[rox]

my dog totally doesnt listen to me when i take him off the leash and let him run around.

when i want him to come back to me he does not ..and i have to go running and yelling and saying 'stay! stay! dont move! stay!'


anything i can do?...what are the steps to make him return to you?..for example in parks?

[Staffi Lover!]

My dog is normally good when I let her off the lead.

But because she likes a attention she has a habbit of running off and jumping at old people.

So when she does that I lower my voice and call her, and she knows I mean business.

She looks at me all guilty and wags her tail at me.. lil *** lol.

Try lowering your voice and not screaming be calm & collected and he/she is probably more likely to take notice.

[gardengirl]

Generally, if your dog doesn't come 100% when he's on leash, he'll never do it off leash. I would go back to leash training. When your dog is doing better with that, then transition to a long (30ft) leash and practice. I use favorite treats to entice them to return.

Also, try never to have a negative voice when you call your dog. Always be cheerful so your dog wants to come to you. And if you have to go get him, do not yell or punish him because that will just make him want to get away from you. Hope this helps!

[you threw it you fetch it]

Originally Posted by gardengirl

And if you have to go get him, do not yell or punish him because that will just make him want to get away from you. Hope this helps!

I think this is a key point. Many times I have seen owners become increasingly frustrated when a dog does not come the when the poor mutt finally arrives they chastise it. The dog has to want to come back or at least be willing to. Treats help, but more important IMO is getting the dog used to obeying. I trained my dogs through play and built it up from there.

This is one of the games and the broad steps I use:

1. Throwing a ball. Anything goes, even wrestling to get it back but watch out for puppy teeth.
2. She has to drop it before I'll throw it again.
3. She brings it back and drops it on command.
4. she has to sit before I throw it.
5. She has to sit and stay sitting while I throw it. She can only go to get it when I say 'fetch'.
6. When this is working well I interject the 'sit' command before she gets to the ball. (Dogs can give dirty looks.)
7. Start working with a second ball and point to which one to get first.
...

And so on. Every opportunity is used to reinforce the training and obedience becomes a habit for her. Becauuse she associates traing and obedience with attention, she is happy to do it.

It takes a lot of time but it's worth it. I've got my third labrador now and I confess to rarely bothering with a leash. If I put one on her I give it to her to carry.

[Staffi Lover!]

Dont get me wrong I will not hit my dog if she decides not to return to me forst time.

What I mean by lowering my voice is that it makes her realise that she has done wrong & she will always come back & then ill praise her for coming back.

This is not very often I have to do this as most of the time she is brilliant.

But this works with my Dog, and ever dog is different so..

[opokki]

I think long lines work great for working on reliable recalls. I started out using a 26ft. retractible leash and began calling her from short distances when I was sure she was not too distracted to come. I then increased my distance and also taught her "this way" to prevent her from hitting the end of the leash. I would say "this way" and change direction while running and clapping. Once I was having success with this I switched to a 50ft line and allowed her off-leash only in distraction free areas. When it was safe to do so I would hide behind trees and call out to her to encourage her to find me. Now I can use "this way" off-leash to get her to quickly change direction (it's wonderful!) and she is has a very reliable recall.

It's also a good idea to teach your dog to sit at your feet once she reaches you and to take hold of her collar for a second and then release her to go back to whatever she was doing. This will prevent her from ducking away when you reach for her collar which often comes to mean that you are about to end her fun.

It's important to practice without distractions first and then to gradually work your way up from low & medium to high distractions.

[rox]

Originally Posted by you threw it you fetch it

I think this is a key point. Many times I have seen owners become increasingly frustrated when a dog does not come the when the poor mutt finally arrives they chastise it. The dog has to want to come back or at least be willing to. Treats help, but more important IMO is getting the dog used to obeying. I trained my dogs through play and built it up from there.

This is one of the games and the broad steps I use:

1. Throwing a ball. Anything goes, even wrestling to get it back but watch out for puppy teeth.
2. She has to drop it before I'll throw it again.
3. She brings it back and drops it on command.
4. she has to sit before I throw it.
5. She has to sit and stay sitting while I throw it. She can only go to get it when I say 'fetch'.
6. When this is working well I interject the 'sit' command before she gets to the ball. (Dogs can give dirty looks.)
7. Start working with a second ball and point to which one to get first.
...

And so on. Every opportunity is used to reinforce the training and obedience becomes a habit for her. Becauuse she associates traing and obedience with attention, she is happy to do it.

It takes a lot of time but it's worth it. I've got my third labrador now and I confess to rarely bothering with a leash. If I put one on her I give it to her to carry.

thats a great training tip and ill definetly use it....

starting now!

+ thanks everybody for the positive tips..

[you threw it you fetch it]

Originally Posted by Staffi Lover!

Dont get me wrong I will not hit my dog if she decides not to return to me forst time.

What I mean by lowering my voice is that it makes her realise that she has done wrong & she will always come back & then ill praise her for coming back.

This is not very often I have to do this as most of the time she is brilliant.

But this works with my Dog, and ever dog is different so..

I hope you don't think I was suggesting you did but I have seen people being rough with their dogs when they do eventually come. Speaking generally I do think many people underestime how much time and patience is required to train a dog.

If your dog responds to a lowered voice, do you find that saying her name is enough to stop unwanted behaviour? A quiet reminder that you are there and watching.

[Staffi Lover!]

No thats ok just wanted to make it clear that id never hit my dog for that reason.

Yep I just call her name in once in a lowered voice and she is straight back at my feet, so it works ok for me.

Like I said everydog responds in different way, some dogs may decide to run away if you spoke to them in a lowered voice.

But my baby doesnt so this is the method I use.

[red setter]

When my other half takes my dog for a walk he doesn't use a lead and she does everything that he tells her.With the rest of us we have to take a lead because otherwise she runs away.