Help with a stubborn dog with a recall issue

[Teddycotter]

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Hello,

I have an 8 month old Akita called Teddy, he is so lovely and I have never had a problem with him, he behaves perfectly and does as he is told. He is just a real BFG.... Just one problem i have is that he doesn't come back when he is told. I've worked on his recall and in the long line even he is great... But as soon as that lead comes off.. He knows and he is off.. Straight away... You call him and he stops and looks at you.. Then keeps running. We live in the country side so he has miles to run and it would be great if he could run through the woods rather than having to be kept on a lead. ... Any ideas anyone?? Running out of ideas myself. We have tried:

Toys... Both his favourite And new ones

Treats

Using fresh food that he only gets on when he comes back I.e. ham etc

Praise

Running in the other direction

Whistle

Clicker

All of this works until that long line comes off

Hope everyone is well

Rozy & Teddy

 

[eingana]

What a gorgeous boy!

Have you tried getting him really tired on a walk, with lots of time for dashing about on a really long line so that he's really knackered and then letting him off just for the finish of the walk? A tired dog is usually far less likely to run away, giving you a good opportunity of keeping him then walking to heel, coming when you call for a treat etc.

You can then work very gradually towards letting him off earlier in the walk.

It's also worth remembering that Teddy is still very young and is really still thought of as a baby for at least another couple of years. Not having much control of his impulses is not a great surprise with dogs that are still so young, especially dogs that are of a breed that is known for being headstrong and hard to train with a lot of things. An awful lot of Akitas don't get exercised off lead at all, and part of the reason for this is that they are unpredictable when off a lead, either because their recall is poor or they react to people and other animals that they meet in an unpredictable way.

I hope you have some success with Teddy, but please do keep him on lead until you're sure of his recall. Way too many Akitas are labelled as dangerous or out of control dogs when they're wandering and that sort of thing would be a good thing to prevent.

 

[murphyrules]

A woman used to walk a great dane where I live and he always had a lead trailing behind him on the ground, she swore he behaved better with it attached to his collar when he was running free as he knew he was on a lead so diddnt go to far and returned when called. She said the minute she removed it recall was a knightmare.

Ive never tried it but it worked for her.