What reinforcer is strong enough to bring a spaniel back from the woods?

[SoupDragon]

Because what works for training at home holds no interest when out. Cheese, pepperami, ham, standard dog treats... all wolfed with glee at home but spat out or ignored when out.

I can't let him off lead at all because he won't come back. He shows no interest in the treats when on the lead and I try to reward him for coming back.

I am not cooking him liver cake!

I want a rabbit skinned tuggie! well Maggie does if the truth be told

strapon bushy tails with stagbar antlers as headgear - that should do it !

Anything but liver cake

"hide from your dog". He honestly couldn't give a stuff about me. He regularly goes AWOL from the garden and I have, on occasion, found him scoffing digestive biscuits in a neighbours kitchen. With the neighbours. he has also been found bouncing on a distant neighboures bed FFS. Whilst they we're in it. Thankfully, they were dog people.

What do you do with the long line? I do have one. Do you let it trail along the ground?? I can't see it being practical as he goes off into the undergrowth, even on the extending lead it is a nightmare untangling him from trees (although he's learnt to come back the way he went in:)) I have visions of him hightailing it off into the woods, with me unable to follow... He is magnificent in the woods, bounding over trees (fallen ones!) and weaving about. He deserves to be off lead. Not sure how I make myself more exciting than "all that stuff! Look at all that stuff! OMG! A Tree! Look there! No There! No THERE!" but I can look a complete twat try.

He is a cocker spaniel. I am currently thanking my lucky stars that I missed out on the working cocker puppy and ended up with a show type. Still, at least when people find him they think he's gorgeous.

Not sure if I can try anything much tomorrow as I have to walk him around fields of horses - hugely inappropriate for a poorly trained dog!

Thanks.

Eek SoupDragon - He sounds very scary. My Springer fortunately worships the ground I walk on (and his attachment has grown stronger as the years have passed) so unless he is on a duck hunt he usually comes back.

I feel your pain though. And mine started dog on dog aggression 18months ago so now I have to recall him every time I see another dog.

Walking him is often very stressful

Snort at him bouncing on your neighbour's bed.

To be fair, I think he does love me, he follows me round the house and is always delighted to see me. Although he is delighted to see anyone, it is clear he is "my" dog. He's not scary, he is, er, over friendly. And bouncy.

I only found out about the neighbours bed weeks afterwards. They just posted him back over the fence into my garden (he likes to play with their Berenese Mountain Dog). Bizarrely, he won't set foot in my bedroom.

I do think he likes potential ducks more than me though.

YAY[GRIN]

Am loving the 3 in a bed scenario

We had an escaping dog, he was a rescue dog. Helpful friends suggested it was because he wasn't being walked enough, but he really just liked escaping and the thrill of a wander by himself. We put chicken wire around every conceivable means of escape, yet still he was Houdini dog.

Now he's so old he can barely walk but still a lovely old thing, just snores and farts alot.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make about the escaping was that he just always wanted to know what was on the other side of a fence. Life must be more exciting than being at home with us even though he was walked regularly. So, I think he was just an escaping dog. Whenever we went out we ended up always taking the dog and this helped a little.

Now he doesn't even want to leave the garden gate. He also had selective hearing and managed to come home when it suited him.