Recall advice needed please!

[CaptainHaddock]

I have a 13 month old miniature schnauzer. We have been for training sessions and I have practised recall since she was a few months old. She will come when it is just the 2 of us, but as soon as another dog is involved she completely ignores me and just wants to play.

The problem is she is more motivated by playing with other dogs than treats/balls/squeaky toys. Is there anything else I can do or do I just have to accept that she will always have poor recall?

Captain, you don't have to accept it, but proofing recall may be a long process. I don't have schnauzers, but I do know a lot, and they are all lovely, attached to their owners, food-motivated (this is good for training) but 'a bit gobby'! The best book on the subject that I have found is 'Total Recall' by Pippa Mattinson. Pippa uses positive methods, and is a gun dog trainer - but honestly, if it works for a spaniel, it will work for any dog!!. Good luck with it, arm yourself with high quality treats and don't lose heart.

Thank you Sweet, I will have a look for that book and keep trying!

There will be a treat that motivates her more...for mine it's primula, for others it's liver cake or hot dogs. If you can find something she goes daft for then you'll be halfway there.

The other thing you could try, is using the other dog as the reward ...as in she gets to play, once she's recalled and not if she doesn't, it's a bit more complicated, but it can work quite well.

When I was running training classes, I used to teach a 4-step approach to recall. Recall off of a distraction was Grade 4 (ie the hardest) and I always took my time working to that! If you want me to send you the worksheets I used I'm happy to do so - drop me a PM.

Thanks for your replies :-) I think I just needed to know it was worth still trying rather than giving up!

A second vote for primula! Molly was very good at recall but lost it a bit during her teenage phase, primula has given us instant recall again. She even recalls herself in the hope of getting more .

We did Total recall but it only took us so far, ddog is still fond of a good chase - age has reduced that urge a bit, and he has learned doggie languagek Some things changed - our bond improved so he didn't like me being out of sight. I hide behind a tree for example and whisper his name, he likes this game but it also made him more aware of where I was. I rewarded him for coming close to me when we were out. I also found it was easier to teach a wait command. I don't recall using his name, I whistle, use "oo eee"noise or shout "this way"....and I don't over use the recall. We taught him to retrieve a ball and he has become more and more focused on this kind of play but he will never be ball obsessed.
We are also lucky in that most people at our park want their dog to play with other dogs - it has a reputation for dogs being off lead and playing happily...so there's not a huge pressure to control your dog perfectly. Mostly I learned to read my dog, play to his strengths - he's not food motivated enough to put any food treat above a chase, balls worked a bit...., trying to be more interesting than other dogs was a ridiculous suggestion if you knew my dog.

Interesting about Primula! Thick question I know, but if I'm not wrong, it's cheese in a tube. How do you dispense it for treat time?! Thanks in advance.

Squeeze it straight from the tube. So far most dogs I've tried it with go - what is that wondrous stuff? But one did look at me like I was trying to poison her, lol.