Retractable lead injury (dog)

[Lovemusic33]

So Ddog is now settled in and has come out of his shell, because he’s now more confident he no longer stays close by and his recall has kind of gone out the window, he’s also started to chase anything that moves. In order to give him enough exercise and let him have a bit of a run I have been trying him on an extendable lead, it’s not really been a success, he keeps running full pelt and then when he gets to the end of the lead he almost dislocates my arm and causes himself to back flip, he doesn’t seem to realise and will do it again and again. Today he took off so I thought I would press the button on the lead before he reached top speed but the lead wrapped around his front legs and caused rope burn , he yelled but we continued our walk and all seemed fine. He now has 2 bold lines where the lead was caught around his front legs and I feel terrible. He is fine (sleeping next to me).

I’m not sure what else to try with him. I want to start classes with him and hopefully work on the recall and pray drive but there’s a waiting list for training. If I keep him on a short lead he just doesn’t get tired. We have tried a long lead but he just gets tangled all the time. I can’t risk him being off lead unless we are miles away from roads or live stock as once he sees something exciting (bird, dog, sheep) his recall goes out the window. He’s not interested in treats as rewards when out so getting him back isn’t easy.

[Booboostwo]

Sounds like a difficult case.

If I were you I would:

• continue to work on the recall a lot at home. Ideally on an empty stomach and try him with every treat you can think of. Lots of recall games in an enclosed space, plus general obedience to get his attention focused on you.
  
• use a long line when you take him out to stop all the times he runs off. The long line is different from the lunge line. You need a very lightweight long line, washing lines are ideal for this, which you attach to the collar/harness along with your normal lead. When you release the lead, leave the long line trailing, hopefully the dog will forget about it. When you recall, if he comes back, great, reward and release, but if he doesn’t come back, step on the long line, say nothing, walk on the long line all the way to the dog, fingers under call, walk backwards where you started from, repeat recall command, reward and release.
  

It may be worth talking to a gun dog trainer, they usually have good advise for training scent hounds.

[Spudlet]

I would try and use that as a game then. Start at home, there is little point in trying anything too new or challenging on a walk as it’s all too exciting and omgmumabirdabirdabiiiiiiiird.... but at home you can hide things for him to find - maybe food if you can find something he likes enough, or maybe that old pair of socks - balled up - that smells of you? Let him watch you hide it, then almost take him to it with the command ‘find it!’, and of course make such a fuss of him when he finds it! You can build the challenge level up then eventually take it out and about. It might help him to focus on you more and other things less.

For his chase drive, you might try and gundog approach and aim to teach steadiness. Again at home, you begin with a dummy (not a toy, you want this to be a relatively boring thing). You can make your own with a small plastic water bottle weighted with some dry rice, and covered with a thick pair of old socks. Have the dog on the lead beside you, focused on you, and gently throw the dummy a short way away. Tell him to ‘sit’ and stop him from running straight after it - YOU go and get it instead and then make a big fuss of him for waiting and not chasing. Over time you build it up again - I can sit my dog and lob dummies past his nose and over his head and he will wait to be sent. This takes time, mind you! But it can be done and that in turn helps him to control his chasing instincts, which is why (when ddog could still hear a whistle) I could stop him dead from setting off after a hare or deer while the dog we were walking with vanished off across the horizon.

Basically look for his drives and turn them to your advantage so they become a thing you do together, not a thing that he buggers off to do at his convenience.

It will take time, but take heart. Ddog was an 18 month old reprobate spaniel when I got him and ok, he’s always had ‘character’ but he eventually was trained well enough to take out working - trained with a clicker and kindness too, not using old fashioned, unkind methods. Your lad is younger and you clearly care very much - you will get there in time.

[Spudlet]

Booboos You have read my mind... gundog training ftw when you have a dog that wants to hunt, imo!

[Spudlet]

Oh and one final tip... if you’re training without a helper as I often did, then you can use your longline to help with steadiness training, once you’re ready to not be standing right next to your dog. Have the dog sat close to a nice solid fence post and run the long line around the fence post then back to you - you then have more control than just having a longline running straight to you as you get further away. You aren’t using the line or leash to punish the dog, so no massive yanks or anything like that, but you are using it as your backup so the dog can’t make a mistake, if that makes sense?