Teaching recall around other dogs

[adaline]

Hello, I'm after some advice! We have an 11 month old beagle who recalls fine unless he sees another dog, in which case I stand absolutely no chance of getting him back. If I see another dog/person in the distance I put him on his lead but he often spots them before I do [embarrassed]

How on earth do I make myself more interesting than other dogs?! Lots of dogs here are friendly and he can go and play but he doesn't seem to notice a difference between on and off-lead dogs - he'll run up to any of them if he's off lead and he just won't come back to me no matter what I do.

We don't have any enclosed fields around here for me to take him for a run-around either so that's not really a practical option either :(

[Nottheduchessofcambridge]

No help at all from me and my two naughtie pooches! Just marking my place for tips.

[missbattenburg]

I'll just hang around casually here, looking like I'm not really interested but taking notes all the same...

[adaline]

I am so glad it's not just me

I read threads on here where people's dogs all have completely perfect recall and it does make me feel a bit shit sometimes! I know he'll never have perfect recall (being a scent hound) but we meet others who happily come back when called so I know it's possible I just want to know how?!

[BiteyShark]

Yours is at a difficult age. Mine isn't interested in other dogs now but if you had seen me when he was around 9 months of age it was very very different.

I don't really know much about beagles to understand what makes them tick so hard to advise. Is he food motivated? Toy motivated?

[Bunnybigears]

Shamelessly posting juat to find out the answer. I couls have written your poat except replace 11 month old Beagle with random mongrel with undetermined age.

[adaline]

He's definitely food motivated but if there's another dog around it doesn't seem to make a difference what food I have, he's just not interested, even if he's come back 10 times in the last half an hour with no problems!

I always knew recall would be a struggle with him being a scent-hound but it's still really frustrating. I see other dogs running free and he wants to join but I just know he won't come back if I let him off. So I'm torn - he stays on lead and gets frustrated (and I get told to let him off by well-meaning owners) or he goes off and plays and then I get told off because his recall is poor!

How old is yours @BiteyShark and when did you see a change in his behaviour around other dogs?

[Cherylshaw]

The best thing to do is recall-relay, when you go out to the park find an area that is not right next to other dogs but close enough he can see them. Have a pouch of thick sliced hot dog sausages, take him off the lead with the cut up sausage under his nose and gently roll it along the ground Infront of him when he gets it instantly call his name in a high pitched happy voice showing him the next bit of hotdog giving him a bit when he comes back and do over going a little further each time. If you are using a clicker (which I would recommend) click as soon as he is back to you. As soon as he gets the hang of it you can start to ask him to sit when he comes back to you. If you do that each time you are out when ever he hears your fun high-pitched voice he will remember the sausage lol. This works really well if your dog is food driven if not you can use a squeeky toy and a lot off fuss when he comes back to you

[BiteyShark]

Mine is now over 2 years old but his recall started to come back at around 1 year old. I commented on this thread about what I did and why we now have recall www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3472376-How-can-I-improve-my-puppys-recall

I found that a ball is the best thing in the world and if he knows I have one on me then I am ok (god help me if I ever forget it). I understand beagles can be stubborn and difficult with recall so don't really know what makes them tick.

My dog does get to play with other dogs at daycare on a regular basis so I don't know if that helps as well as he gets his 'doggy play fix' just not with me.

[Cherylshaw]

You shouldn't let your dog off if your recall isn't 100% you don't want either of you getting into trouble

[BiteyShark]

Also try with a whistle for recall if you don't already. They aren't daft and can read your voice on whether you are stressed, worried or annoyed and I find a whistle takes all the 'emotion' out of it as well as travelling far away.

[adaline]

My dog does get to play with other dogs at daycare on a regular basis so I don't know if that helps as well as he gets his 'doggy play fix' just not with me.

That might explain it - he normally goes to daycare but my husband was off for the holidays so he's not been in about three weeks! He starts back tomorrow so maybe things will change a bit then! I know he has doggy friends there and he loves running around with them.