The Trials and Tribulations of Owning and Training a Puppy! Part 5

After a bit of a flat week last week I sat back and thought about what was really not working in Brin’s training. The most important aspect I really want, and need to fix, is the recall because this is so important for a whippet, if you want to give them every opportunity to run off the lead. 

Many years ago I think the best tip I was ever given on recall was to practice it at least 20 times every day around the house, garden and on walks. Given how tricky long dogs and sight hounds can be I mentally increased this to 50 times when I trained Sonic and I know this is the approach I need to take with Brin. This means doing little recalls around the house, and also more testing recalls on walks. The main thing is to make sure that your dog is successful every time, so never call unless you are sure he will respond. That can take a lot of self control as I know I just want to call him no matter what he’s doing but making sure he never gets into a situation where I know he won’t respond is the first step and then putting him in a position where he is coming to me as I say my recall word can help make everything gel and will give us strong, positive return runs.

Lots to remember once you hit somewhere like the forest with it’s multiple distractions but, as long as you have done the groundwork you should have some chance of success. With Brin I am using high value treats like sausage as well as his favourite ball. All of this is not fool proof, but we are working on it both on walks with Sonic and Logi and when I take Brin out on his own.

Practicing 50 times per day is also a challenge especially when you are trying to make it fun, not feel like you are nagging or have become too demanding of your pup. I do some when I am chopping up treats and some in the garden as well as recalls from the garden to the house. Mixing it up in the forest I run away and reward him for chasing after me which he loves - we will try anything to make the recall game fun.

What do you do to ensure your puppy comes back when you call him?