# No recall



## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

Mojo is 8 months old and delightful with one exception: he has no recall at all and if allowed out of his large fenced outdoor area he will wander off or play "you can't catch me" if you try to get him back. Last night my husband let Mojo slip out the door when groceries were coming in, and Mojo took off down the driveway, out into the road and a couple hundred feet more before we cornered him up against someone else's fence. He's never come close to going that far before, and it scared us badly.

Running in the opposite direction, even if waving a favorite toy or a treat, does not work at all. Squatting down low doesn't make a difference. Acting totally silly, lying down on the ground, none of this motivates him. And this is a dog that is totally velcro dog in his home, who will move two feet if I move two feet away from him, who sleeps right next to my side of the bed, who will come and lie across my feet when I brush my teeth or cook.

I've had trouble teaching him to come with the usual training methods involving treats or favorite toys, because he's not that interested in food (even fresh meat or hot dogs) and although he does love certain toys, he doesn't love them enough to make them good rewards. They say to find something he loves, and what he loves best in the world is his half sister who lives with my neighbor, but even she is no longer a good enough reward to get him to come reliably if he'd rather go explore. What he really loves best in the world is to be loose.

I'm considering a shock collar, I'm that desperate. I've tried working him a little on a long line, but even a light laundry line only makes him stop and chew it, and the only way I get him to come to me is by reeling him in. 

I probably created the problem in a couple of ways. First, I noticed right away that he would not stay by me if we were outside, and didn't seem to worry if I walked away from him, so I didn't let him outside unless leashed or in his fenced yard, which is big. Second, I began regular leash walks right away when he came home at nine weeks. For weeks, he didn't want to walk and had to be coaxed very hard, and he hated, and still hates, his harness and would do anything to get away from it. I'd never encountered a dog that wasn't excited to see his leash and go for walks, and I didn't know what to do with it. Now he loves his walks, just doesn't want to be restrained. I had to chase him, still do if he realizes I'm getting his harness. As soon as he gets harnessed and leashed, he's all ready to go. Point being, this is a daily routine where he has learned to avoid coming to me unless its his idea.

Also, we brought Mojo into a household with a toddler, so there have been and still are often times when we have to chase him to get something he's grabbed that he shouldn't have. Another situation where we've taught him to run away, not come.

Suggestions welcome.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Can you email me privately , I will put something together for you. In the mean time , I would STRONGLY advise against a shock collar. Aversive devices such as these only teach fear. They do not tell the dog what TO do. Here is my email address [email protected]


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

If you can find a treat he likes, you can teach him to touch. Try freeze dried treats. Even my pickiest dog loves them. They especially love freeze dried cod. Dogs often ignore the word, come. If you teach him to touch your hand, and then treat him, he might be more likely to come when you hold your hand out and say touch. It worked for my guys. Good luck!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I've got something for you but it is too long to post here. Email me privately for that. In the meantime ,here is something on how NOT to get a dog to come.
How to Teach Your Dog NOT to Come When Called

1.Call your dog to you, then give him a bath. Or clip his nails, your choice; just be sure to pick the one he really, really hates.


2.Take your dog someplace he loves to go, like the park, or to play with a friend’s dog. Wait until he’s really having fun, then call him to you. Immediately load him in the car and drive him home. 

3.This one works especially well for small dogs: Call your dog to you, then swoop down on him with both arms, making sure to look as frightening as possible as you pick him up. Now, that might not stop him from coming to you altogether, but it pretty much guarantees that he’ll stop just out of arm’s reach. 

4.Call your dog, then immediately put him away somewhere (crate, behind a gate) and leave, preferably for a full day. A great choice for dogs who hate to be left alone.

5. If your dog somehow slips out the front door or maybe through your back gate, be sure to yell at him when he comes back home or when you catch him.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

davetgabby said:


> I've got something for you but it is too long to post here. Email me privately for that. In the meantime ,here is something on how NOT to get a dog to come.
> How to Teach Your Dog NOT to Come When Called
> 
> 1.Call your dog to you, then give him a bath. Or clip his nails, your choice; just be sure to pick the one he really, really hates.
> ...


This is so true. I saw this and I'm glad I did. I was guilty of calling my dogs to groom them! I had to resort to "TOUCH" because I overused the word, "COME".


