training off the lead tips please

[conistonoldwoman]

Want to prepare 18 week old cocker spaniel for off the lead exercise.
Any advice welcome. Thank you!

Generally it is better to get your dog off lead at a young an age as possible. They tend to follow you like ducklings when they are small (although there are always exceptions!)

Make sure you let them off in a secure area that is safe and they can not escape have a pocket full of the best treats ever or the most squeakist ball.

When you call the dog run in the opposite direction squeaking ball and when he arrives give him the yummiest treat ever.

If your recall is not great then stick to the above on a long line.

Thank you!
It never occured to us to let him off as a young pup but it does seem sensible.
As new dog owners I think we'll do the long line first and progress from there.
What is clicker training all about?

Clicker training is fab and will be brilliant for a young spaniel. Buy a cheap clicker ( you will probably need more than one) here but you an get them in many pets shops.

First Click the clicker and immediately give the dog a treat. keep doing this for several time a day. The dog will hear the clicker and know that a treat is coming.

To use it for training the clicker shows the dog the correct behaviour so the minute they do something correctly click the clicker and give a treat.

So for example you are teaching the dog to sit lure the dog with food into the sit position the minute the dogs bottom is on the floor click and treat. The dog learns that the clicker marks the correct behaviour.

loads more about it here

The only thing I don't use a clicker for though is recall. Much better to be so exciting and have the best treat in the world for a great recall

Get her off the lead as soon as you can! Don't leave it any longer.

The older they get, the more likely they are to be cocky/interested in everything except you. If you are very, very nervous make a very light line out of something like shoelaces tied together so you can stand on it without being too close to the dog and grab her in if you need to. Don't hold onto it, let it trail around on the floor behind her so that she thinks she's free running - lightness of the line is essential here. Don't try using an extendable lead or anything; she'll be able to feel it attached to her collar.

Take her on a little walk and keep on calling her in and treating her. Take a squeaky toy too - it will attract her attention if you can't. Don't just call her in at the end of the walk and clip on the lead. Make coming to you the very best thing in the whole wide world; either by lavishing masses of foolish praise, or by giving the best treats. How you do it matters not really, just concentrate on making you the centre of her world.

You can practice recall training everywhere; for every meal, for cuddles, for fun, from the garden. Keep on and on bashing away at it until it's perfect.

I don't clicker train, but know that it is a brilliant tool for many, many dogs. And I've heard it's also great fun for owners too!

I agree with Notmeagain that clicker training is brilliant - but I don't use it for recall either. I've also never used it for toilet training.

The best thing you can do, to train recall, is a) Pick a word/sound that ALWAYS means "Come here NOW" (don't just use the dog's name) and b) Be absolutely methodical about it, moving forward in tiny steps, always setting the dog up to succeed.

So, begin in the house, with low distraction, moving on to slight distraction, moving on to more distraction.... then progress to the garden, with low distraction, then more, etc. Never moving forward until you're 99.9% sure that the dog will respond correctly; also never give a command unless you're pretty sure it will be obeyed.

Skip too many steps, ie assume that a dog who is reliable around the house will be reliable out on a walk, will result in failure and before you know it, you have a dog for whom "HERE!" means "Run about ignoring me".

I also agree that the earlier you let them off, the better; they're pretty much glued to you when they're puppies. Make the most of their natural unwillingness to leave you (their security) and teach them to keep an eye on you at all times. Duck behind trees, change direction etc (changing direction is an opportunity to teach "This Way" - a handy command for when you don't actually want a recall) but don't (as I did) duck behind a tree and stay there for too long and lose your puppy

If you're likely to use a long line and have to stamp on it to prevent a dash, make sure you use a harness rather than a collar. Otherwise you risk damaging his neck.

Have just been trying to put into practice some of the above.
Have practised recall downstairs calling 'quickly' as his signal to come back from another room.
He soon got the hang of this apart from the few times he rushed back before I had chance to call him!

The word you use isn't important - what IS important is that you keep it "special". If you tend to use the word "quickly" at other times, you might want to choose a different word for recall, otherwise you risk it being diluted, iyswim.