Teenage puppy-how do we get recall back?

[Owlight637]

Pup is 8 months so I think he’s just at the start of his adolescence. He’s always had fantastic recall but it’s getting worse and worse. DH is currently in a field with him trying to get him out of a hedge row (he’s not stuck!)

I know he needs to go back on a long line but what do we do from there to get it back?

There's an amazing book called Total Recall - gives you a step by step plan to whistle train. Definitely worth a try!

Thanks I’ll have a look at that. We had already whistle trained him (nothing fancy he just came whenever we blew the whistle). He just ignores it now!

Agree with the book Total Recall. It’s hard work and you have to keep up the training though.

Keep practicing over and over again. Many times on a walk. If he isn't good motivated find a toy to reward him with when he comes back. Mine gets rewarded with a ball play. Others use a tug toy. Make sure you recall many times on a walk and not just at the end. Engage him all the time on a walk so he wants to play with you so try and make yourself exciting rather than plodding next to them being boring.

Other things we did was play hide and seek so he had to find me. Never walk where he knows which route. I also never 'followed him' so if he went one way I went the opposite and never called him which taught him that he couldn't rely on him knowing where I was so he watched and followed me ( if you think about it they run off and you always follow and shout them so they are safe).

It took many months. Age 8 months was the worst time for us but around 10-11 months things got better and now mine is bloody brilliant off lead when he had driven me to tears as a teenager.

We’ve got exactly the same problem with our 10 month old. I am doing the online Absolute Dogs course called Sexier then a Squirrel. It’s 25 games to play with the dog over 25 days. The idea is that you become such amazing fun that the dog just wants to come running back when you call!!

It’s certainly helped her lead walking. She’s not been set free to test the recall yet as she’s in season. It does seem improved in the garden though...we’ll see!!

Thanks everyone so we need to go back to the start then by the sounds of it. He’s just gone deaf to us. The scent of rabbits in a field is a million times more exciting to him than any toy or food treat we could tempt him with. He didn’t run off this morning, he was still close but not quite close enough to catch!

Our pup is 8.5 months and has started to switch his ears off. He has been on a long line for ages to stop him running up to unknown dogs then running off to play. Recently he started to mark outside loads and is sniffing all the time. He caught the scent of a rabbit a couple of days ago and ignored recall. Thankfully he didn’t go too far, and we got him back okay. He loves food so treats help. I have noticed that it has to be worth coming back for though. He isn’t bothered by liver but loves roast chicken and sprats. Yesterday recall was 100% because he knew I had chicken! We play games with him on walks. He seems to prefer hide and seek to chasing a ball at the moment.
Hopefully in a few months time he will be off the long line...

He didn’t run off this morning, he was still close but not quite close enough to catch!

On every single walk several times I get mine to do a sit and stay. I walk up to him and ruffle his collar and then give him a ball play afterwards. This means he no longer can judge when I will put him back on the lead and so he can't do the stupid dance where he keeps a few meters away

Once you have recall back, it also helps to sometimes randomly put the lead on, walk a few yards and then take it off and let the dog run about again. That way recall + lead do not always mean 'fun over'.

I’ve trained ‘middle’ so i usually do this a few times during the walk (he sits between my legs allowing me to clip his lead on with out him seeing) but that’s gone out of the window too. I don’t think he’d have come back today even if I’d have had a whole roast chicken with me 😆

I think they pick up on your anxiety, too.

Owlight637, 😂 my dog would think he had died and gone to heaven! I’m worried about stopping the treats though. Need to start reducing them once he matures. He has got wise to recall = treat. Sometimes he wanders a little bit further than I’d like then looks back as if to say go on call me back! I’m hoping he might start to become more interested in his ball soon.