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## Gypsy (Feb 22, 2009)

*Welcome To My World*

Deepest Sympathies. I have 2 of them. If anyone has suggestions please post them for all of us to see.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Gypsy said:


> Deepest Sympathies. I have 2 of them. If anyone has suggestions please post them for all of us to see.


Hi , I have a good article on general recall training , I didn't mean to be secretive with the info I have for Mojo's Mom, it's just that the info I have for her is specific to her case ,and is too long to post here. The forum only accepts so many words in a post. But here is an article that is actually by one of our trainers. http://www.dogsincanada.com/total-recall


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I don't know if this will work for Mojo and his mom, as it sounds like there is already some UNtraining that needs to be done before better habits can be established. But I can tell you how we trained Kodi to have a rock-solid recall, even under demanding circumstances, such as a beach full of other playing dogs. These aren't things we made up, but things I learned, either from puppy training books or working with our trainers. Hopefully, they can help someone else get their puppy off to a good start on a reliable recall, and maybe something in it can be of help to Mojo and his Mom too.

We worked on all of the following from the day we brought Kodi home at 10 weeks.

* From the very beginning, we experimented with MANY different food items to see which were Kodi's favorites. These are used as REWARDS, not as bribes, so you don't have to worry about it being an attractive enough treat that the dog will come just to get it.

* We were taught that dogs that don't want treats are probably not hungry enough. As long as there's nothing medically wrong with the puppy, there's nothing wrong with withholding half their breakfast to make sure they are hungry enough to work for treats throughout the day. You can always feed them a little bigger supper to make sure they are getting all the nutrition they need. The trainers at our training center often ask people not to feed their dog the meal before their class.

* We worked hard on nurturing a strong play drive, so that Kodi would look at play as a reward as well. (this includes "tug" and "retrieve" games, both of which most dogs can be taught to enjoy) This has the added advantage of developing a closer bond with your puppy so that they want to be with you and work for you even more.

* We taught him to understand and respond to a clicker. (read up on basic clicker training... there's lots of info on the web) to be able to give a marker for correct behavior, even when Kodi is at a distance.

* In the beginning, we would sit in a circle around him, and take turns calling his name, making kissy noises, anything we could to attract him over to us. As soon as he came, we would give him TONS of praise, a TINY treat, and someone else would call to him.

* It's REALLY, REALLY important not to use the word "come" (or whatever you want your finished recall word to be) at this point, or for quite a while. We found that "Wanna cookie?" worked really well.<g>

* As Dave said, NEVER, EVER call the dog for ANYTHING aversive. Go get him and pick him up.

* DON'T chase. Little puppies mostly want to be near you, especially in the first few weeks when they have just left their old family. But they like to play "catch me" games. Don't get drawn in. EVERY TIME, turn and walk away. Don't look back, don't make eye contact. Once they realize you won't play, they'll be back at your heels. (of course, you make sure that you've done this TONS of times in a safe, enclosed environment before EVER trying it outdoor)

* If you have a situation where the puppy can potentially get out of the house into an unfenced yard, put up a baby gate or ex-pen to keep them back from the door until your recall (and down stay!!!) is confirmed. (In our case, we have an enclosed porch that acts as this buffer zone)

* There are a number of games that can reinforce reliable recalls. One that I remember off the top of my head is to make a game of calling the puppy back and forth between two (or more) people that the puppy likes to play with. Again, use the puppy's name, or "wanna cookie", do NOT say "come".

* To start with only practice in an area that's small enough that you know the puppy can't get away. If stealing things and running away is a problem, chasing is not the answer; that just turns it into a game that the puppy has won by getting you to chase. Confine the puppy in a smaller space, where they don't have access to contraband, or where they can be easily captured if they do get hold of something they shouldn't.

* Only when the puppy is pretty reliably coming to you when you call their name, do you want to put your command word onto the behavior. Call his name, wait until he's already running toward you, and THEN say "Come!!!" in a high pitched "we're having a party" tone of voice. Praise and treat like mad when he arrives.

* Don't use your command word to INITIATE a recall until you are 90% certain that your puppy will get it right. If you're not getting a 90% positive response, go back to earlier steps and repeat, repeat, repeat.

