Off Lead Recall, Not Staying...

[grotty_rotty]

I am not sure if this really is an issue (yet). At dog school, in Advanced Puppies, my just now 6 month old GSD does off lead recalls in the puppy yard (enclosed paddock).

I ask him to stay and the Instructor holds him, I do the normal walk away then call him... he comes and sit in front of me but this week the Instructor asks if he will stay whislt I walk away, I said no and her response was 'well he is a German Shepherd."

I am expecting too much at this age for him to do that?

He stays in either sit and drop off lead with me about 2 to 5 metres away though.

???

[Luke W]

Not suite sure what you mean.

Regarding the last sentence, how did you get 2-5 meters away...by walking yes? And he stayed? Then you just need to build on distance - slowly.

Or was he already 2-5 meters away and you sat or downed him at a distance?

As for expecting too much - depends what you've trained and proofed for I guess.

My 7mo is pretty reliable at letting me walk 10m away and he'll stay in his sit/stand/down (30s/60s/15s)

[Diva]

I'd say just build up the distance slowly, to me it doesn't really matter what distance he is doing at this point, it matters that he is solid and comfortable with the exercise. The worst thing you can do is rush it and push him to break, lots of people seem to want to charge ahead in leaps and bounds and end up having to go back and repair the stays later. I think it's best taught as an errorless exercise if you can.

[dogdude]

In short, I would not expect a dog of any age to learn an exercise while actually in class.

If you havn't taught a solid stay (regardless of age) then you wouldn't expect your pup to hold one during a recall.

Edited October 5, 2008 by dogdude

[charli73]

Hi GR,

I would just be working on proofing the sit command so Falco knows he HAS to stay there no matter what. Start by using shorter distances to start with..

It is a youngng age to expect him to do that stuff reliably.. Only now is Zoe really sit/drop proof from quite far away but it took some time and we had to correct every time she broke after putting her back into her command...shes 16 months now.

best of luck with him..

Edited October 6, 2008 by charli73

[grotty_rotty]

thanks guys for feedback and comments, yes I need to shorten distance and the time and work from there.

[Steve K9Pro]

GR: I ask him to stay and the Instructor holds him, I do the normal walk away then call him... he comes and sit in front of me but this week the Instructor asks if he will stay whilst I walk away, I said no and her response was 'well he is a German Shepherd."

K9: It seems to me that the dog doesn't know what stay means & has no command exit strategy, hasn't been taught. Not hard to do though...

Teach the dog that any exercise is only over when the dog hears only one of two things, a release command or another command.

Then once you have that done, you can teach the dog to sit next to you, for a short period of time & finish this with a release command & reward.

Then use this formula, time, before distance before distraction.

Unfair to say no when the dog moves when he or she doesn't know what is expected.

Instructor holding dog is a mistake from the start btw.

[PooMother]

I was taking my GSD to training and the instructor always held everyones dogs, got you to walk away and then call them............never did it with my last trainer.

[Steve K9Pro]

K9: I am not a fan, its not teaching the dog to stay rather forcing it to, its also could invoke a little bit of avoidance leaving the dog with a stranger & this can be the reason for breaking the stay.

[persephone]

I was taking my GSD to training and the instructor always held everyones dogs, got you to walk away and then call them

I have not been to obedience classes- but this doesn't sound very 'educational' :rolleyes:

[Tibbiemax71]

Like others have said, start off with small distances, then extend them as the dog is getting more confident, baby steps :rolleyes: I have seen dogs held with a lead around the chest occasionally, its only done though with dogs who know the exercise and have started braking later in training.

[JulesP]

This is for a recall not a stay. This is how we teach the recall to puppies under about 5 months. We aren't looking for a wait at this stage but aiming to build a really quick recall. I assume that they are going to teach you how to put the wait in grotty_rotty.

[PAX]

I was taking my GSD to training and the instructor always held everyones dogs, got you to walk away and then call them

I have not been to obedience classes- but this doesn't sound very 'educational'

JulesP, We also do this for a recall but not for stay. It is a great way to help with recalls, maybe the OP misunderstood the instructors criteria.

[Gayle.]

I taught my dogs the stay command by having them sit, then I would stand in front of them for a short time (seconds rather than minutes), telling them to stay, stay, stay, then return to their side and praise for staying. Gradually increase time and distance, then remove the lead.

[Rusky]

I was taking my GSD to training and the instructor always held everyones dogs, got you to walk away and then call them

I have not been to obedience classes- but this doesn't sound very 'educational'

JulesP, We also do this for a recall but not for stay. It is a great way to help with recalls, maybe the OP misunderstood the instructors criteria.

yes a recall excercise not a stay, no stay command is given at all. You need to proof your stays.

[PooMother]

K9: I am not a fan, its not teaching the dog to stay rather forcing it to, its also could invoke a little bit of avoidance leaving the dog with a stranger & this can be the reason for breaking the stay.

I dont go anymore

[charli73]

GR,

Our obedience school does not teach stay, rather she has to stay in the given command until she hears her release or another command, its just one less thing she has to learn and it works very well with her.....

just another idea...