How do you get bullet proof recall?!!

[SunnyUpNorth]

I have a 5.5month old cocker spaniel. I have been letting him off lead in secure places since he was about 13 weeks old and he has generally been really good. But he never really wandered that far from me anyway so haven’t had to put his recall to the test much. If he saw and started to run towards another dog and I called him he would come back.

I always use high value treats like chicken or hot dog when off lead.

He has now found his confidence and a love of chasing squirrels. He keeps an eye on where I am and will keep bounding past me but isn’t coming back to me reliably when I call him.

I feel like it’s a bit of a chicken and an egg as if I don’t let him off lead how can we practise the recall? But I don’t want him to get himself hurt or lost by losing all focus and charging off.

I want one of those dogs that just trots alongside their owner off lead (or even on lead!) but no idea how to get there.

[SunnyUpNorth]

@pigsDOfly which chicken liver treats do you use? I bought some a while ago and they are like little tablets, he isn’t showing much enthusiasm for those ones.

[fessmess]

sunny I used the Halti one and followed the instructions it came with. I also chose to blow it 5 times, quickly, to make it distinctive. As I said before it's the nuclear option now and don't often get it out on a walk but know if she has gone a little "deaf" I have it in reserve. Oh! And I found pretending to run in opposite direction and whooping got her to come, when she was a teenager. Felt an idiot but it worked. I heard that WE the owners have to be the best place to be, be it food or fun.

[BelfastNonBlonde]

@SunnyUpNorth I’m right here with you with the 5.5month old spaniel!
She is doing so so well with walking and basic agility, but my focus now has to be on recall. She’s great off the lead but as soon as she sees another dog - it’s playtime!
I want to be able to 95% trust her to come back to me. So funny when you can see her thinking about it, And hesitating, but falling at the last hurdle 😂

Thanks everyone for the great advice above (and OP for the thread!) and going to go invest in a long lead and the book recommendation right away.

OP try wafo chicken from the packet - ours loves it. Much nicer than kibble / hard treats and not as hard work as making liver cake from scratch!

[BiteyShark]

Which whistle have you ordered. Acme whistles are great because if you lose it you can order another one of the same pitch. I also do four quick pips for recall rather than one long one.

[MustardScreams]

Spaniels are well known for being total shits with recall in their teen years. Both mine (working cocker and Welsh springer) completely lost all focus and I had to keep them on a long line if I ever wanted them back.

Consistency is key. I used a dog whistle and treats, and recalled in the house a lot. Once they were coming back consistently in house/garden I let them off the long line in an enclosed dog park and practiced there. They were both rock solid by 2. But that is constant training, and still keeping on top of it now (welshie is 10 and cocker is 7)

[Gottobefree]

If he chases a squirrel and then comes back to you that's pretty good. Please do not try to train your dog just to walk beside you. 100% practise recall and he will be by yourside when he NEEDS to be.
It's in their natural instinct to chase and run and play and its great stimulation.
I have a sight hound who is confident enough to chase and run off but come back when called (only called if it's been too long or needed) another trick is to put 2/3 tags on the dogs collar so squirrels have enough warning to run away with no fatalities.

There is no such thing as bullet proof recall. It's practice, trust and reasonable recalls. Best of luck, he sounds like a lovely dog !

[pigsDOfly]

SunnyUpNorth They're pure chicken liver and made by a company called Thrive.

They're not available in many shops but if you go to the Thrive website it's easy enough to order them on line and delivery is reliable and good.

I used to cut them up for my dog as they can't have too many of them in one day as they're quite strong.

The same company also does chicken breast treats called Kind and Gentle, again they're just pure chicken breast. They also do 'air dried' chicken breast but, the 'air dried' ones aren't as good as the Kind and Gentle according to my dog, who considers herself a bit of an expert when it come to chicken.

[SunnyUpNorth]

Thanks all, I’ll def get practising and look up those liver treats and the chicken.