* Only when they are recalling reliably on command in an enclosed area, can you start working on it in the open. Then again, you have to repeat over and over again. Every time I walk Kodi in the woods off leash, even though his recall is very reliable, I work on the recall many times. Since he typically stays very close to me when out walking, I orchestrate times for him to get ahead or fall behind by waiting for him to get interested in something. Then I either purposely lag behind him or move ahead. Next I call his name, make sure he looks at me (so I know I have his attention) and THEN call "come!". When he comes back to me, I treat him, pat him, tell him how wonderful he is, grab his collar (because I always want him to feel comfortable with that!) then release him immediately so that coming back to me doesn't become the end of his fun. My goal is to have a minimum of 5 or 6 recall-releases for the one recall and leash at the end of the walk.

A few important general points:

* Remember that ONE time of calling the puppy to you, then grabbing him and either scaring him, yelling at him or doing something to him that is unpleasant can set you back a LONG way in training

* Remember to reward often. Training things like recalls isn't done in isolation... Every time your puppy moves toward you quickly and willingly, even if you didn't ask for it, mark the behavior with a clicker (or a marker word like "Yesss!") and treat! Treating often is money in the bank. Keep a little plastic bag of treats in your pocket, so they are with you all the time, so that you can take advantage of those "teachable moments".

I'm sure there are parts that I've missed, but I can tell you that if you start at the very beginning and practice LOTS, you can develop a very reliable recall.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> I don't know if this will work for Mojo and his mom, as it sounds like there is already some UNtraining that needs to be done before better habits can be established. But I can tell you how we trained Kodi to have a rock-solid recall, even under demanding circumstances, such as a beach full of other playing dogs. These aren't things we made up, but things I learned, either from puppy training books or working with our trainers. Hopefully, they can help someone else get their puppy off to a good start on a reliable recall, and maybe something in it can be of help to Mojo and his Mom too.
> 
> We worked on all of the following from the day we brought Kodi home at 10 weeks.
> 
> ...


Oh ,I agree with what you are saying Karen. A recall is something that has to be worked on incrementally. It has to be proofed with distractions. It has to be worked on ,on a regular basis and not too many dogs are 100 percent reliable. Your success rate depends on how often the dog is conditioned to challenging distractions. And it is only when you have solidly trained recalls ,that you add distractions. You have to generalize his basic coming commands to the outside distractions ie. make it such a habit that it is like getting in your car and then automatically putting on your seat belt. And the biggest mistake people make is not making coming to you a pleasant thing and not following through if the dog ignores them. 
Anyway the link above is general training.,but what I have for Mojo's mom is a more detailed training idea that I thought would fit her specifiic situation.


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## imamurph (Apr 15, 2008)

I don't know why this works for me, but when I want my dogs to come (ie if their out in the yard) all I have to do is grab an extra collar and walk out with it. The minuet they see it they come to me, as they both love having their collars put on..
Is that odd or what?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Hi Dave,

That's why I prefaced my post as I did... It was clear to me that Mojo's mom has a harder road ahead than someone starting from scratch. I know what I posted works when things haven't already gone awry, but it's a lot harder to turn the ship around when it's headed in the wrong direction. But I also thought that with all the people on the board with younger puppies, it made sense to give them some tips on getting the recall started correctly.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

imamurph said:


> I don't know why this works for me, but when I want my dogs to come (ie if their out in the yard) all I have to do is grab an extra collar and walk out with it. The minuet they see it they come to me, as they both love having their collars put on..
> Is that odd or what?


I am asuming their collars on ,means walkies. Right.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> That's why I prefaced my post as I did... It was clear to me that Mojo's mom has a harder road ahead than someone starting from scratch. I know what I posted works when things haven't already gone awry, but it's a lot harder to turn the ship around when it's headed in the wrong direction. But I also thought that with all the people on the board with younger puppies, it made sense to give them some tips on getting the recall started correctly.


Right On.


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## imamurph (Apr 15, 2008)

davetgabby said:


> I am asuming their collars on ,means walkies. Right.


Well, I have to say they don't get walked alot, as I am taking care of my mom who is in Hospice. Most of their exercise is in the yard and tearing around the house together. They just that they like having their collars put on..our Aussie's were the same way. Odd, huh?


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Something you may want to try in the meantime while you are working on making the recall the best thing ever is a simple down. I would recommend same policy with this completely positive and the best thing ever. While Isabelle my maltese is obedience trained (she has titles, is an amazing therapy dog, and sometimes she would appear amazingly trained) on the other hand, she is also high drive and a bit of a stubborn monster too  She is now 7 and this hasn't changed so I modified what I needed in her behavior. Isabelle does a drop, I immediately praise her and we go to get a cookie. This works during squirrel chasing, agility class, rlhs, etc. For some reason, it works- maybe she doesnt feel like she is giving up as much as she is with come or maybe I was trained more than she was, maybe it is I have to come to her, or all she thinks about is the cookie. This isn't ideal but it is what works for me and Bellie Monster!


