Not coming

[DogPile]

Okay. I've read some of the threads on recall. Joe comes when called in the dog park (90% of the time) and at home, but when we walk on the off leash trail behind our house, his obedience drops to about 60% if he sees another dog. He's fine if he sees people, or if he's alone with me. He'll follow other dogs, and won't even run after me if I keep walking (I tried this, and it works sometimes, but not always). If I walk over, he'll let me take his collar. I then walk him to the spot where I called him from, and wait for the "distraction" to go. If I then let him off the leash, he'll stay with me and keep walking again. He's 6 months old. He walks well most of the time on his leash (unless he sees another dog, then he'll pull). He also seems to be going through a stubborn phase right now, when I know he's purposefully ignoring me (staring blankly at me when I call him, or looking and then going back to play). We've been VERY consistent in his training, always stopping the walk when he pulls, and always bringing him to where he was called from if he doesn't listen. Is this a phase, and do you find boxers mature to recall a little slower due to their extended puppyhood. He has been to puppy kindergarten and is due for obedience training in January. Sorry this is long, but I don't want to mess up his training since he's doing so well in most areas.

 

[gmacleod]

Well at six months old your boy is about to enter his adolescent phase, so you might find that the 60% starts to drop a little bit. *If* that happens then it would be wise to keep him on leash (or long line) until after the adolescent phase has passed (about a year old). It is a time notorious for 'deaf' dogs and complete ignoring of any previous training...

So yes, there are phases pups go through - but you're just at the very beginning of the 'worst' one. So it may get worse before it gets better.

The trick though, to really training an effective recall is for YOU and coming when you call to be the most rewarding thing out there for your dog. That is not easy with an adolescent, hence the long-line advice. But it's still something to work on. Obviously you can never scold your dog when it does come to you, but in fact to teach recall properly, you have to go further and make coming when called the best thing to happen in your dog's day. So when he comes, go overboard in excited parise, games like tug, and treats if that's what turns your dog on. But also minimise his opportunities to get things wrong. Sounds labour intensive, but it really is worth the effort put in at this stage

More info available if you do a search on 'recall'.

 

[DogPile]

Thanks for the response. We do treat him (and NEVER punish him when he finally does come). We get really excited when he comes, he just seems more interested in other dogs right now (even though he gets daily play with other dogs, and a whole day at doggy daycare once a week). I've found that if he's hungry when we walk him, he's more obedient, because he wants a treat reward (this seems to be the one thing that motivates him...don't worry, we feed him mainly his own kibble, and deduct the calories from his daily allowance). Hopefully he'll grow out of this eventually.