Question about rewarding dogs

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

I know there are lots of you on here with excellent training advice. I have a question, I am training Chopper and Ryleigh to come when we are outside to a whistle, problem is I am kind of confused about the reward system. Ryleigh is very treat driven and usually comes barreling like a bull in a china closet getting to me first whereas Chopper is like, "k, k, Im comin, sniffff, mmmm smellz gud here" :rolleyes: Kind of taking his time but comes. Now I reward, praise, greet, and feed in pecking order, Duke, Champ, Chopper and Ryleigh. Now does that mean Ryleigh should have to wait for her treat until Chopper gets to me and give him his first or do I reward them based on who got there first and who got there second? I thought it should be whoever gets to me first gets the treat first but I don't know if that will confuse Ryleigh and make her think she has the upper hand in the pack order.

Also besides a whistle and having to raise my voice to a yell to get attention when they are ruff-housing half way across the property what other suggestions do you all have as far as getting their attention and getting immediate recall?

Thanks for any advice you have to offer.

[Taz_Zoee]

That is a good question about waiting for Chopper before feeding Ryleigh.
Perhaps you can take some time and work with Chopper alone, without Ryleigh outside. Because I have a similar issue with Zoee and Taggart. Zoee could care less that I'm calling her whereas Taggart comes running as soon as he hears the door open. But since Taggart is in training right now I have to find time without Zoee around to work on his training.
I'm curious to hear what the more experienced trainers have to say. :)

[Husky_mom]

hmm.... tough one...

one thing if you wait until Chopper gets to you is that Ryleigh might not associate HER coming to the reward as it´s so retarded from her action....

and one thing doing it first is it may cause status conflicts... but then again it may not considering Chopper´s attitude in taking his time..

you can try finding what makes his eyes brighter treat-wise or toy-wise so he´ll run like flash to you...

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

I think I am going to have to find a different reward for Chopper and do some one-on-one and see if I can get his speed up lol. He is just a laid back guy that he is just like "mommy will saves my kookie for me, I jus knowz it so let me smellz da fwowers on da way dere":rolleyes: But I definitely want to pick up the recall with him just for emergencies sake.

I don't want Ryleigh becoming a brute because she thinks she is top dog over him.

[Freedom]

I really enjoy McConnell's books, I have a few of them. I started by getting them from my local library. You may find this one on point:
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/feeling-outnumbered

To train "come," you train one dog at a time. The dog comes and gets a reward.

Once they both understand that, you either:
- reward each dog as it arrives, OR
- you only reward the first to arrive. Live is unfair, and the pokey one (sorry, Chopper) will learn to get in the race.

A dog who has followed a command promptly should be rewarded immediately upon completion, not made to wait for any reason. That can lead to huge problems in future.

Whistle or clap are the 2 things I use to get their attention.

Such fun!

[shepgirl]

I treat in the order they come, first come first served. A dog's attention span is pretty short so if the first dog to come has to wait around he won't associate the treat with coming. If your second and third dog smell the treat on the first comer they will want to hurry to check out what he's getting that they aren't, just might make them all come in faster.

[Shelteez2]

I would treat the one who came first. I also wouldn't do this exercise with both of them at first. I would do it one on one. With Chopper I would start inside in a boring room, where you are more likely to have more of his attention than say outside where all the smells and distractions are. That way you are setting him up for success, and he won't learn that it's okay to ignore the whistle if he deems something else more important.
Here is a way to teach a really good recall. You can just replace the recall word with your whistle.

http://shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson6.html

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. They do both know the come command, Chopper is just a really laid back little guy and nothing seems to get him in the "full spead ahead mode". I worked with the pups yesterday afternoon in the house a bit, let them wander about and when they least expected it gave the whistle a blow, they both arrived every time. Then took them outside for about a 10 minute session. This time I used a piece of lunch meat, seemed to get Chopper a tad more excited so I think I will use "people food" as the reward. I think once Chopper realized it was people food he wanted to be sure he got his piece too so once or twice he actually arrived first. They both came first call and I rewarded them as they arrived which is what I have been doing but I did not know if that would ultimately cause me a problem with the pack order of things otherwise. Glad to see that everyone else treats upon arrival too without any dominance problems.

I will do the one on one today with them both and work towards consistent immediate recall. I will keep you all posted on they are both doing.

[Shelteez2]

Good job! :D I forgot to mention that in the beginning you should definitely use high value treats. You want whatever you are giving to be of more interest than their surroundings. You can always mix it up with a little bit more boring treats mixed in so that they will never know what they will get.

Sounds like training is going well though. I think you need to video the recall when they are ready to show it off. ;)

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

I just wanted to give an update...I work with Chopper and Ryleigh every day at lunch time for about 10 minutes. They are getting really good, especially Ryleigh, she is very treat and praise driven. Chopper has come a long way. He still doesn't give me the quick return like Ryleigh but he is acknowledging the whistle and comes, usually at a troot, sometimes full speed ahead. Ryleigh always comes FULL SPEED AHEAD and IMMEDIATELY, thank goodness she is not a large breed or I would have to get the heck out of the way LOL. I would love to show you guys how well they are doing but my camera with the recording option died :(

[Husky_mom]

good job Ryleigh and Chopper for being such nice doggies

good job mom for the update

but.......... if you have no video mode....... where are the pics??!!! ;)

we´ve missed you all...:(

[cassiesmom]

Psssst... Chopper... could you ask mommy to put up a pic of you smellin da fwoweez, please? And could you ask her to give you and Ryleigh one of these from me, because you are learning and doing well: *KISS *KISS

Your fan,
Elyse

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

Hey eberybudy iz me Chopper! I knowz u mus be mizzin me cuz I beed mizzin u guyz. Mommy haz beed weally bizzy wiff her sisterz weddin and da shower and da batchloret pawdy. Her had to makez a bwankie for a baby shower. I told her her needz to getz sum pikshurez ob me and da udder kidz cuz u guyz iz probabwy wunnerin where we iz. Her prommisses to git sum pikshures weally soon.

I see mommy said I duz not alwayz cum a runnin', well I tolded her if her gotted me a steak den I wood beez dere wikidy spwit.

Lubs ya.
Chopper.

p.s. Elyse we sendz kisses wite bak atcha.