January 11th 2010 12:38 pm
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Henry's Mom here. I can't begin to say how wonderful training has turned things around with Henry and me. It started out with teaching the "focus" (look at me) cue. I'd feel like he would never understand but very slowly he got it and I pushed the cue in itty bitty baby steps until finally he learned it in different situations with different distractions going on.

Next I tackled "come" head on, I was determined to re-teach this cue! I looked through my dozens of pictures of Henry, Jessica and I playing and romping off leash together in the woods, beach and lakes. Not that I could not make on leash walks just as happy and bonding, but it was my dream and belief for Henry to be off leash again-SAFELY.

My determination was daunted when I kept testing Henry and realizing I had failed to teach. However with the help of dogsters, I realized I was moving too fast and expecting too much. It was time to go back to itty bitty baby steps. No, not even steps. We went back to crawling.

I had to change some things about how I trained. I had to force myself not to repeat a command (it didn't matter what command it was) and force myself not to try to raise my voice and expect that to make my dog respond better. I worked on keeping my voice happy with strength and confidence inside me though.

I also tried finding a treat that would motivate Henry outside. I found that rewarding him with a game of tug was a high value reward to Henry. Also string cheese is a very high value reward, and compares to nothing else I've tried.

I used a long clothesline when I took Henry in the fields and woods. I would call him and get no response. But slowly by rewarding him with a game of tug just when he turned his head my way, that started building his foundation for "come".

Dogsters on the behavior forum were so supportive and helpful in our journey, giving me lots of insight and tips, and answering every question I had.

Eventually Henry began to respond to me asking him to "come". I forced myself to stay consistent and not push too fast, and Henry's learning process sped up! He was giving me "come" 50% of the time...then 70%...then 80%...then 90%!! In different scenarios!

I thanked the behavior forum. I'm still thankful. It's not that I didn't enjoy being with Henry when he didn't know cues, it's just that now I can relax because he knows "come". Anything could happen, the leash could break, or I could drop it, or his collar can slip off. I feel a lot safer and relaxed know he has a good recall now. And in the future when it's even more solid, I can take him to the beach again.

Right now I'm still being consistent and letting Henry tell me when it's time to push him a little further, and we're going to get to that 100% one day.