Recall.....God help me

[Mairyhinge]

Yes I've asked about this before, but bear with me please.
Trigger is 5 months, and at almost 4 months I thought we'd got it cracked. Then he ran off one time and someone else had to grab him. Since then every time I dare risk it he will either run off after someone/ something else, or just refuse to come and get the lead on.
Tried again yesterday Ina big empty field, he would run to me then runoff when I tried to clip his lead on.
I've done the extra special treats, I've done the running away, he comes to me but won't get close.
I've done the jumping up and down to seem interesting, he just looks at me like I'm a dick.
I'm worried now that my confidence has been knocked so I'm missing the window of training here.
I've got a long lead and we used that today which he enjoyed but I need him to behave and come back.
I can hire a secure filed, but that won't alter the fact that if he sees someone else he will go to them and want to play and I can sod off!!
I'm really worried he will never get this and his breed needs to run!
I could do with someone taking him, training him then bringing him back!!

What breed is he? Also, welcome to the teenage years.

Teenage years already??!! 😫 Yeah I did worry about that
He's a bedlington whippet. Gorgeous boy and very good, has trained well with everything but this is destroying me!

Maybe desensitise the lead clip at home first - associate the clip with a treat there, then on a run / walk, bring him back to you for a clip and a treat then instantly release? We had to do this as the clip on whilst out walking meant her walk was over, and she wanted to keep running!!

I've got an 11 month old bedlington x cocker. We did some basic training when he was small and he enjoyed it but it didn't always "stick" for very long. In the last 2 months or so, he seems to be much more receptive to training and really enjoys his training sessions. Keep your faith, I'm sure it will start to click soon.

He likes having stones thrown, so if we are struggling to get him back to have his lead on we just start picking up little stones to throw and he just can't resists coming back to play.

Total recall by Pippa Mattinson is the best book as far recall training is concerned. The key is consistency and training ALL the time. He needs to associate coming back to you to fun and enjoyment. My dog was a cunt from 6 months to 12 months. Then I trained him using the book and now he is pretty much Bulletproof now that I have gone and said it he will go back to being a cunt

It's definitely worth hiring a secure to do some recall training in a reasonably interesting but also safe environment. You need him to be reliably recalling without distractions before working on getting him to respond with distractions. It would be a good way to work on getting him to close enough so you could put the lead on if you wanted to but doing plenty of letting him go right back to what he was doing so coming back to you doesn't always mean the fun stops.

Working on his impulse control at home may also help. I've got whippets and I definitely see their responsiveness out on walks start to slip if I don't keep up with their impulse control training at home. The is a really good place to start. Given his cross you may find a flirt pole really useful as it'll be a good outlet for his hunting instincts and they're also a great tool for teaching impulse control.

I'd highly recommend the books Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson and Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt, I've found both extremely useful.

My rascal is trained to recall to a whistle all from a book called "Total Recall" by Pippa Mattinson, (amazon) the same person who wrote the happy puppy handbook. She's a gundog trainer but it applies to any dog & positive reinforcement, uses an acme 10.5 whistle which you can get off amazon in lots of colours (I get bright colours so when I drop them in fields I can find them easier) & get a lanyard. There's 2 sections in the book, one to train from a puppy, one to train as older dogs. I've never had a dog before but my dog will come back to the whistle 99% of the time.

He now goes beating as a working dog for the shooting season & loves it all from that basic training.

Also as an aside I was told to "range him" as a puppy too alongside recall to ensure he doesn't go too far ahead which may also help you as your dog thinks he is always being called back to be put on a lead- I often called my dog back when he was at a range away I was happy with him going, about 30m-40m I'd call him back (usually by name as opposed to whistle for distinction) and he'd come back and get a really good treat like those cheap hot dog sausages you get in brine chopped up (junk food for dogs) then say good dog & send him on his way again. That way he started to only go about 30/40m away naturally after a while, before he'd stop, look around, check we're there, & if I don't call or whistle he'll pootle on. Sometimes I'd put his lead on for a bit, near a road, or just for a bit to get over that "well it happens once in a while but then I go free again" but It also means he knows most of the time he doesn't get his freedom curtailed by recalling, he gets treats.

The 2 types of training, whistle & ranging really worked for me.

Ha! Lots of cross posts for total recall!

I second the Total Recall book, I would never have trained my very stubborn schnauzer without it.

When we were training ours, we were told that every time we called her back, to always have the treat in one hand and hold her collar with the other, then let her go. We started doing it in the house and then movers on to the park with other distractions. We put her on the lead sometimes when she came back, walk with her for a little bit, then let her off again. It desensitised her to being held by the collar and now we never have to grab her, she's very happy to be caught. She also doesn't associate her lead and being caught with the fun ending. Can be a right madam when she wants, particularly when there's food around, but she's never done the skipping out of reach thing.

I've ordered a copy of total recall. Hope he can read it 😉And takes it all in.
Thanks all.

I use Total Recall with my lurchers (and our foster lurchers). I think one of the keys is for your treats to be better than any distractions out there. Your dogs kryptonite might be hot dogs, cocktail sausage, chorizo, liver cake, dried sprats, cheese, primula or a squeaky toy - but it has to be something they really, really love. Imagine someone trying to get you to come over from chatting to your friends - one option is them waving a digestive biscuit, the other is a bar of your favourite chocolate. Which one would tempt you?

To be honest at 6 months old we lost recall
and no tasty treat was good enough to bring him back unless on his terms. At 9-10 months he started to mature and want to be with me. During his wayward time I stuck to open areas where I knew if he went running off he was safe and it was more likely I could see him at a distance and yes it takes nerves of steal to turn around and walk off when he is a couple of football fields away (he knew exactly where I was the little devil). You have my sympathies as I am so glad I am the other side of this. Now he is so ball obsessed and the only person that throws it to him is me so deers, rabbits and everything else is not as exciting (thank god).

I have a patterdale x who was very late to being offlead ( 14 months ) , we use a ball , he's ball obsessed . He is not allowed balls to play with at home unless someone plays with him so they retain their high value status . When out I always have at least one more ball than he can fit in his mouth +1 ( so 3) and because of his breed he is still only allowed off in certain areas so beaches , parks and our local Heath . He is not allowed out of sight and not allowed off in woods / anywhere near livestock or wild birds particularly geese / near water . He goes off lead for 2 walks a day under usual circumstances . He also has to be gathered immediately if I see a Husky / staffy or bulldog as huskies he loathes for some reason and he has been attacked by the latter 2 so is a bit edgy with them . He very rarely actually recalls however if I call the command 'down' he drops immediately and waits for me to get to him , I think it's a control thing as he is a bit bizarre .

Another vote for the Pippa Mattinson book ...

I am two-faced even responding to this post, as for the first time in my life I own a dog without a reliable recall LOL ... (15 month old boy now, just loves other dogs and people so much that they seem a better option!).

Anyway, rather than needing him to come directly to you, how about spending some time working on a rock solid sit or down command - much like Floralnomad describes.

My dog was a cunt from 6 months to 12 months. Then I trained him using the book and now he is pretty much Bulletproof now that I have gone and said it he will go back to being a cunt

😂

My dog is 4 and I own the Total Recall book. Halfway through the training, she decided she's scared (yes, really) of the fucking whistle.

So, she remains a cunt.

(I've just ordered myself a copy of Total Recall too LOL.)