My guy surprised me today. 2 year old. Always had good recall. But, I have been bad Mom not taking him for his runs. Finally today some time off and off we go. He decides as usual to go about 500 feet away to explore. I can still see him. I call and no reaction. Call louder he looks at me then turns and IGNORES. OK. I don't get angry. I raise voice he decides to head for the field and have a good run. I am about to have a heart attack. I run to find him calling and calling nothing. The worst enters my mind. I head back to the house to get son to help find him. By the time I get to house, I look back and my boy is heading towards me. Sheer delight and welcomed him back with a treat at the same time wanting to clobber him.

Question is... Do I go back a step now and not let him off long line for awhile?

Recalls are soooo important.

What to do? Any suggestions?

My dogs are pretty well trained and rarley run off on me either, but when they do and don't come back when I call them right away, they lose their freedom for a while. These are dogs I generally do not have to leash, but when they decide to pull somthing like this, I take them in and out strictly on a leash for at least a week. And during that week, I take a few minuets a day to reinforce their training. That's how I handle the situation.

Good Luck!

Yup I would go back to on lead recalls for a bit. Lots of good treats and then before trying off leash in a spot I cannot round him up I would work him off lead in a fenced in area where if worse comes to worse you can collect him.

You are right recalls are VERY important and possibly even life or death. Get him back on track for a few days and when your confidence is restored, try again. Make sure he always is aware of the yummy treats in your pocket.

It has happened to the best of trainers and trialers so don't be embarrassed, just fix the problem. Good luck.

I agree.Go back to basics and work your way slowly to off lead again. I have had similar things happen with my young girl(19 mo)and going back to the long lead(30 ft) was a good reinforcement and avoided the "I don't wanna's". Lots of goodies and positive reinforcement. I also decided to work on the "drop" or down on recall so that it was an alternative command if she chose to ignore the recall...beleive it or not it has worked to stop her in her tracks and avoid a dangerous situation. Seems it carried more weight than just "come". Haven't a clue as to why.
Good luck, everyone has been through it. They'll get over it.
Lisa

I agree with Tari and Lisa. When my old boy was a youngster, he spent more time back on the flexi, than you can imagine. It seemed that he would need a good long while to forget how much fun it was to say "bite me" and run off. So each time he did, it was no more freedom for a good long while, til he both forgot and passed through his little dominance stages. This went on for about a year or more, then he finally got it. I agree, it could be life or death.

He's a youngster and he's testimg you to see what he can get away with. It's part of the maturity process. As the others have suggested, he should go back on the long line for a while with lots of positive reinforcement on those recalls.

Cathy M.

With his age and the time of year... Is he intact? It could be the male hormone thing kicking in. Lots of birds and bees in the wild right now. The foxes have been hanging out in my backyard hoping my bitches in season will come out at night.

Practice Round-Robin Recalls:

Supply several people with especially good treats cheese or hot dogs, boiled chicken etc. Put dog on a long line with a large knot at the end so that it can be stepped on or tossed to the next person, if the dog really tries to escape.

Have each person show the dog the food at first if it is slow going then take turns enthusiastically calling the dog and feeding it a treat using the same command.

I tell the people in my classes to have each member of the family do this first in the yard or house then in a park w/ the long line.

I also have an emergency recall word that my dogs will come running for - "treat!" ;-)