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## imamurph (Apr 15, 2008)

Amanda..the drop command is an awesome one to teach, as it can save them from many dangerous situations..i.e. heading towards a busy street should they escape the house..


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Amanda ,a down or drop is a little easier for a dog to do, and a very good thing to teach. And like you said ,it's reliability all depends on how well trained it is. Good point.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

ama0722 said:


> Something you may want to try in the meantime while you are working on making the recall the best thing ever is a simple down. I would recommend same policy with this completely positive and the best thing ever. While Isabelle my maltese is obedience trained (she has titles, is an amazing therapy dog, and sometimes she would appear amazingly trained) on the other hand, she is also high drive and a bit of a stubborn monster too  She is now 7 and this hasn't changed so I modified what I needed in her behavior. Isabelle does a drop, I immediately praise her and we go to get a cookie. This works during squirrel chasing, agility class, rlhs, etc. For some reason, it works- maybe she doesnt feel like she is giving up as much as she is with come or maybe I was trained more than she was, maybe it is I have to come to her, or all she thinks about is the cookie. This isn't ideal but it is what works for me and Bellie Monster!


Amanda ,that reminded me of Ian Dunbar's goat story, here it is.
In addition, you might consider teaching your dog an emergency sit or down, which is often better than an emergency recall. Teaching a reliable sit or down is much easier than maintaining a reliable recall. With a quick sit you instantly control your dog's behavior and limit his movement. Once your dog is sitting, you have several options:

1. You may let the dog resume playing. (Either you were just practicing the emergency sit, or the danger has passed.)

2. You may call your dog to you. (The surroundings are changing and it would be safer if your dog were closer; other dogs, people, or especially children are approaching.) Your dog is more likely to come when called if he is already sitting and looking at you, that is, if he is already demonstrating willing compliance.

3. You may instruct your dog to lie down and stay. (The setting is likely to be unstable for a while and it would be safer if your dog were not running around or running toward you. For example, a group of schoolchildren may be passing between you and your distant dog. To call your dog now would scatter the children like bowling pins.)

4. Walk up to your dog and put him on leash. For added stability, it is good practice to hold your dog's attention with your hand in a policeman stop signal and continually praise your dog for staying as you approach. (Do this when danger is imminent and a recall or distant stay would be unwise. For example, a herd of one hundred goats is being driven towards your dog.


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## scoobydoo (Oct 5, 2009)

_Don't forget levels of criteria_
criteria 1
indoors in the home:
'pretty boring here - ok what we gonna do then?'
criteria 2
the garden:
'ok this is my space, i get let out here when you don't want me in, i pee and poo here and there might have been a visitor in the night - got to go check it out'
criteria 3
neighbours/friends/other family homes/gardens:
known smells but new today, noise, chatting, kiddies, other dog's resources, food, toys and 'i thought we going for a walk mum - bored now'
criteria 4:
the training club:
other dogs, excitement, stress, carers chatting to other humans, carers fussing other dogs, expected to do behaviours in a ring, up and down, lots of smells, resources like training toys, treats - own and other dogs and stuff going on around.
criteria 5:
outside, lots of smells, lots of diversions, other dogs, switched off carers out for a nice walk (but it is the dogs time ) lots of resources, you, the kids, the goodies in the pocket, the ball, the frisbee

All training of cues, modifying behaviours etc should start at criteria 1 because this is where you have the dog's attention the most and therefore the highest possibility of getting the cue fixed. then it should be taken to criteria 2, then 3 and then 4 where if you get it reliable then you can test it at criteria 5.

This was given to me by an English trainer so some word choices may sound odd 

Have you tried cheese???? Have never met a dog that does not LOVE cheese.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

imamurph said:


> I don't know why this works for me, but when I want my dogs to come (ie if their out in the yard) all I have to do is grab an extra collar and walk out with it. The minuet they see it they come to me, as they both love having their collars put on..
> Is that odd or what?


