AnimalMad Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I am having trouble with one of my whaeten's recall.. Every time i call him in he comes in slightly to one side, never sitting exactly where i need him in the middle. How can i encourage him to come in straight when i call him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 This is just a wild idea that I'm going to throw out there, but perhaps he's ever so vaguely worried about your size or force of your presence? Wild animals when they are unsure of something like to approach from the side or slightly off-center. I can get a fairly good indication how nervy my hare is feeling today by the angle of his approach. If he is feeling very jumpy and is going to take a bit of time to get the courage up to come over, he often goes to the sides and approaches me from such a wide angle that sometimes he sneaks up almost behind me. When he's feeling relatively relaxed and he will quite happily come around in front of me and approach head on. Not quite head on as he's pretty wild anyway, but near to. Obviously dogs do not suffer the same nervyness as wild animals (usually), but have you tried calling him from a crouched position, or with your body turned slightly away from where your eyes are facing? It would be an interesting experiment even if it isn't the answer. With Natural Dog Training, they say if a dog approaches you slightly to the side then they are feeling somewhat tense about you and suggest you work on pushing exercises with them to get them to relax about your size and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogs4Fun Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Teach the front as its own exercise. Treat him highly when he is in a perfect front, then ask him to find the front position from one step away, two steps, etc, and then gradually build in angles until the dog can find a perfect front position from wherever he is, including behind you. Most dogs love this game. If the dog is "bowing" on the way into you on a recall, get a toy and throw it between your legs (ie behind you) just as the dog gets close to you and release him tot he toy. This builds more drive to get to you quickly, and the shortest distance to you is a STRAIGHT line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 This problem is usually caused by rewarding from one pocket. You need to change your dogs focal point as he is coming in. The best way to fix it is by rewarding from your mouth (drop cabana out of it) when he is in correct position. This will take him a little time to cotton on to. If he sits crooked etc, don't try and straighten him by taking another step backwards. Instead, encourage him to adjust himself by leaving your feet planted, and use twisting and leaning motions with your body, knees and shoulders etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnimalMad Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 He actually sits the opposite direction to where the treats come from will definitely take all the advice and work with him in the hope i can get him to do a beautiful recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 How, and where do you get his focus while he is coming in? At what point are you rewarding? Is it formal recall training for trialling ? Is he anticipating the finish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ree Luvs BORDERS! Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Mine does the same thing. Although I'm not too worried. If I have him in a stay and at the end give him the signal to come.. he comes running and sits directly in front of me. Its only when running backwards and him coming after me that he goes off to the side. Trainers seem to think that he doesnt come when he's called and is going to take off from me lol (which is not the case he comes every time he's called)... just for some reason which I cant seem to correct wont run directly in front of me.... I dont treat as he doesnt like any of them lol... so its just lots of praise and pats for us. Dunno??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cala Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 A great way to teach the recall is with a small stool/chair and a long line...... put the dog a distance away from you on a sit stay, sit on stool with knees apart and call dog into you, if it's a puppy the size of you is reduced and it's not such a daunting exercise. Don't forget to give a nice happy encouraging 'come' when you call the dog and when it comes in praise and give plenty of reward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnimalMad Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 How, and where do you get his focus while he is coming in? At what point are you rewarding?Is it formal recall training for trialling ? Is he anticipating the finish? He is anticipating the finish i think.. I reward when he is sitting straight in front of me, i hope to trial him once i know his recall is solid. He can do a perfect recall one day and then the next he is all over the place. (eg Saturday absolutely perfect, wednesday he was a mess) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozjen Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I am having trouble with one of my whaeten's recall..Every time i call him in he comes in slightly to one side, never sitting exactly where i need him in the middle. How can i encourage him to come in straight when i call him? I saw a great video on Youtube last night that might rectify this problem, it was actually to get more drive in the recall but I could see it working here too. Basically when you call the dog to you at the last minute spread your legs and throw a lure or treat through your legs so that the dog follows it through your legs. Result is dog comes in fast and central to where you are standing as the dog becomes proficient at this occassionally throw in a recall with out spreading your legs or throwing a lure. The dog should make a close recall and be more central to your position. If the dog is intimidated at all by the recall this would help take the preasure of as it becomes a more rewarding exercise for the dog. Teach the return to heel as a totallly separate exercise with the dog already in the correct position in front or you. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 If you are training with trialling in mind, it is more beneficial to practice, sharpen and hone skills by concentrating on part exercises for everything. Forget about replicating what you do at dog club, ....its boring, and you tend to judge your dogs performance as a whole, rather than improving point scoring with trialling in mind. Train recall/fronts and finish sepperately. For eg: If I am working on speed for the recall, I want my dog to drive all the way up to me, and beyond by releasing randomly to a food target placed behind me. No release means dog must front. If I want to improve fronts, the recall is done from only a metre or so away, using various angles. Other days, I will just train the focus element, without calling at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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