Nevermind.

 Quote: tim curtis

 Quote: tim curtis

Curious though, is there a protocol other than "come" for recall when your dog is gone, out of sight?

Fully understand the points regarding not using recall unless it can be enforced, and maintaining on-leash/control until recall is solid. I definately practice that since the deer chasing.

But a gone dog is a valid scenario. Rare perhaps. I'm just wondering if there is any standard procedure that people use when this happens.

It's hard to find a standard procedure for an emergency, but practice and reinforcement will help things become natural for you and your dog. Practicing Emergency downs and having a couple other highly reinforced cue words will help something be natural to you and your dog should an emergency arise.

 Quote: Lauren Jeffery

I once saw a woman chase her dog across a park, hand high it the air, clicking a clicker! That was a sight to behold.

For some reason, I've encountered multiple people who seem to think that dog whistles and clickers work on some sort of magical principle. As in, dogs just love the sound so much, that *sound* is actually what is motivating them to do things.

They don't understand that the dog has been taught to associate the sound with anything. Dogs just love to hear clicks, and will do anything to hear them, apparently.

I can sort of understand why people think that way about clickers.

Like you were saying about having a squeaky toy to attract the dog. For months I walked around with a bad cuz in my pocket. It instantly, almost without fail, would get the puppys attention.

They just don't get the concepts of condtioning. They think its the squeak. Its really the squeak being associated with the ball, and the ball being more prey like because of the squeak.

The squeak without the ball would not be likely to have the same effect over time.

That's why we are lucky to have leerburg.

Olivia, I feel really bad about what happened to you with Vadar and I'm glad things turned out well in the end.

The one good thing about this thread i,s it gives me some great training tips for my new puppy I'm picking up next week.

Olivia, Just wanted to say that I'm hoping all went well for you and your child today... I know this is a stressful time. Hang in there.

Wow...thank you all SO much for all the replies and support! Yesterday was a nightmare but I'm thankful to report that my baby is doing great and is at home now resting and having very minimal pain. He is expected to make a full and speedy recovery.

As for Vader, I realize now that getting rid of him is not an option. I also know that we have a lot of work to do, but I'm willing to do it because he's worth that much to me and my family. I don't know what happened yesterday morning. What bothers me is that he acted like he was spooked and even fearful of me trying to catch him. Looking back though, I think his nervousness was more related to the situation. He's never been off leash like that..let alone in the dark and the rain. Thinking back, he was acting spooked and nervous about everything..even when I walked the other way, he was jumpy while smelling things and seemed on edge. I did trying running away and calling to him in a playful voice which usually engages his prey drive, but he ignored even that attempt. I'm trying not to take it personally that he didn't come to me and I know that I have never over corrected him in a way that would make him fear me. He had two owners briefly before me, so I can't attest to how they handled him, but personally I know that he has no reason to fear me. He now wears a prong collar every time we go out and I won't make the stupid mistake of attaching his leash to his regular looser collar again. I'm going to go through more formal obedience with him soon and hopefully work through our issues. Thanks again everyone...I was honestly expecting to be attacked for what happened. It was clearly my mistake and I am prepared to fix it however possible

Great to hear your baby's ok and that you've decided to keep Vader, I'm sure you're doing a good job with him sometimes dogs just do odd things in new circumstances, like you said off leash outside in the dark and rain!

Vader's age is notorious for this sort of thing...you just need to carefully manage through it. A good friend, and fellow Briard breeder, actually wrote an article about it, which we include in our puppy packets. It's titled, "The Seven Month Stupids".

Basically, your wonderful, well-behaved, seemingly-trained dog becomes a deaf, insane mess.

It's a time when many dogs are brought to the pound. The cute little puppy has become an uncooperative, destructive sod. It's quite temporary though....patience and good management will get you through.

Tracy

Glad to hear your little one is doing well. And I'm glad to hear you're keeping Vader. My 18 mos old Mal can be a pain some times, too, but he's worth every minute of testing he gives me. It teaches me to figure out something new for him and to figure out what I'm doing wrong (cause that's usually the cause in my case). We're both still learning but it's worth everything I'm putting in to it.