That's pretty funny!<g>


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Good stuff Jo. Yeah and if you have trouble at any level ,you have to go back to the previous level and get that totally reliable. Only move to a higher distraction level when it is solid at the current level. I like a silent dog whistle for distance ,it transcends noisy environments. And always use hand signals that are visible from a distance eg. two arms straight up .


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## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks to all of you who responded with long and helpful ideas. I have started working with Mojo this morning and I will do whatever it takes. 

I already knew some of the mistakes I made with him, things like calling him and then doing something he didn't like, chasing him, basically giving him motivation to run away and reason to think that coming to me brings negative results for him.

Part of the trouble was my determination to get a puppy, even though I had a toddler in the house. Their needs often conflict, and Mojo was a particularly wild and bitey puppy. It's ironic that I've created a problem, because my motivation for getting a puppy was the frustration I had with two adopted littermates that came with major behavior issues that were never all resolved. In particular, I had 14 years with a dog that had major dog aggression and could never be with other dogs (except her sister, and even they had fights from time to time). I thought if I started from scratch with a puppy I could get everything right, and I read about a half dozen books on puppy training....then still screwed up. I underestimated the challenge of meeting the needs of a 2 year old and raising a puppy.

Starting this month I have much more time to devote to Mojo, since my granddaughter is staying mostly with her other grandmother for a couple of months. So it's time to undo what I did wrong. We'll see what can be done. I won't use a shock collar, and I don't think it would work anyway.

Christmas showed me that ham is a very high value treat to Mojo. He doesn't care about cheese, and I won't do liver because of concerns about toxicity. He likes the Natural Balance sausage food, so we'll work with that for a while. 

He is sleeping under my chair at the moment, and for the last 20 minutes we were doing retrieving with one of his favorite toys. He generally doesn't want to give up the toy, just wants to play tug, but he was giving it to me about half the time.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Hi Mojo's Mom,

I can't even imagine trying to train a puppy and ride herd on a human toddler at the same time! No wonder some things had to slide a bit. OTOH, Mojo is still very young. I see people come into our training center all the time with rescues that are 4 or 5 years old, and with a little consistent work, they come around. I'm sure Mojo will for you too!!! The great thing about Havs is that they WANT to work for you.

Dave probably already told you this, but try to find a number of different treat foods that Mojo likes. Another healthy favorite is boiled chicken. Kodi loves carrots, but I know that not all dogs will work for veggies. As far as store bought treats are concerned, you've already found the NB rolls, which are great and come in several different flavors. 

There are also 3 brands of treats that we use that are all made with good healthy ingredients and are soft enough that they are easy to tear or cut into little tiny pieces:

Solid Gold (Kodi's favorite is Turkey Jerky)
Zuke's has a huge line (our favorite is Mini Naturals Chicken Formula)
Wellness WellBites (we like the Turkey & Duck recipe)

When choosing store-bought treats to try, besides the obvious of reading the ingredients to make sure they are healthy, make sure the pieces are soft enough that they are easy to break up, but not crumbly. I made the mistake of getting a few different jerky varieties that from the ingredients looked great, but I couldn't tear them by hand, and even cutting them with a knife was hard work. (as well as tedious)

It would be great if you were able to come up with a selection of things that Mojo liked, because they tend to get tired of working for the same treat all the time. Try rotating through several. I even put several types in the same bait bag for one training session. That way he never knows for sure what's coming out of the bag.


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## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

Mojo does like carrots, and my husband and I were training him with matchstick carrot pieces earlier today.

I saw progress in Mojo just from one day of working with him on and off during the day. We have been using favorite treats and the word "touch". All day he got regularly rewarded for coming to either one of us at any time. Before today, he almost always hesitated before coming in the door from outside, even when he had asked to come in. He would stand there and wait for me to walk away from the door before coming in. By tonight, he would initially do the same thing, but then when I said, "touch!" in he came, to touch my hand, even without a treat. 

Also, while I was working with him tonight, he was coming in to touch regularly, so I got his harness and put it in one hand where he could see it, and he came in to touch time after time even with me holding the harness.

I was really pleased to see that one day could make so much difference in his response. I think we have a good start, and tomorrow I will work even harder, and everything he gets to eat will be training food. I'll get back to the clicker, which I played with in the early weeks but then abandoned.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. We'll see where we are in a month, and I know it will take a very long time. He's still just a baby, too.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Thanks for sharing how much you've accomplished in just a day. That is real encouraging about how quickly these little guys can learn! Good luck keeping up the good results!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

That's fantastic that you've made so much progress so quickly. It will take some time and a lot of reinforcement, but he'll come around just fine! And, personally, I find the PROCESS of training my pup to be fascinating and very rewarding.


