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DeltaDogz - Purely Positive Real Life Training

Roast chicken and the reliable recall

12/19/2011

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My dogs love roast chicken. They hardly ever get it, because I'm vegetarian, so when they do, they very nearly fall over backwards to get it - that is, they will try very hard to figure out what it is I want, so they will earn it as a reward. 
Roast chicken is very desirable for most dogs. Because of this many owners are surprised that even when they have this delicacy with them, their dog still doesn't come back reliably, usually when other dogs are present, or there's something interesting to chase.
Unfortunately, getting a reliable recall is not that easy. It takes a structured training approach - as well as roast chicken and other high value rewards - to make a reliable recall a habit the dog will happily execute, no matter the distractions.
To build a habit, the dog will need to go through many many successful repetitions of coming back when called, as well as be very well rewarded by a variety of pleasurable things: this can be roast chicken, or (for the ball fanatics) chasing the ball, or being sent back to play with those dogs he just left for you!
How do you get many successful repetitions? You start at home - and no, the next step is not the dog park. That's like going from Prep to High School in one year and will lead to your dog not coming back when you call him, roast chicken or not.
I pride myself on offering one of the most comprehensive recall training programs, training an "everyday" recall as well as an "emergency" recall, and carefully training each part of this important behaviour separately and in various environments. 
But while roast chicken alone won't get you that perfect recall, it certainly won't hurt. Your dog will definitely love you even more for it, and come back - at least sometimes.
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When Kiara met a flock of Galahs

7/6/2011

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Beautiful grey and pink, they were busy looking for food at our local off leash park. Kiara was mesmerised. Then she flew into action. The flock of Galahs took off, gliding low, just out of reach. I have a habit of calling Kiara off any chasing shortly into it, and then let her get back to it sometimes, to keep her recall response strong, but this time I stood mesmerised. I had never been able to let Kiara race: the whippet fun races had moved from Healesville to Melton after she was old enough to race, and Melton is simply too far for us to go. Now she was in full flight, hard on the heels of the Galahs, shadowing their every turn. She was beautiful. I just couldn't get myself to stop her.  When finally I tried, the response was as I expected: for once, she didn't even acknowledge she had heard me. Of course now I have to retrain the recall when she next lays eyes on a Galah, but it was worth being able to watch her do what a whippet is meant to do. When a little later she started chasing a magpie, she turned on a dime as usual on my recall signal, and I made sure to reward her with a feast of slowly fed roast chicken. Now for those Galahs!
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The dangers of a perfect recall

5/29/2011

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How can a recall be dangerous? I never thought so either, until Kiara, my whippet, got bitten today. She was mingling with a crowd of dogs that didn't have friendly body language (neither did their owner). But she is usually very astute in handling these situations, using all the right body language to defuse tension and then to get away at the right time, so I wasn't concerned. At some point I thought it better to call her off. She responded, as she does, instantly and at speed. That's when she got bitten in her flank by one of the dogs. My guess is that I interrupted her at a point where she was still appeasing the other aggressive dog, but because she responds to the recall so well, she would have moved before it was safe to do so. So I've sure learned a lesson - don't interfere when dogs are working out what's what! I'm not sure what this experience has done to her beautiful recall. I'll only know once her wounds are drained and stitched, some $1000 of vet fees later ...
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    Daniela Pelgrim

    I started my dog journey with Jessie, a small white fluffball bichon-schnauzer cross. She was trained in the traditional way by choke collar and praise via voice. After she died, Giro, my smooth collie, taught me how wrong this approach was. Kiara, my whippet, reaped all the benefits, and can't wait for her training every day, all day!

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