Returning on command (when outside)

[BaileyRM]

Hi guys.

Just wondered if anyone had any useful tips I could try to get Bailey to return to me on command when we are out walking.

He is 10 months now and very good with all of his commands when we are at home. He sits, waits, comes back when we are in the garden and knows when we are and are not playing. Once we get into the field by my house and I let him off his lead the games begin. He never runs off and will just run in circles around me while I walk our usual route. It's at the end though when I tell him to return so I can put his lead back on he just starts the game of getting as close as possible without being caught.

I understand if I turn it into a game by chasing him he'll never return but I stay quite still and order him to me, he just doesn'ty play ball.

The usual ending to this is him seeing another dog, running over to them and having a play, at this point the other dog owner holds his collar for me. Im just worried that one time he is going to see a cat/dog/squirrel out of the field and over the busy main road and is going to go after it.

Any advice would be great.

Thank you.

Ricky

 

[TwoDogs]

It sounds like he's learned that leashing up equals end of fun. Change your routine--periodically call him to you, reward him well, leash him up, reward him again, then unleash him and let him go again and continue with the walk. If you do this often, then leashing will not equal end of fun, instead it will equal great reward and the ability to continue fun. Then the few times you truely need to leash him up at the end won't be such a big deal.

You may have to start smaller and just call him back over a distance of 2-4 feet from you. If he really thinks the leash means the end, you might need to start with just pulling the leash from your pocket after you've called him, rewarding him, and letting him go again. If he truely doesn't want to come near you when you have the leash, you might need to start by having him leashed, ask for a sit, unleash him but don't release him, reward him, re-leash him, reward him again, unleash him and then let him go.

Dogs are great discriminators. They pick up on the subtle differences between types of recalls. Recalls with a leash in hand predict one thing, recalls where you reach in your pocket predict another, recalls where you reach for their collar predict another, and recalls at certain locations predict yet another. Vary your pattern, don't be predictable, incorporate all the different environmental factors into your recalls in a random way and always reward the dog well and you will see his response get more reliable.

 

[BaileyRM]

Hi TwoDogs

Thanks for your reply. Just an update really. I tried the steps you mentioned and after a little bit of convincing it is working a treat (so to speak).

I'm able to call Bailey back with the treat visible and he'll come and sit and let me leash him, have the treat then walk for a minute or two before being released and going on another charge. We do it 5 or 6 times each walk and come the end he is happy to be leashed back up and we can make our way home.

Not had an encounter with another dog yet and I don't see the treat having the same effect when he does spot a potential play buddy, but this I expect and I'll just have to make sure i'm a bit more alert than Bailey is and get him leashed before he spots it.

Thanks again for your comments, been a big help.

Ricky