Teaching a puppy recall (and other questions)

[SpotTheCat]

I was wondering how to teach recall from a young age and general puppy training (Like house training), is it possible to mostly or totally train the basics with out treats?
and do you think it is possible to let a Schipperke of lead? any breeds similar to a Schipperke? I am looking for a watch dog, who can do a bit of ratting, and does not Weight over about 9kg, preferably a intelligent breed (by intelligent I don’t mean easily trainable)
@Geena @RiverOtter

 

[Jmiller89]

Yes you can train any command from a young age. I’ve trained dogs starting when I got them at 2 months. I always used treats during the training process and weaned them off of the treats once they figured out what I wanted from them. You can probably do this without treats by using toys or just praise but it would be harder to do. Keep your training sessions short to 15 minutes at a time and try to end on a good note. Recall was always a fun one to teach. Best to have a leash on dog or have dog in a hallway that they can’t get out of. Once the do wanders away from you make a big deal and be very exciting and as the dog comes back name the command and praise. Repeat this process and eventually start naming the command in the beginning. Once the dog gets it you can stop acting the fool to get them to come. Potty training I’ve always done by again making a big deal when they go outside vs inside and give them LOTS of opportunities to go outside. I also teach them to do it on command. Makes the outside trips a lot shorter. Sorry don’t know anything about the particular breed you want to get, someone else will have to help with that.

 

[SpotTheCat]

Yes you can train any command from a young age. I’ve trained dogs starting when I got them at 2 months. I always used treats during the training process and weaned them off of the treats once they figured out what I wanted from them. You can probably do this without treats by using toys or just praise but it would be harder to do. Keep your training sessions short to 15 minutes at a time and try to end on a good note. Recall was always a fun one to teach. Best to have a leash on dog or have dog in a hallway that they can’t get out of. Once the do wanders away from you make a big deal and be very exciting and as the dog comes back name the command and praise. Repeat this process and eventually start naming the command in the beginning. Once the dog gets it you can stop acting the fool to get them to come. Potty training I’ve always done by again making a big deal when they go outside vs inside and give them LOTS of opportunities to go outside. I also teach them to do it on command. Makes the outside trips a lot shorter. Sorry don’t know anything about the particular breed you want to get, someone else will have to help with that.

Thank you

 

[Geena]

IMO there is no single best way to teach a recall or anything else to your dog. I actually use a variety of techniques depending on what that dog responds to best .
Dog training really should be done hands on because one needs to see how the dog is reacting in order to know which way to go next with them.
Novice owners make a lot of mistakes (I know I did!) and those need to be corrected in the moment or they will go on to create other issues on down the line.

Probably the two most important things are-

If a rock solid recall is very important to you then go with a breed that you can be successful with. As RiverOtter mentioned sight hounds are just about impossible to recall. Don't get a dog that is bred to do A,B and C, because you like the way they look and then expect to override genetics and train them to do X,Y and Z.

Also vitally important the is laying the proper foundation from a very early age. Everything else you do will be built upon what you have done previously. I looked around for a video that illustrates the beginnings of teaching a recall. This one is very much like how I start them. Puppy Recall

I'm sure there are plenty of other very similar videos out there, maybe even better ones, as I just picked that one rather quickly. Watch as many as you can to get a good feel for it before getting your puppy. Personally, I find videos to be much more informative than the written word in regard to dog training because you can literally see how it's done.

Also, I hesitate to bring it up as it's apparently a sore subject for some unknown reason, but it should never take years to teach a dog a single command. If you are having that much trouble teaching something to your dog you're most likely not going about it in the right way and should seek some professional help.

 

[sourland]

Why are you reluctant to utilize treating ? Crating and close observation generally results in easy house breaking. We are working with a 4.5 month old pup. We got her at 8 weeks old. She was solidly house broken after 4 weeks and now knows sit, stay, wait, down, come, leave it, go to your place and NO - the last she sometimes disregards.

We walk her on a flexi because after our last dog died 2 years ago we shut down our invisible fence. We will have it reactivated in the spring. Two days ago I was walking her. It was very windy and she is a great leaf chaser/catcher. She hit the end of the flexi, ripped it out of my hand, flexi retracted and hit her in the head, she screamed and started running with the flexi chasing/scaring her. "COME" resulted in her gathering herself and returning to me rather than crossing the road. For me that is the most important command.

 

[Cruezin]

I hated using treats. I hated using negative reinforcement. I hated using pure clicker training.

Turns out that just like what Geena says, it all depends on the dog and what it will respond to.