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## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

The process is very rewarding. I was so excited the day that Mojo learned the "paw" command that I ran my husband down on the other end of our 5 acre property to show off.

It was rewarding today to have Mojo repeatedly run in to me from outside the screened patio all the way into the house to "touch" nose to my open hand, and then the same thing in reverse, inside to outside. He does it about 90% of the time in the house now, with a treat reward. Now, this evening down at his half-sister's house: forget it! But I'm really pleased with the start we've made, and he will even come to "touch" if I have his harness in my "touch" hand (reward treat is in the other hand).

Trained him to the clicker again today, so he knows the sound means a treat is coming...but I still find handling the clicker to be awkward in many situations. It seems that there aren't enough hands, having to give a hand signal, click the clicker and have a treat handy but out of sight, all at once.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Mojo's Mom said:


> Trained him to the clicker again today, so he knows the sound means a treat is coming...but I still find handling the clicker to be awkward in many situations. It seems that there aren't enough hands, having to give a hand signal, click the clicker and have a treat handy but out of sight, all at once.


Yes, clicker training is great, but there ARE times that you just don't have enough hands, or you're out and about and just don't have the clicker in your pocket. So it's very useful to train a "marker" word too. It should be short and distinctive. I say "Yesss!!!" It's not QUITE as effective as the clicker, because the clicker noise is processed in a different part of the brain than words are. But it's still a great back-up solution!


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## Ana's Mojito (Sep 24, 2007)

Hello everyone,
I'm glad for Mojo and his mom he's made so much progress, congratulations! I was interested in the article because mine are not too reliable either, I'm at fault I must say for not training enough. I live in Guatemala city, where most homes have fenced yards, or are condominiums and dogs do go out and sometimes get lost or hit by cars. I live in an apartment now with my two babies, I walk them every day, but I'm always looking for fenced gardens at friends' homes or something so they can run loose too. My dad has a yard and two dogs, so they love it there, but unless going to someone else's fenced property I don't let them off leash anywhere. I plan on moving to a home with a yard in a year or so (I'm so excited! for them mainly), and I stress out about thinking of them running out the front door or something. All this article will give me time to read and train, train, train. Here in the apartment, they'll come with me out to the hall in front of the elevator to greet visitors, but that's it. Like Mojo, my Mojito and Mambo are not food driven, and don't love a toy as much as they love other people and dogs so they can't wait to go out and greet.... Good luck with Mojo, I hope to read more about your advance!!
Ana


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Mojo's Mom said:


> The process is very rewarding. I was so excited the day that Mojo learned the "paw" command that I ran my husband down on the other end of our 5 acre property to show off.
> 
> It was rewarding today to have Mojo repeatedly run in to me from outside the screened patio all the way into the house to "touch" nose to my open hand, and then the same thing in reverse, inside to outside. He does it about 90% of the time in the house now, with a treat reward. Now, this evening down at his half-sister's house: forget it! But I'm really pleased with the start we've made, and he will even come to "touch" if I have his harness in my "touch" hand (reward treat is in the other hand).
> 
> Trained him to the clicker again today, so he knows the sound means a treat is coming...but I still find handling the clicker to be awkward in many situations. It seems that there aren't enough hands, having to give a hand signal, click the clicker and have a treat handy but out of sight, all at once.


Doing great Stephanie, just remember to get it 100 per cent before you start adding distractions. Get yourself a bait bag or fanny pack to hold the treats. The treat doesn't have to be immediate but the click has to be at the precise time of the touch.


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## BeverlyA (Oct 29, 2006)

Another thing to remember is, at 8 months old, a puppy is going threw their adolescence phase, just like the teenage years, so this is when he may try to see just what he can get away with. 

A book I really liked was "Surviving Your Dogs Adolescence" by Carol Lea Benjamin.


Hi Ana!

Beverly


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

good point Beverley . To quote Ian Dunbar "A dog's adolescence is the time when everything starts to fall apart, unless you make a concerted effort to see it through to the stability of adulthood. Your dog's adolescence is a critical time. If you ignore your dog's education now, you will soon find yourself living with an ill-mannered, under-socialized, hyperactive animal."


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