Treats and tools only serve to create competitive behaviours – think about that. If your dog is interested in something – and you’re giving the dog a choice to investigate that thing or come have a treat? Or shocking the dog to remove the dog? That’s competing behaviours.
I encourage owners to become the highest value treat in the dogs life – it’s called building a solid relationship with your dog. Do that and you’ll never have to worry about teaching recall again. Letting the dog go off leash is showing the ultimate in trust and respect to the dog – but that trust needs to be mutual.
The morning of the 3rd day that I had Monty – he was off leash in unfenced dog parks. Monty is very confident, very independent and at 10 pounds, he can stand on his own 4 paws. He will correct when necessary, and those corrections will get stronger if need be. I’ve told owners to back their dog off or they are going to get bit – and they have. I will encourage him to defend himself by any means necessary. It’s very rare for Monty to come to me or look to me for help – but he knows when he does, I’m stepping in to deal with the offending dog. This is what gives Monty confidence – he’s knows I have his back. I don’t care if the dog is 2 pounds or 200 pounds, they need to know that you are their protector.
How did I get Monty off leash so fast? It’s not a race. I’ll post Monty’s case study at the bottom of the page, feel free to read it – but lets focus on “recall”. Or lack thereof. The case study is the details of overcoming fears, the dog making choices etc.
I didn’t put any formal training into Monty. He spent most of the first 5 years of his life in a house with a loving family – he wasn’t even housebroken. For the first 2 days, we were home for maybe 8 hours a day, gone for 16 hours a day – and home overnight to sleep. Otherwise, it was dog parks, pet stores, other commercial places that I could take him to. I had to take the time to get to know him – and he had to get to know me. I need to learn his little idiosyncrasies if you will. This is about building a relationship – not about Positive Reinforcement, Quadrants or training. 2 days – that’s all it took to build a solid relationship. Monty became this “Mans best friend” and I became his – I became the highest value treat in his life. He never got treats from me.
During the first 2 days, I conditioned him to look at me when I whistled with my lips. I didn’t say good boy, he never got a reward and I did it everywhere. Just a simple stop and look. If he was asleep, I’d wake him up with a whistle. Same in the car.
Morning of day 3, we got to the park – and I wasn’t expecting perfection. I left the leash in the car, opened the door and let him go. He booked it into the park. I let out a whistle – he stopped and looked at me. Then off to do his thing – but he made a wrong choice – and he’s going to operantly conditioning himself – self manage his behaviours. This is how it works.
The first 2 days were all about relationship – getting to know each other, learning that mutual trust and respect for each other. I need to be the highest value treat in his life – and to do that, I need to meet all his needs and learn his communication.
Understand – I am the only thing in that park that Monty fully trusts and respects – now it’s time to use that against him. He ran to a pack of dogs and met them all. Then off to meet other dogs – and more dogs. I know where he is – but does he know where I am? He’s lost sight of me and at some point, he’s going to figure out that he can’t find the most important thing in his life.
And when he did figure it out, he freaked – full panic mode. I was hiding behind a friend. He was moving like the hands on a clock, looking all around and I let him suffer. This is going to be a very valuable lesson for him. Part of me felt bad – but it’s necessary. He made the choices that led him to losing access to me – and now he’s paying for it.
I let him do his thing for a few minutes – then stepped into view and whistled once. He looked in my general direction but didn’t see me. Second whistle – and he ran as fast as his little legs could move. I squat down, was welcoming, not angry – and I didn’t scold him. He punished himself – why make it worse?
One of the downfalls of doing that is that he stuck to me like glue for the rest of the walk. I wouldn’t be able to hide from him if I tried – this is not what I want but I know he will back down and relax in the days to come. And he did. I did this twice, maybe three times in the first month and never since.
When Monty goes off leash, be it a dog park, wilderness, walk around the neighborhood – it’s his time. Get out and be a dog. He’s not only learned the rules – but through making a few bad choices he “understands” the consequences of making the wrong choice. There is a huge gap between learning something and understanding something.
I believe that everyone wants an independent dog and that’s what I have. Strangers have offered to buy him off me because of the way he was around their children. They can’t believe how calm and easy going he is. I would never sell him, but I told them to call me and I can show them how to achieve it.
This is an example. Monty is ahead of me – and I stop. At some point even after he’s beyond view – he comes back because he knows I’m not there. I don’t expect him to come running – I don’t need him to come running. It’s his time to get out and be a dog.