Improving good recall to 100% recall

[Lexi’s dad]

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Hi,

My 15 month old Labrador has a good recall. I use a whistle and she comes running - most of the time. Sometimes she sniffers a bit more and then comes other times if she found something interesting (e.g. something she thinks she can eat and she thinks she can eat nearly anything ;-) she ignores me.

Today however she went with my wife and decided to run onto a field and chase some sheep. It wasn’t the first time she ran onto a field but the first time she chased some animals. The farmer saw it and wasn’t too pleased as you could imagine.

How can I improve her normally good recall to be 100%? She is normally a very well behaved dog. I can put the food down in front of her, go out of the room and come back and she will still be sitting there waiting for the ‘Take it’ command.

I still reward here with treats when she comes (most of the time). I’ve used to use a long training lead but just let it run freely. Only pulled when she wouldn’t come.

How would you train her to come every time and not only when there isn’t something interesting?

 

[JudyN]

First up, I'm not sure you could ever get 100% guaranteed recall in all situations, and if you don't stock-train your lab, there will always be a chance that she will chase sheep. Even if she is reliable around sheep, she might be completely different if, say, she encounters a bouncy lamb. So please, for the sake of her own safety and the sheep's, keep her on a lead anywhere near sheep (and other livestock). She's also an adolescent, so is less predictable as she may decide to push boundaries.

I used a variety of recall commands with my dog, and the whistle was reserved for really important stuff - then when he recalled I'd throw a huge party, with treats and a load of praise. One key in training is not to recall your dog when you think there's a chance that they won't recall. If your dog ignores the whistle because sheep are so much more exciting, then she will learn that recall is optional. You want her to develop an almost automatic response to the whistle where her head has turned in your direction before she's thought about it. (If I wasn't sure if my dog would recall I would just call something like 'Come along then', or 'sausage', and hope he responded - which he usually did.)

These are just insights from my dog. I've heard good things about the book 'Total Recall' by Pippa Mattinson.

 

[Hemlock]

I agree there is no such thing as perfect recall. Training can never be 100% but management is. So I applaud you for seeking help for this issue before something awful happens, and endorse the advice already given.

 

[Feverfew]

I agree with the very good advice above and also commend you for seeking advice.

My perspective is that dogs are not robots: they make mistakes, and they have their own priorities and interests. I have never met a dog with 100% recall. This means we have to take responsibility for our dogs at all times.

Sorry to say it, but your dog could be dead now (along with some sheep), because the farmer is within his rights to shoot dogs that enter a field with sheep, whether they chase them or not. At this time of year, the sheep are pregnant (early lambing is Jan/Feb), so some of the sheep may lose their lambs anyway because of being frightened. So it is very, very serious if a dog gets into the field. This should never happen, end of.

I have had a lot of success with Pippa Mattinson's method with dogs I have worked with, but at the same time, I would never expect any dog to have 100% recall.

Hope you don't mind, but I will just add one further thing, and that is to ask why you are asking your dog to sit in front of her food bowl until you tell her she can eat? I hope this doesn't sound rude, but to me, your behaviour is quite punishing and controlling. I would ask what the benefit of this is for the dog (as opposed to you)?

A good rule of thumb is whether you would ask a child to do the same. If the answer is no, then it's probably not suitable for a dog either.

 

[RGC]

“……why you are asking your dog to sit in front of her food bowl until you tell her she can eat?”

I do agree with Feverfew on this point. With our first whippet which we found abandoned at approx sixth months her initial reaction to food being placed infront of her was distressing (for us). She’d approach it gingerly and then back off and then re approach the bowl. She would tuck in if we just left her to it. A local J.R. Whippet Rescue rep said that someone in the past had probably laid conditions down - “Don’t you dare touch that until I say”. I don’t see the point of such control and, like Feverfew, don’t wish to give offence but I’d appreciate knowing your rationale for such control, the like of which left a temporary traumatic scar with our whippet. Fortunately she appreciated that love chez nous was unconditional.