this to work” voice and that sounds completely different to the dog. If you call them like you actually expect them to come, and that you’re happy about it, the dog will pick up on that. “oh, mom wants me.” If you don’t expect them to come, that will reflect in your voice and your dog will blow you off. Also, watch your body language - dogs run from things that chase them, and chase things that run from them. So, I back up and invite the dog into my space. I don’t head towards them, angry, waving my leash around. I back up, lean back instead of over the dog, and I generally have one leg further back than the other, giving the dog a nice target space to head for. Legs together equals a wall in a dog’s mind and they won’t come as close.
Practice at home, practice on leash, practice in areas where you know your dog can succeed before you call her at the park. While you are re-training the “come” command, if you want to get her at the park, say something else like “let’s go for a ride, or let’s get dinner,” or a ball, or whatever makes her happy. The last thing you want is for your dog to practice ignoring you - practice makes perfect, and every time she ignores the word “Come”, she is getting better at not coming!!
I hope this helps, I have lots more advice, if you don’t mind the long posts, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned over the years.
Posted on September 7th, 2007 by michelle
Filed under: Training
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