Dog won't come in from the garden

[Heidi73]

I have a 13-month-old labrador who is very obedient in every way except one. When she is let out into the garden she does not come back in when called, but returns at her leisure. Our garden is large (3 acres) and is not secure so this is a problem, especially at night when I can't see her. This has been an issue since she was a pup and I have resorted to taking her out to the toilet on a lead rather than sending her out on her own. We often have wild animals (rabbits, foxes, game birds) wandering through the garden so obviously there are some pretty exciting smells out there. I do not have a problem with recall when we are on walks.

[Natalie]

How does your dog react when you call here in? does she bark, ignore you, run off or anything?

I'm sure its a nightmare to secure a 3 acre plot too so i guess that's not an option?

There may be several reasons she's not coming in so it depends a lot on her reaction to you. You could try a squeaky toy she likes, or maybe do her favorite things with her indoors so she associates indoors with a more playful place.

[Canine Psychology Centre]

Hi Heidi,

Here's a tip - several times throughout the day, give your dog a treat and every time you do, make sure you're blowing a whistle as he receives the treat.

Just do that for a week, several times a day. Make it a good treat, sometihng he loves!

He'll soon come sprinting when you blow that whistle, wherever he is. No need to tell him good boy or further reward him, the treat he gets is plenty. After a week of it working, you can start only giving a treat on every other whistle, then one in every ten.

[ruth coffey]

Originally Posted by Canine Psychology Centre

Hi Heidi,

Here's a tip - several times throughout the day, give your dog a treat and every time you do, make sure you're blowing a whistle as he receives the treat.

Just do that for a week, several times a day. Make it a good treat, sometihng he loves!

He'll soon come sprinting when you blow that whistle, wherever he is. No need to tell him good boy or further reward him, the treat he gets is plenty. After a week of it working, you can start only giving a treat on every other whistle, then one in every ten.

I have been separated from my dog for 8 months whilst she was in quanranteen. She had issues sometimes coming back after a walk and would have me trying all methods to get her back, taking hour or more. Now she has adopted the same pattern. We live in a place like Heidi with rabbits etc and she has swiss Bouvierer in her, a hunting dog. I will try this method with the whistle and se if it works. I am keeping her on the lead at present but she tries to escape from the garden when she goes out for wee.
Any other advise is very appreciated.

[Princess]

Hey,
Not exactly the same thing but when our dogs broke of her lead (at 6 in the morning so it was dark) we tried calling her ect and it didnt work, then we rattled a small box of treats we carry around an dhtat worked, she came straight to us.
x

[nick_j007]

I like the whistle idea (canine concepts web site have a decent range, and I think they have one there meant for labs).

I would most certainly carry on with the lead useage for now. This in a way is your going back to basics, and filling in the spaces that you created by giving the dog too much liberty too soon.

If at all possible, later on I would set up a long line against the house near the doorway that you let the dog out from. As you let the dog out the line is attached ensuring 100% that your calls are not ignored regardless of what measures you use to get him back in. If all else fails you are still connected to the dog...voila!

When you stop using the line, the dog must be supervised initially by keeping a torch trained on the dog. Any suggestion of wondering off then get in early with your trained recall. Use high grade food for all nice recalls. Keep a pot of them near the door along with your whistle

Good luck!

Nick

[ruth coffey]

Originally Posted by nick_j007

I like the whistle idea (canine concepts web site have a decent range, and I think they have one there meant for labs).

I would most certainly carry on with the lead useage for now. This in a way is your going back to basics, and filling in the spaces that you created by giving the dog too much liberty too soon.

If at all possible, later on I would set up a long line against the house near the doorway that you let the dog out from. As you let the dog out the line is attached ensuring 100% that your calls are not ignored regardless of what measures you use to get him back in. If all else fails you are still connected to the dog...voila!

When you stop using the line, the dog must be supervised initially by keeping a torch trained on the dog. Any suggestion of wondering off then get in early with your trained recall. Use high grade food for all nice recalls. Keep a pot of them near the door along with your whistle

Good luck!

Nick

Well we have persevered with the whistle and treats. She responds well 98%.
We have had 3 occasions when she has taken a long time to come back- most was 3 hours. I think that at first it was a 'game ' that she was playing, but because I felt and probably showed anger in my body language, she then was afraid to come back knowing she was in trouble. How much can you show to a dog? I would not be asking this for a child but where do the similarities stop? And how can you show your displeasure when you have the dog back? We have another dog( completely compliant) and we make a big fuss over him whilst ignoring her. Is this a good thing to do?

[nick_j007]

98% is good. But your 2% at 3 hours would be enough for me despair!

A long (20m) line will allow the dog to move about, but at the same time to ensure there are no disappearing acts along the way. Once all is looking very good, you can begin to drop the line so it is trailed, then gradually shorten it until the line is all but gone. Use food and whistle as you have been. Keep food high-grade.

Despite you feeling angry (i can quite understand this) you really must avoid giving the dog a hard time when it comes back. If it pains you to show affection, just be mad in a calm way...call to you, sit, lead on, walk home. Ignore the dog. No harm done...you'll feel better after a beer/wine

Punishment upon return is as you must know counter-productive. Simple as that. Dogs normally go where the fun and enjoyment is that's all. Through thorough training you can ensure that the dog comes when called. Recall can take genuine work at times, and many people over look it or underestimate its importance.

So do not show displeasure at any return...even after 3 hours.

Just work more on the recall and keep the line on for a month or so to start and then build the recall up from there. Quite a bit of info freely available online for the recall. Take bits from all of it to suit you is my advice.

Good luck.

How is the O.P. getting on I wonder with the 13 month lab?

Nick

[nick_j007]

98% is good. But your 2% at 3 hours would be enough for me despair!

A long (20m) line will allow the dog to move about, but at the same time to ensure there are no disappearing acts along the way. Once all is looking very good, you can begin to drop the line so it is trailed, then gradually shorten it until the line is all but gone. Use food and whistle as you have been. Keep food high-grade.

Despite you feeling angry (i can quite understand this) you really must avoid giving the dog a hard time when it comes back. If it pains you to show affection, just be mad in a calm way...call to you, sit, lead on, walk home. Ignore the dog. No harm done...you'll feel better after a beer/wine

Punishment upon return is as you must know counter-productive. Simple as that. Dogs normally go where the fun and enjoyment is that's all. Through thorough training you can ensure that the dog comes when called. Recall can take genuine work at times, and many people over look it or underestimate its importance.

So do not show displeasure at any return...even after 3 hours.

Just work more on the recall and keep the line on for a month or so to start and then build the recall up from there. Quite a bit of info freely available online for the recall. Take bits from all of it to suit you is my advice.

Good luck.

How is the O.P. getting on I wonder with the 13 month lab?

Nick

[mac.]

do whistles work in fields as well?