[Lannh87]

My husband and I got a puppy from the animal shelter about 2 1/2 months ago, shes a fast learner with house hold training, ( potty training, shaking, and sitting) however when were outside and we let her off the leash, she will not listen. She wont even look when we call her name. our front yard is fenced in, but shes not allowed out there, we dont chase her, we'll try to walk up to her to get her, and we never punish her when we bring her in when we try to get her..... I just want to know how to stop her from doing this! its so annoying everytime we take her to the dog park, its impossible trying to get her back!

[cigwyllt]

When you say she runs from you do you mean she is in a little world of her own, just too busy running and exploring to acknowledge you or does she act scared?

Recall is a really difficult thing to teach - you have to have confidence in the dog before you can let him off. He has to have shown himself responsive before you can have the confidence so we tend to go round in circles trying to guess the right time to trust him/her.

This is a really helpful article though and you might find it useful:

http://trailhoundwelfare.org.uk/down...ningRecall.pdf

Although it is a hound website the training advice is good for any breed. If you can train a hound to recall you can train anything!

[Todd]

This is a very common problem. Here's an answer I provided for another similar thread...

The first bit of advice I'll give you is advice that I give quite a bit when dogs do not respond to their owners. You need to establish yourself as the alpha leader in your relationship with your dog so it will respect you and your commands to come to you off leash for example.

Here's a helpful link on becoming the alpha pack leader;

Establishing Yourself as Pack Leader

Being The Alpha Dog - Dogs & Dog Training

While and after establishing this state, you need to make it clear that your dog must come when you say so. Start simple. Start on leah. Have her sit and stay then call her name. When she comes, reward her with a yummy treat, toy, praise, or all of the above. Whatever flaots her boat By the way, if you ever say her name in a negative tone she may associate it with something negative so whenever calling her make it all positive no matter how frustrated you may get. Positive reinforcement is the key in this situation. Outside, a much better method may be a whistle (specifically for dogs or just a standard whistle is fine) or maybe even a clicker, however a whistle is probably beter outside because the sound travels further. Take it one step at a time. As I said earlier, start on leash, have her sit, them maybe blow the whistle and gentle pull her toward you so she comes then reward her. Eventually have the leash tension allow her to go further and further doing this exercise until she can do it off lead. Maybe use an extendable leash or long rope. I sazw this method used on It's Me Or The Dog with Victoria Stilwell. It was with a labrador who didn't come so they used the whistle and yummy pieces of chicken as a reward. It worked wonders! Good Luck!

Although if done correctly and diligantly this method should be very successful, my trainer from puppy school a few years ago said that they used a long elastic rope on their dogs in the house at all time whil,e teaching them to come on command (recall). They would gentle pull on it to have the dog come. Sounds a little extreme to me but I guess it's something to try if all else fails.

Again, Good Luck!

[GSDS4Life]

The way I see it, she was never taught recall. So first things first, no more letting her off leash.


What Todd explianed about the leash is how I trained for recall. And this is how I did it.

You get a training lead. They come in different lengths. I used the 15' lead. I also did this with distractions. Have Rylie sit beside you. Give her the stay command. Take about 3 steps in front of her, turn around facing her. If she breaks her sit/stay, take her and put her back in it. Again while she is in the sit/stay, walk in front, turn around a face her. Then give her the come command. Do this a few times. Remember to praise her. Then after a few times(and if she has listened) have her sit/stay again. This time take about 6 steps ahead and turn around a face her and give her the come command. If she does it, praise like crazy. If at any time she breaks the command, walk her in a circle and do it again. This all will take time and patience. But will be worth it in the end.


The reason I did my training in distractions is to teach(not be alpha) them to focus on me. I also used hand signals. When they were taught the stay, I would say stay and put my hand in front at the same time. Same with the down. I'd say down and lower my hand. I always thought what would ever happen if I lost my voice how would I communicate with them. Most of the time I don't even need to say a word to them.

[Lannh87]

no she is not scared, she just runs away almost as if she just doesnt want to come inside or listen... we even give her treats when she comes inside to associate it with a good thing.

[Yogi]

Just out of curiosity, what breed is this pup. By chance, any terrier in it? This may explain much. But in either case working with recall is a must and there is no better way than with a lead as noted.

[Lannh87]

Well, we got her from a shelter, so were not quite sure what breed she is. she is def a mix... we have thought she could be a couple different breeds, its definitely a possibility that she is a terrier mix.... i have some pics of her in my album. maybe you could take a look.... we would love to know what she is.... I will take your advice, thank you for the info.

[cigwyllt]

She doesn't look like a mix to me - she looks like a Parson Russell Terrier. Lovely looking dog. Don't let the fact that she is part/mostly terrier put you off training recall. My dogs are all terrier/terrier mixes and recall is no problem at all.

The only thing I would re-emphasise is that dogs do not automatically know about recall - it has to be trained and it can be. It just takes patience and confidence.

[pinsnpugs]

Also consider signing the puppy up for a puppy class/basic obedience class.
These classes will give you a great foundation for training and establishing leadership to the puppy. Basic obedicne is the best first step in any training.

[GSDS4Life]

What a cutie.

I do see terrier mix.

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Don't let the fact that she is part/mostly terrier put you off training recall. My dogs are all terrier/terrier mixes and recall is no problem at all.

I agree with this. Many people go by the breed. I go by the individual dog. How many times do you hear Sibes can't be off leash EVER? So not true. My brother has 2 Sibes. He does flyball with them. And he does SAR(search and rescue). Or Labs. People say they are hyper. How many times have you seen a hyper seeing eye dog? And my daughter fosters for the program. Everything has to do with training.

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

The only thing I would re-emphasise is that dogs do not automatically know about recall - it has to be trained and it can be. It just takes patience and confidence.

Again, I agree with this. And it also takes time.

I also agree with pinsnpugs. Obedience classes are also great for socializing. Obedience classes are not just for training pups/dogs, it's also helping you on how to train your pup/dog.