Dogs recall very sporadic

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Howitzer

Original Poster:

2,828 posts

215 months

Thursday 25th September 2014
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Hi all,

Our 5.5 month old Rotweiler is having a bit of a change since his balls have become more prominent. At 3 months old he was great off the lead, would come back fine etc and reacted well to treats, affection etc.

Now sometimes he is great, either when using treats or just by affection and other times very naughty.

I work overseas so it could be that every other month he is walked by my wife and when i'm home 99% of the time by me.

This morning he ran to say hello to a lady walking across the field and no amount of shouting would get him back, he doesn't do anything but want some fuss but it's our dog being bad and it's not on. Untill I get home i've asked the wife to keep him on a lead as when she walks him she is also with our 6 month old son, so it's not that easy to go running after a dog.

I used treats to have him come back, affection, kept his interest when on and off the lead and have kept him walking next to me, constantly getting his attention when there are other dogs about but since his balls have dropped this is proving far harder.

Any good ways to try and combat this, he is housetrained, isn't allowed on the sofa and stays off, will sit and stay when it's dinner time and despite being clumsy, is excellent around our little boy.

The only thing I can think of is I don't think I give him as much time and attention as he did before now that my boy is a bit more active, he still gets attention though. When i'm away (28 days at a time) he wont get an evening walk and just gets a longer morning, afternoon walk etc. He has no set walk times as it's not practical when i'm away and with how the boy is being.

I hope it's just a case of higher testosterone levels and i'll need to ramp up the training more when I get home but I REALLY don't want to have a dog who runs up to other people un-invited.

Dave!

We specifically don't have a time for walkies as when i'm away this can be quite sporadic so not something we want the dog to expect.


Spiffing

1,855 posts

209 months

Thursday 25th September 2014
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A couple of questions:
Is he more motivated with toys than food?
What treats are you using? Try having a high value one for recalls, my dog loves extra strong garlic sausage and liver baked with garlic.
What excites him - movement of dogs playing or people?
What do you do when he returns?

Basically you have to be more interesting and fun than anything going on around you, you may end up looking like a dick in the process.

I would carry on exercising on a line, with any dogs you need a decent recall, but with big, heavy dogs they can do damage by knocking someone over by saying hello. Also and unfairly if people see a big, bad rottie heading at full pelt they may start to panic. Currently he is getting into a bad habit, you need to break it ASAP.

AdiT

1,025 posts

156 months

Thursday 25th September 2014
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I have to say it's pretty normal at that age. He's gaining confidence and until he's 9-10 months lots of things (EVERYTHING!) will be more interesting than you. Stick at it, stay calm and carry his VERY favorite treats. Practice his recall with the treats as soon as you start the walk, ie. before you NEED to recall. Try hiding from him or change your route when he doesn't expect it (go left at a path junction when he's used to going right) and he'll start paying more attention to where you are.

Whatever you do... Don''t forget to use your recall command and not just shouting his name repeatedly. Don't start chasing after him or you'll turn it into a game for him and he'll be better at than you. Don't be angry when he does finally return or he'll learn he's better off staying away.

He'll come around in the end.

Autopilot

1,298 posts

183 months

Friday 26th September 2014
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Behaviour sounds about right for his age. As AdiT said, as he gets older there will be phases where you'll never be the most interesting thing so probably doesn't matter what you do or bribe him with.

When I got my male Dobermann, he was the same, his recall seemed good then kind of went out the window as his sense of smell developed and got a bit braver. He improved for a while and then when he hit his doggy teen years it was practically like having to retrain him each week.

One thing you don't want to do it keep on calling him when he's buggered off, you're just teaching him that he doesn't have to come back when you call him.

Both my dogs get around 10 minutes of training a day each, training never stops!

Where are you based?

Howitzer

Original Poster:

2,828 posts

215 months

Saturday 27th September 2014
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He has Natures Way treats, or Liver cake etc. He loves them but maybe he is bored of them now, i'll try him on some smelly sausage.

Anything can grab his attention, a jackhammer he will ignore but at times he will want to sniff the nearest tree, hedge, crisp packet etc, there's no regular trigger apart from getting fuss from strangers.

When he comes back he is normally made a fuss of for a few seconds and then put on the lead.

He isn't particularly excited about affection or treats, he likes a treat but it wont hold his attention for too long.

It's good to know it's perfectly normal behaviour but i'd still like to put into place a firmer style of training or more regimented. He gets training throuoghout the day, Paw, high five, sitting, staying and laying down etc.

I'm based in Peterborough, the very southern tip of Lincolnshire.

Dave!

HenryJM

6,315 posts

128 months

Saturday 27th September 2014
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Howitzer said:
When he comes back he is normally made a fuss of for a few seconds and then put on the lead.
There is a problem. Do a lot of calling, rewarding and releasing so it's not associated with always going on the lead. Even with our 6 and 8 year olds we call and release quite a few times at random in an off lead walk