My first GSD responded extremely well to clicker training. She had a sensitive tummy and treats were a no-go; at that time I never even considered negative reinforcement. I stopped at the point where I could put her in a sit-stay-eyes at the very busy dog park and she wouldn't budge until I said OK. She died very young (she was 6) and I swore I'd never get another dog; 6 years later I rescued a BC from my abusive neighbor, and couldn't fathom the thought of negative reinforcement for him. Border Collies are notoriously intelligent -- this one never responded to treats or clicker, but boy did the collar work wonders. He's right beside me as I type. He'll stay after placing up on a fire hydrant until released; he's also pretty good at flyball.

My point is, a happy, well adjusted, well-trained dog is a commitment, not unlike children. Each one is different and requires a different approach to achieve a good outcome. Don't limit your choices out of hand.

Oh, and might I suggest a Terrier? Not the big kind; the smaller breeds. I sheltered one- it was a Cairn/Highland mix- for a while, it was a stray that almost literally knocked on my door one day. He stayed with me for about 6 months until it was clear my BC was not OK with it (he went to my neighbors). Boy that little dog had some heart!!! Killed a breeding pair of possums, chased away a momma skunk & her young'uns (got sprayed a couple times in the process), and helped get rid of a pair of moles in my backyard (used to live in upstate California).

 

[SpotTheCat]

IMO there is no single best way to teach a recall or anything else to your dog. I actually use a variety of techniques depending on what that dog responds to best .
Dog training really should be done hands on because one needs to see how the dog is reacting in order to know which way to go next with them.
Novice owners make a lot of mistakes (I know I did!) and those need to be corrected in the moment or they will go on to create other issues on down the line.

Probably the two most important things are-

If a rock solid recall is very important to you then go with a breed that you can be successful with. As RiverOtter mentioned sight hounds are just about impossible to recall. Don't get a dog that is bred to do A,B and C, because you like the way they look and then expect to override genetics and train them to do X,Y and Z.

Also vitally important the is laying the proper foundation from a very early age. Everything else you do will be built upon what you have done previously. I looked around for a video that illustrates the beginnings of teaching a recall. This one is very much like how I start them. Puppy Recall

I'm sure there are plenty of other very similar videos out there, maybe even better ones, as I just picked that one rather quickly. Watch as many as you can to get a good feel for it before getting your puppy. Personally, I find videos to be much more informative than the written word in regard to dog training because you can literally see how it's done.

Thank you.

Thats why I am thinking schipperke might not be correct for me, the thing that confuses me is that the breed club does not mention them not being able to be let off lead and people use them to do obedience and agility, which I presume would need them to be able to be let off lead right?

Also, I hesitate to bring it up as it's apparently a sore subject for some unknown reason, but it should never take years to teach a dog a single command. If you are having that much trouble teaching something to your dog you're most likely not going about it in the right way and should seek some professional help.

I just wanted to say I saw nothing wrong with what you said.

 

[SpotTheCat]

Why are you reluctant to utilize treating ? Crating and close observation generally results in easy house breaking. We are working with a 4.5 month old pup. We got her at 8 weeks old. She was solidly house broken after 4 weeks and now knows sit, stay, wait, down, come, leave it, go to your place and NO - the last she sometimes disregards.

We walk her on a flexi because after our last dog died 2 years ago we shut down our invisible fence. We will have it reactivated in the spring. Two days ago I was walking her. It was very windy and she is a great leaf chaser/catcher. She hit the end of the flexi, ripped it out of my hand, flexi retracted and hit her in the head, she screamed and started running with the flexi chasing/scaring her. "COME" resulted in her gathering herself and returning to me rather than crossing the road. For me that is the most important command.

I am not reluctant to use treats, I asked partially because I was wondering if it was possible and partially because using treats with my dog never really worked for most things, everything I could find about training dogs all was used treats or occasionally toys, My dog doesn’t really like either.

 

[Sheepheart]

The way we train for recall is just having them out letting them roam and randomly calling them over. Giving lots of pets and good pups, you don’t have to use treats but you may. You’ll want to work your way on the distance of how far you let to pup roam so if they don’t listen you can quickly get there attention without initiating a game of chase. Depending on the dogs personality and breed will determine how quickly they pick this up and if it will stick with them. Also you’ll want to pay attention to how you call it back, making sure your voice doesn’t suggest it is a suggestion or that your calling them over to play. When they come over if you want to give them a treat it should be the last reward, start with verbal then you can give pets in combination with verbal and then treat. I suggest having them sit or be calm when giving the treat to help prevent over excitement when it comes to treat giving. Don’t want to recall your dog and they come back and jump on you.

 

[sourland]

Have you considered taking a basic obedience training course. For a variety of reasons it is a good idea.