Let The Games Begin!
This month's positive pet training hop subject is recall, I thought I had covered this issue when we had Jack our former foster but as I searched through my blog posts I realize that while yes I talked about it I didn't really explain to you guys how I did it. SO here goes!
In our experience of working with, training, and fostering dogs Jack holds a very special place in our hearts. He is extremely intelligent, and he was quite a training challenge due to his dumpster diving, counter surfing, and runaway issues. Jack was a bolter, and it took some creative genius, time, lots of patience and consistency between Dz Dog dad and myself to get him to where he is today.
Sneaky Jack slipped out the door on more than one occasion, a couple times he did it to me as I was getting ready for work - on a good note my boss was always laughing at the latest Jack shenanigans.
Step 1 with Jack was to pick up a very long lead line, we found a 100 foot leash that worked perfectly for our needs and the space we were using to train.
Recall Games
*Not all dogs are good candidates for being off-leash! It has to do with personality and training.*
The rule at our house is that if we have a dog that runs away or doesn't come when called then they do not get to be off-leash. In Jacks case, it took him 7 or 8 months before I could actually trust him to be off leash, and even then I wouldn't allow it unless I had a high value toy or treat to reward him with for coming when called.
Training With Jack
Baby Steps to Success -
- 100 foot leash
- Carabiner
- Bag of VERY HIGH VALUE treats
- Favorite toy
- Clicker if you want to use one