# My V has gone deaf (recall issue) :'(



## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Lyra is 4 months old. She has been pretty easy to train. I didn't have much to do with recall, she naturally came to her name and I added arm signals and then a whistle. She would reliably come to any of these signals. Since her final injections we have been able to walk her off leash without any issues or problem with recall.

The highlight of my day is taking her for her beach walks off leash. She loves all the smells and playing with the dogs she meets but always came when called. One issue we have always had is she likes to chew and swallow the thick white stalks of seaweed. This can make her very constipated and I believe can cause intestinal obstructions so we always take it away (and give her a treat in return).

For the last few days she has suddenly become deaf to us. Particularly when she has a piece of seaweed but also more generally when she is just sniffing around the sand. When she won't come we try not to chase her and usually have to resort to turning our backs and walking off in the other direction. Even then she will often come back but not close enough to be grabbed. I have tried to make it clear that this behaviour is unacceptable by putting her back on her lead or ending the walk and putting her back in the car. I realise this has the danger of making her more reluctant to come when called.

I have read through the posts about recall but they haven't been particularly applicable. Some talk about putting the dog on a leash and retraining them but I'm not sure what to do as I have never really had to train her for recall in the first place. Also, I'm not sure if this is what is applicable; she knows what is required, she just doesn't want to do it. For instance, we took her for a 4.5 mile walk in the woods yesterday and her recall was pretty much 100%. 

I realise that Vs sometimes 'go backwards' when it comes to training but I have read about this sort of challanging behaviour in older dogs as they become 'adolescent'. I am at a loss what to do and this is ruining our relationship!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

1. Use more tempting treats & ONLY use these particular treats for recall (not for regular training). My favorite treats are hot dog bits and freeze-dried liver.

2. Recall regularly (every 5-10 minutes) even if she's not getting into trouble. The process should go like this: Recall, praise, grab collar, treat, and release.

If she's *still* not coming when called, there are a couple things you can do. You can put her on a long-lead (30ft) and reel her in when you call her (always treat, even if you had to drag her to you). You can also try running in the other direction or hiding behind something. We used to hide on walks if Riley took off and wasn't paying attention to where we were. I still do it from time to time. It's a fun game that teaches them to keep an eye on you.

Also, keep in mind that your puppy is entering a new development stage! It really helped me to reference this chart when Riley was a pup:

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/developmentalstages.html


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

Im an advocate for training with e collars as it has worked wonders with my pup. It provides just enough stimulation to get his head back in the game when he would go into chase mode. A few monthes back I taught him the off leash command "stay with me" which has been a game changer as well. He gets a 15 foot proximity and has to stay with me. I also taught him "check in" and he now checks in with me on a regular basis. They are so smart, but stubborn.


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Our boy's recall has been a real challenge. Partly because my boyfriend and I were new at training a dog and made a lot of mistakes with recall training and also because our V is extremely independent. 

He hes gotten SO much better in the last couple of months! He practically charges us when we call him (but we've done a lot of walks just the three of us so not too much distraction). 

We played the "touch" game. If you teach her to touch your palm with her nose you can try it. You have her by your side and tell her to "touch". When she touches your palm, throw a treat about 10 ft in front of you. Whne she gets the treat call "touch!", and repeat. Keep it up for about 5-7 rounds and then stop on a good note and do something else with her. Oh! And if you do.try the game, play it in a fenced in tennis court or some other safe area where she doesn't have too much freedom and can also easily find the treat. Keep your energy high so she stays interested in you.

Also, when working on straight recalls, make sure you are giving her multiple treats. Like a dispenser, One at a time but one after another so she.doesn't learn to grab the treat and take off. 

If you've taught her to "wait", you can keep her in a wait and then call her to you and reward. Then tell her to wait and step back a few steps, reward the.wait and then recall (so she.doesn't begin to think a wait will automatically mean a recall - keep her guessing). 

Make sure you bring a variety of treats that she LOVES so that she never knows what shes going to get. 

One more suggestion, bring her favorite plush squeaky toy. Call her, squeak the toy, let her grab it in her mouth and play tug. This toy should be
one she is crazy about but never let her have it. She can only play with it when its attached to your hand. 

Our experience, Otto became much more biddable when he reached about a year old. That said, the earlier you start to establish good habits, the better off she'll be!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Easy and fun.... 
need two people 30-40 yards apart, have the dog run in straight lines between them. 
Eventually, you will only need to call or whistle. 

There is way to guide the dog by standing the dog between your legs, holding the Doug's head between the palms of your hand wile aiming its nose in the direction you would like him to run. 
The person on the other end should call the dog, while the person sendinging the dog should stay quiet as the dog is released (unless the dog is trained for send-off like in protection training and then a specific command can apply). 

Do this 500-700 times over a period of 3-4 months and you will never need the e-collar to reinforce the HERE command apart from a little whistle or beep. 

====
Btw, there is nothing wrong with stimulation on low as long as it stays on low.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Thank you ALL for your suggestions. There are some great ideas here

Thanks for the link threefsh, I was aware that dogs went through the 'flight instinct' period but I thought it was much later (12-18 months). It was somewhat comforting that she was going through a normal stage of development. 

We had already bought a 15ft lead (shop had nothing longer) because of this problem and tried it the day I posted. First time, she went off like a bullet to greet another dog and pulled it straight out of my hand. A new embarrassment to endure......chasing after a dog trailing 15ft of lead across the sand! Unfortunately 15ft just wasn't long enough as she wasn't far enough away to recall really. I suspect 30ft would be difficult to manage on a busy beach. Lyra certainly didn't enjoy being restricted but I don't know if she made any connection between her recent behaviour and being reigned in.

I hadn't talked to my wife about the replies here when she decided to take Lyra out later to see if she could make any progress to cheer me up. On her own initiative she came up with the same idea threefsh suggested of a special treat (a really smelly fish based rope). She showed it to Lyra before she was let off the lead and whenever she came back on command she was allowed a chew of it. Since then we have been on the beach a few times and her recall (which was always very good before this) is now even better


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Ly - last time PIKE had his ears checked at the Vet - he thought there was nothing in between - said his nose was perfect - they just go thru stages - but you have to correct every time they regress in what they already know and ignore - if not they will rule ! get the check cord out and limit the range with it - just takes work


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## WireyV (Dec 15, 2012)

Four month old Rigby is going through the same thing, really pushing boundaries on the distance she is comfortable walking away from me at the park or beach and is almost totally deaf, especially when the snout is on the ground sniffing something out. 

I've found walking away from her and crouching to the ground the most reliable way of getting her to come back to me. I've been a bit slack on the treats lately so might need to start having them on me all the time again.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

We have always treated Lyra for a recall. If she only knew one command this is the one I want thoroughly embedded in her little head )

Have you tried training him to a whistle? I thought it would be hard but it was dead easy. I just gave three peeps on the whistle followed by the usual hand signal and within a few goes she associated the two and would come back on just the whistle. I find the whistle a much stronger recall signal. I think the sound just penetrates through whatever they are thinking about much better. The sound carries further too. I still practice plain calls and hand signals too in case I don't have a whistle with me. 

Since sorting out her ignoring her recall I have been testing how strong it is. With the whistle I have got recalls when she has been chasing a dog (playing I hasten to add!), playing with a dog and when she was sitting waiting for someone to give her a treat.


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