# how did you teach STOP in a reliable way



## miru (Sep 9, 2014)

Hello again,after a long sunday walk that was wonderful for everybody but I need to admit that it could have turn bad.
In Suisse people can be very righteous so what Leo did-running happily with his 19 kg to greet a lady that had her afternoon walk in the woods-could have ended in a letter to the judge(no kidding,the lady told us that she is not doing this because she is nice!!!!)

All this happened with me yelling helplessly STOP and COME,commands that he listens to like an angel when we are alone and calm.

So what to do?I put him on leash afterwards for 5 minutes and I did not give him any attention.He knew he had done wrong ,he was visibly low keyed but I know things will be the same next time when we meet someone and he is of-leash.

He is six months now,becoming a little defiant but he rests the same adorable boy ...he just jumps on people and becomes deaf !

Any ideas for us?some stories?
No e-collar please,I am to "weak"to use it 

Thanks a lot

Miru


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

Try a 30 foot lead on him.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

*So what to do?I put him on leash afterwards for 5 minutes and I did not give him any attention.He knew he had done wrong ,he was visibly low keyed but I know things will be the same next time when we meet someone and he is of-leash.
*

As hard as it sometime is, coming back to you has to be a reward to him.
Leashing him up after you have gotten him, teaches them there is no reward coming. I do agree with putting him on a check cord until his recall has improved. With a check cord on you can work on recall in a controlled way. Call him back, use the check cord if you need to, praise him, and them release to run again. Your going to be doing this hundreds of time through his teen age stage. Do it where he does not have distractions. Then as he is able to accomplish the task slowly start to add the distractions. Low value ones at first, and work toward the higher ones.


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## miru (Sep 9, 2014)

Thank you for your answers

I think the long leash is the solution.

His recall is very good without distractions and I also worried that putting him on leash when he comes will"break his heart" but it's so hard to know how to tell him"I did not like that".

I will take your advices and loads of patience


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

I have a different answer. Get a dog whistle. 

Settle on a pattern you like (I use two quick pips and a short blast) and the sort of recall you want associated with that call (I use a formal "front" with the dog coming into sit directly centered at my feet).

Your V is already pretty reliable on voice, so when you get a whistle try it first in a low distraction environment. Give your recall word, give your toot on the whistle, when the V comes give him some cheese (mmmm Swiss cheese) or reward with a treat they love and praise. In a couple days (at most) your V wiil be running to you on whistle command alone if they are anything like mine.

I got my new whistle just last Thursday night in the post. Within 24 hours Chester (6.5 months old) was rock solid on the whistle. A whistle was totally new to him.

Today my wife took the V for a trail hike w/o me. He is inconsistent for her on vocal commands (mostly good, but not perfect). This mornng I handed her the whistle to use and she reported back that she'd had a day of absolutely perfect recalls.

A whistle signal is clear and unambiguous to a dog. There is never "emotion" mixed into the command, unlike the voice which may be saying the right "words" while also conveying the stress or panic in an owners voice to the dog, which can definately mix the message and result in commands being ignored. 

The whistle is always a "calm voice" where ones own might not be, depending on the situation. Dogs are good at hearing panic.

You can never really have a leash or check-cord long enough to control a V permanently withou being constrained, and reeling them in can build unpleasant associations of their own for the dog. 

In contrast, coming to a whistle with a reward (until it is a well-conditioned behavior) builds nothing but unambigious and positive connotations for the dog. And gives you the potential for a powerful permanent solution to the problem.

This time I happen to be training with an Acme 535 "Silent" dog whistle, as I want to be able to use it around a lot of people without making a racket (to human ears). It is brilliant. In the past I've used the Acme oblong style whistles, which are louder to human ears (but good too). The 535 can be tuned to the dog's hearing and are nearly silent (or silent) to human ears depending on how high you tune it and if one has young ears (or not).

This is a very simple, humane, and effective fix for your problem.

Best wishes,

Bill


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## miru (Sep 9, 2014)

Thank you Bill for the idea.
Never thought of trying but it seems so simple so I would try!
Do you think it could work even in competition with "solid' distractions?(playing with two labs in the forest today,made Leo deaf and blind and even SWIIIISS cheese could not do the job)

Nice day

Miru


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## Spy Car (Sep 3, 2014)

miru said:


> Thank you Bill for the idea.
> Never thought of trying but it seems so simple so I would try!
> Do you think it could work even in competition with "solid' distractions?(playing with two labs in the forest today,made Leo deaf and blind and even SWIIIISS cheese could not do the job)
> 
> ...


It's working with my young one. Today I pulled him away from a female I knew was in season (why someone would bring a bitch in heat to an off-leash park is beyond me) with a toot of the whistle and zero drama. Obviously working under less "stress" initially, and working up, is best. But for reasons I mentioned earlier (i.e. lack of ambiguity, and no "stress" in the command) a whistle command can be even more successful than vocal commands. And with a Silent whistle most of the people around you won't even notice what you are doing.

Bill


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Mi - the first year I teach HERE & Whoa - Here is hard - WHOA is almost easy - HERE is done with a check cord - voice - hand then whistle - Whoa is done with lead & a whoa board - voice - hand & then whistle - I like WHOA better than HERE - the pup stops & looks 4 the next command - and then comes HERE - it is always a balance what commands you use - get these 2 right - the rest r easy !!!!!!!!!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

TR - TY 4 the LIKE - I'm not a pro trainer that gives U a finished DOG - after all these years my pups KNOW NO tricks - THEACH NONE - they R GUN DOGS - at their best in the field during the DAY - at home !!!!!!!! they R my COUCH MUTTS - would have it NO any other WAY - THIS IS A WELL BRED V !!!!!!!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you for adding teaching Whoa to the thread. I had thought about it during my first post, but didn't add it.
I've always thought whoa training, and teaching the dog to stand until released when recalled, helps them with other training. That them learning to wait on you for direction, makes them more of a partner in the field.


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## miru (Sep 9, 2014)

Thank you all for your answers.
TR and RE,I find your dialogue nice and friendly; it raises a good feeling about you people that really love this dogs.

Mir...&Leo


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