Lack of recall

[JeanH]

I have taken on a small rescue Labrador/Collie bitch Carra who is nearly five but has no sense of recall. If she sees an open door she is trough it and disappears. Whilst she is in the house or out on a leash she is very obedient but I am concerned about the lack of recall because I live in a rural area surrounded by fields of sheep and the local farmer has been known to shoot first and ask questions after. I have to try to train her myself because there are no local training sessions near enough to me. I am a retired lady who has had dogs most of my adult life but I dare not let Carra loose because I am not fast enough now to catch her. Where should I start? Jean H

[KOPsBecks]

Hey Jean,

Thanks so much for your enquiry, I hope I can be of some help. I would suggest starting with Carra on a very long lead. Let her run out the length of the lead and then when she is near the end call her to "COME!". Make sure to use her name first to get her attention. If she stops and turns to come towards you, use a lot of rpaise and excitement to indicate to her that she is doing the right thing. if she sdoes not listen then pull sharply on the lead and repeat "COME!". If she still doesn't come, then say "NO!" and pull sharply on the elad again. As soon as she comes towards you reward her. Once she gets all the way back to you then make sure you have edible treats for her. Be persistent and patient and also consistent, she will only learn if things are done the same way every time.

Good luck, let me know how she goes.

becks

[JeanH]

Thank you very much for your reply. I have been doing this with her for quite sometime on a very long rope (100 ft) Some days she responds quite readily but other days ignores all my efforts. Her afternoon's exercise is in a field on the end of this rope fixed to a wall. When I first let her out there I make her sit and wait until I say 'OK off you go' before she charges off as fast as she can go around the field. Then she does her toilet. After that she spends a long time sniffing around following the scent of rabbits etc that also inhabit the field. Once she calms down a little I then try a 'recall session' with her with varying results. She will on go days also Sit and Stay while I turn my back on her and walk away then call her to me. She also loves to play 'fetch' with a ball but none these things seem to hold her interest for any length of time. After about an hour to hour and half she will come to call and allow me to put her walking lead on to go in doors.
In the morning I take for about threequarters of an hour walk around our fields on her walking lead and she walks to heel and even ignores the rabbits that run off ahead of her, unless of course they jump up almost under herfeet. The rest of the time she has to be in the house. Unfortunately, we rarely meet other people except my daughter, son-in-law and their son who live next door with two dogs. I think from reading other threads on the Forum she is becoming very over protective of me as she goes crazy when anyone comes to the door and again when they leave. She does calm down in between and becomes a normal friendly animal. I think we both need a lot of training!