Don’t worry @Gottobefree I love seeing him bounce around happily and don’t expect him next to me all the time, but it would be nice to know he could do that if needed when walking near a road or that he will almost definitely come back if I can because we need to go or because there is an unfriendly dog etc.

He now seems to be developing bad separation anxiety - Velcro dog at home, the opposite out and about!

[Catsrus]

Get a whistle you both can hear!

The acme gundog whistle is the one I've always used (211.5 pitch). As a previous poster said, 4 sharp peeps for recall. You'd be amazed how many other gundogs come to me on the park when I use it. Owners who've never used a whistle too. The pitch is just right.

[Theoscargoesto]

Yet another vote for Pippa Mattinson. I have a spaniel cross who recalled pretty well until about 8 months old. We had a really difficult time in the teenage phase you are experiencing! The book helped enormously as does just hanging in there and doing your best to train using some of the great ideas upthread. It’s hard to believe at the time but for me, all the training has paid off. Except when there are squirrels!

[pamplemousse]

Best thing I did with my cocker when he reached this stage was get the book total recall. Basically it says to use a whistle which I like as I'm not a fan of shouting and also my dog can't hear me in the wind on the beach!
So blow whistle - give dog dinner, set them up for success in small steps, every time, for example if you see them heading back to you anyway, blow whistle, give epic treat. Most importantly you have to proof the recall in different settings. I don't want to summarise the whole book in case you're not interested but happy to help more if you want

[pamplemousse]

Sorry didn't read the whole thread

[Nettleskeins]

I met someone in the park today with a poodle of 5 years who was worried to let him off the lead in case he ran away. I encouraged her to let him off the lead and he did indeed run like the wind and it was scary. She said he was velcro dog at home, but then she mentioned that she had no treats and no squeaky toys, no balls anything to entice him back, nothing except his love for her. which he didn't seem to be showing on these occasions. Essentially he was attracted by balls, other dogs and chasing and he wasn't getting any of this stuff by her side. So the key is to provide what they want when you are near them - games, social life, crazy stimulating adventures and challenges and they won't have to run off to find it. A friend whose dog is a welsh springer said he wasn't interested in just walking, every walk had to have some task associated with it, and wasn't really a walk at all, but a training exercise, running big distances with a long line to come back to her after searching for balls in the undergrowth or treasure hunts of smelly treats. Not trotting by her side as she walked a few miles. She couldn't change what made him tick, she could only work with it.

tbh a velcro dog is a velcro dog because at home you are the most interesting thing, when you are out, you are less interesting than the world!!!

[Nettleskeins]

I had another friend who said to me her 8 year old dog had disappointing recall/training (terrier) because she couldn't walk on the pavement without him on a lead I said I was astonished that she even thought you could walk dogs on the pavement without a lead. She said she knew labradors that managed it. (busy London streets) it is just extraordinary that there is all this misinformation of what dogs can and cannot do if properly trained. Surely however well trained your dog is, you wouldn't expect them to have such perfect recall that you didn't take precautions on a busy road, unless they were actually an Assistance dog? Anyway that is my take..that people expect perfect recall and then never ever let their dogs off lead because they don't have it, without expecting to keep them on lead at least on some occasions when it would be safer to do so. It doesn't mean that they don't have "recal"l on most occasions and it is safe to let them on lead then, and important to practise with them in those settings.

[Nettleskeins]

off lead then typo

[pigsDOfly]

My dog's recall is pretty damned good, it really is - she's eight years old - but there's no way I'd have her walking off lead anywhere near a road.

We play in the park, where she's off lead, and when I start walking she will tuck herself behind my right foot and walk to heel beautifully, which is odd as I've never trained her to do this.

However, when we're in the street she is on a lead always. She's trained to a level that's fine for the average dog and she's very focused on me but not to the extent that I'd trust her to be safe around cars. I can't imagine her walking along the street and not wandering into the road if she wasn't on her lead tbh. Why take the risk?

[SunnyUpNorth]

Just seen the latest posts.

I see tons of people walking along the street with their dogs off lead every day. They are usually older people with quite old looking dogs who just plod along. They make it look very easy!