Need To Work On Recall

Oh man, what a morning I had. :( I was leading the dogs into the car
for a trip to pick up a newspaper. lead smokey by his collar & put him in
Then got Maggie & just when I opened the door for her, she took off out
the open garage door. ( I must have let go of her collar an instant to soon)

I grabbed a leash from the trunk & took off after her. I called, and called
but she would not stop. :( I ran after her as she lead me all over the neighborhood, through people's yards & out into the street & across the
street, and down to the next block. There were cars & trucks going by
and I was frantic. Any second she could have been hit by a passing car :(

She kept running and stayed just ahead of me all the while. She finally
stopped at somebody's house about two blocks away. A yound boy was
sitting on his steps & must have heard me calling Maggie because her took
hold of her collar & lead her back to me. I thanked him over & over again.

I learned two things today. #1 I definately need to work on recall and
#2 I am seriously out of shape. :)

Lesson #3: don't open the garage door until the dogs are IN the car! :D

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Lesson #3: don't open the garage door until the dogs are IN the car! :D

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You're right, I'll make that my #3. :)

How scary!

I remember the first week I had Keeva, I took all three to the dog park. I made a mental note to get out of my car really quickly otherwise she'd bolt out with me. I pushed her back a little, cracked open the door and got pushed aside by a VERY strong 17 week old Malinois! I don't know HOW she got to the door so fast, or how she even managed to push me aside. Of course she decided to do this during rush hour on a busy street. She took off and ran TOWARDS oncoming traffic. *smacks head* These dogs.. :p

Liz, it sounds very similar to the day that Ripley slipped out of his collar while we were on a walk. Your young boy was your hero today and that day a man in a white SUV was my hero. He was driving by and stopped because I must have looked like I was about to die from exhaustion! :o :o He called Ripley and Ripley ran right to me :rolleyes: (the lesser of two evils in Ripley's eyes?! LOL!)

Anyway, I learned two lessons also. 1) To use a harness on my boy in the future - no more collars.
2) I am just as out of shape as you are! :p

Tip #1 (Northern breed owners shall ignore tip #1 ;) ) Don't run after your dog if you can help it. Chasing them just tells them that it is OK and FUN. Try to turn your back to them. (Body direction tells them which way you want them to go.)

Tip #2 Condition them to special treats. Think psychology here. Think that guy with the bell. We have conditioned Koli to white styrofoam boxes (purely by accident but quite worthwhile.) She gets worked up almost beyond control on the sight of one and drools more than any healthy Husky should. (A styrofoam box can be carried just about anywhere and is QUITE visible.)

Prior to tip 3. Make sure your dog knows your command for "come" (I'll give more tips one that if you reply that she doesn't,) and a release command.
Tip #3 Get a 20ft or so training lead. Take the dog (ONLY the one you are training, leave the others at home; ) to a field or some other wide open area where there won't be many distractions. Keep dog on somewhat of a heel until you actually get into the space. Then "release" the dog. Let it sniff and wander and run for a few minutes. Then call the dog to you. Only call it once. If it doesn't come reel it in. Release it again. let it sniff or whatever for another minute. Call again. Repeat until the dog comes to you willingly. Praise it to high heavens. Verbally. In addition... If your dog is food motivated have a treat ready immediately. If your dog is love motivated give tones of scritchies (or whatever affection it loves.) If your dog is exercise driven release it almost the second it comes back to you. Also important if you are having trouble getting the dog to recall at all is to praise it if it even stops what it's doing for a second and *thinks* about possibly coming to you. (Generally if you can get a dog to raise its head from sniffing and look at you, a mild "Good Dog" is enough to get it to come to you the rest of the way.)

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Originally Posted by Pam

Liz, it sounds very similar to the day that Ripley slipped out of his collar while we were on a walk. Your young boy was your hero today and that day a man in a white SUV was my hero. He was driving by and stopped because I must have looked like I was about to die from exhaustion! :o :o He called Ripley and Ripley ran right to me :rolleyes: (the lesser of two evils in Ripley's eyes?! LOL!)

Anyway, I learned two lessons also. 1) To use a harness on my boy in the future - no more collars.
2) I am just as out of shape as you are! :p

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Pam, I have never felt so helpless.Lucky for me that Maggie stayed on
the sidewalks or yards Most of the time. One false step & it could have
been all over. :( I'm trying not to think of all the "what might have beens".

All we need are more gray hair, right? :p :D

Oh, Liz, been there, done that! Fortunately it was about 9 or 10 years ago. Crow_noir's tip #1 is what works for me when an accidental escape happens. Actually I found out about it by default when one time I lost sight of which way she went, so had no choice but to return home by myself. It wasn't but a few minutes later when she showed up at the front door. Now across the street is as far as she goes (I refuse to chase her even that far) and that when Crow_noir's tip #2 puts seals the deal to her coming home.

Another caution - don't accidently lean against the button which operates your garage door when the dogs are in the garage.

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Originally Posted by lizbud

All we need are more gray hair, right? :p :D

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And pets are supposed to lower people's blood pressure! :p :D

Yes, Liz it is scary to think of what might have been. I actually had the thought run through my mind that I would never ever see him again. :( We weren't in a high traffic area, as you were, but at the rate he was going it wouldn't have been long for him to be on a busier road. The funny thing is that Ripley's recall in the back yard is excellent, where it doesn't matter because it is fenced. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

LOL! So true, so true. I thought for sure mine got to an unhealthy level when fostering Koli. My doctor says I'm just fine.

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Originally Posted by Pam

And pets are supposed to lower people's blood pressure!

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