Well, I had a very frustrating weekend with Ollie.

Saturday, we went to the lake. I was so excited since he loves the car, loves to go places, always behaves...and when hiking, really enjoys the streams. He HATED it. I did coax him out into the water, but he swiftly turned back to the bank. Not only did he not want to get in, he strongly protested my youngest son getting in the water by barking (I think?). I tried kayaking with him...he didn't like that either. The poor thing ended up tethered to a tree on a 50' leash on the water's edge. We took turns sitting with him, playing with and walking him. He had water and was in the shade, but he just sat and watched most of the time. (He did get a hotdog or two when we ate. He liked that part.)

Then, on Sunday I took him to a ballpark to run free and work on recall. I walked the perimeter to make sure there were no openings and latched all the gates. Then unleashed him. He paid me NO attention. I thought I'd let him run for a few minutes, then I'd start training with him, then play some ball. Well, he didn't even look at me when I called his name! At this point, it was pretty hot and he was panting pretty hard, so I leashed him, gave him so water and went back home.

I am sure I did a thousand things wrong in these two instances. Please, feel free to give me your input. Best way to introduce to swimming? How to get them to focus on you when they are ignoring you? He is perfect with every command in my home, and does very well outside in the yard with everything but recall. (He comes when called maybe 70% of the time but only on lead.)

I've been very consistant with marker training, excercise and everything. Am I expecting to much too soon? (I've had him since June 28th.) I don't expect him to know his commands perfectly, but I am having real trouble progressing to training with distractions and in publice places. I'm just...stuck.

I teach the recall using a long light line until I know they are as close to 100% as possible.

They don't get a chance to not obey me. That is a lesson I learned the hard way, I will never teach it any other way.

I am sure there will be other opinions, but I wouldn't take him off lead until his recall is very solid. You can work on distractions a little at a time.

Be sure,sure, sure he knows the command you are working with distractions on. Sounds like you have that part down ok.

I would go back to the yard and work on recall until it is as close to 100% as you can get. There is no room for error here, in IMO recall is extremely important........

have kids ride skate boards and play ball right in front of him...recall, if he doesn't turn and come correct. Hard enough to get his attention, WHEN HE DOES COME PRAISE, AND REWARD.

Repeat this exercise until he comes without hesitation. Then progess to distractions like wild life, cats, food.

You can throw food down, let him start eating and give the recall command, if he doesn't stop eating and come, give a swift correction. Again, match to his temperament, hard or soft, and reward when he does come. Repeat.

Then progess to ball fields, etc.

IMHO I will say again, that I would not take him off leash until recall is 100%. Because in Training, I would never give a command I could not enforce.

When a dog is off leash, you cannot deliver a consequence for disobedience, thus teaching him he doesn't have to mind.

Not to mention the safety aspect of off-leash rituals.

Thanks......

Leerburg has some great DVD's on this.....basic obedience, etc. you should purchase them and watch...they are truly great!

P.S. on the hiking issue.... how old is your dog.....is he going through a fear period?

Good Luck!!!

I didn't really expect him to be reliable, but I thought he might look my direction...LOL. I felt pretty pathetic and incompetent. LOL. He watches every move I make usually and is very attentive.
Not yesterday!

Lori, I think you're right about not taking him off leash even in an enclosed area until his recall is stronger. I guess I learned that the hard way.

He is approximately one year. (a rescue so not sure.)

He does well hiking. THe Lake was the issue. I didn't word that properly.



Edited by Janet Foley (08/09/2010 09:47 AM)
Edit reason: to clearify

Janet,
When you're inside or in your yard YOU are interesting to the dog because there are few outside distractions. When you are in a new exciting ball field smells, sights, and sounds are likely to be much more exciting than you are.

Depending on your dog's drives, you can use food, ball, tug, teaser toy (stuffed dog toy and a rope works great for my boy) and attention/training to keep yourself interesting and encourage your dog to interact with you even when distracted by outside stimulation.

I'm not sure how much off leash time your dog has had outside of the confines or yard or home. If he's had very little, it's not surprising that being free to roam in a new place was super exciting and he really wasn't interested in paying attention to you. This can be changed, but not overnight.

When I did my first 'trial walk' with my pound rescued dog, he was so busy sniffing, and pulling, and so uninterested in me I nearly didn't adopt him. It took an hour run on trails before he was able to settle and pay attention to the person on the other end of the lead. The outside world was just too stimulating. Treats, praise, attention, a good game of tug, tennis balls, sticks, whatever is a high priority for your dog will help make you something worth paying attention too. And, as the others have mentioned, a long line is a must in all but the later stages of recall training.

As far as the lake experience goes, it may have been just too overwhelming. You've only had the dog a month or so. He may have never seen a lake before. I'd say take it slow with introducing him to new things.

One final note, I've noticed my dogs are much less inclined to care about any form of training when they are hot. Full sun in West Virginia with the humidity can temporarily subdue any dog's drives. If possible, try to take him out early morning or late evening, when the sun is not so intense.

Keep training sessions short and don't introduce too many new things at a time. I think you're doing a great job so far with your new dog. Remember that a reliable recall is (in my opinion) the toughest command to teach.

I've found corrections to be generally ill advised when starting to teach the recall. What's worked well for me is to frequently call my dogs to me throughout the day, when in the house, and then treat, praise and play (have a party). This was first enforced with a long line (to make the dog comply, but not to administer any form of correction), but that is no longer necessary. It seems simple, but this in-house recall training has tranferred well to outdoor recall with distractions.

Does he do well hiking off leash?

Edited by Kiersten Lippman (08/09/2010 10:25 AM)
Edit reason: New reply from poster about dog's age

It can be a powerless feeling ) I have learned some lessons the hard way as well!!

An E-collar might be something to look into in the future if you plan on hiking off leash etc. I would learn how to properly use the collar desensitize, etc.

I think if you back up a bit and introduce distractions incrementally, you will be great!! Also, each dog is different, so make the distractions increase in intensity according to what your dog finds irresistable.

Sometimes, we don't always end up with the dog we wanted, but in time we find out it was the dog we NEEDED!....

Best of luck!! Please keep us posted as to how he progresses

Kristen,

I agree with corrections on any command to soon. In case I wasn't clear, let me re-emphasize, BE SURE HE KNOWS what COME means....

It is never a good idea to correct on any command in the beginning stages of training.

I understood the OP to have 100% without distractions...that means he does know what come means.....If I misunderstood his level of training....I apologize, but ONLY correct if the dog knows the command.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention....

THanks for all of the encouragement. It truly helps.

Kiersten, I have not had him off leash hiking for fear I'll lose him. On leash, he does beautifully...just an occasional pull when he sees a critter. The ball field was really the first time off a leash or long tether ever...except in the house.

Lori, The poor little guy...I don't mean to sound frustrated with him. He is great...comes to work with me and is great with my kids. THe frustration is with myself and lack of experience. I don't know what I'd do without this forum!

THank you for all the advice. I will put into practice. I'm a little hesitant to start with an E-collar for lack of experience on my part, but I will have to just get the DVD from Leerburg and learn!

Janet,

You are doing great!! You are willing to take advice and put it into practice. You are also very interested in getting your pet out and about ....IMO that is to be commended!!

On the e-collar.....That is just something to think about down the road a little....I don't think it would be beneficial at all now.

Just something on the horizon.... when you are ready to hike with him off leash, etc.

Happy Training,