Recall for intact male

If sniffing is so rewarding to him, can you make that part of the reward for recall? I'm thinking something like calling him to you for a fabulous sniffing opportunity.

There is a book which I haven't read myself but is getting good reviews - Hunting Together by Simone Mueller.

 

I kept a stud dog whose recall was immaculate. It isn't your dog's intactness that has blown his recall, but you do need to start from basics again because he has learned he doesn't have to recall when you blow the whistle. Train him on his own, and use a long-line to begin with. Also choose your places, because recall has to be proofed in low-distraction environments (kindergarten stuff) before you move on to highly distracting areas full of wildlife (PhD level). And because he has learned he can refuse to recall to the whistle, I'm afraid you will have to use something else as a cue.

It's straightforward but not easy. You could do with a professional trainer to help, but avoid anyone who starts spouting pack theory and dominance. This is a training hiccup and you can get past it with the right help.

Posted same time as JudyN!

 

Hi Amanda,

I feel your pain! I have a 7 month old intact male pup who is doing exactly the same thing. A Jackerpoo so I'm told he has a hunting nature but we have lost a lot of our training which is such a shame. He just runs and also ignores his whistle. Not sure how old your dog is but I have been told it could be a phase, if that makes anything feel any better. The advice I was given is to keep going with the training and if you need to go back a few steps then that's totally normal. We have gone back to his squeaky teddy (much to my husband's embarrassment) but it does get better results now than the whistle. I know how stressful and frustrating it is though. Good luck!

 

The root of your issue isn't being intact, it is Matching Law. Which is when there is competing reinforcement, the reinforcement that has a deeper history of being acquired, or is easier to get wins. To create an image of how this looks, equate a 5 second sniff to a small piece of chicken breast, in 1 minute of sniffing how many pieces of chicken breast did your dog just get? 12. how many did he get for coming back to you? 1? sniffing wins, it is far more reinforcing.

now, what if sniffing is significantly more valuable than a bit of chicken? In human terms sniffing is Platinum, and your chicken is just plain old "cheap" 14K gold plating on stainless steel? first, you make sure you practice a lot in an environment that provides little of interest to sniff. Second, you make it SUPER easy to get that chicken. Finally, you do not reinforce with a single piece of chicken, you reinforce with maybe 5 pieces given one at a time as quickly as possible each time your dog successfully comes when called. This builds the deep history you need, you have made it easy to get the reinforcement, and lots of it. then slowly introduce distractions. start with very easy ones, and build to the hard ones. Only increase difficulty as your dog shows they have mastered the level you are currently working at.

Lastly, what does your recall predict? Classical Conditioning is a behavior law that is often overlooked and it deals with what something predicts and thus what associations do you develop at a "reflexive" level. When you call your dog to you, what does that predict? Thus what association does your dog develop? if you get frustrated and upset when your dog doesn't respond, that can also factor into the breaking of a recall. your recall has come to predict an unpleasant experience. Or does your recall predict always fun and reinforcement?

Teaching the basics of a recall to your dog is quick. depending on your experience and time to train, anywhere from a day to a week to get the basics in place. What takes MUCH LONGER is training your dog to apply those basic skills in a wide variety of environments with it's own distractions and reinforcers. It can take the better part of a year to take those basic skills you train in your living room or back yard and practice them carefully so your dog doesn't learn to ignore you in the real world.

Be patient, do not over estimate your dog's skill, be HIGHLY reinforcing and fun, and you will get there.