Lazlo's Mum Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 hello. Whenever I take Lazlo to the beach he never listens to me, he just ignores me and will do everything but listen to me. This is particularly annoying when I try to get him to come or stay. He when I call him he'll sometimes run in my direction, then stay just out of my reach. With stays, he either breaks or doesn't look at me and acts very distracted. Usually he works hard for liver or a piece of chicken, but on the beach is a different story. I've tried his favourite tug toys and tried getting him to chase me, but it just doesn't work. He's usually very responsive. Does anyone have any treat recipies or suggestions to help motivate Lazlo in a distracting environment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abzndbonnie Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I just got some natures gift mmini treats and they are working great so far! I also use cheese from time to time or chicken like you said, otherwise ham, try some different stuff, all dogs are different, i also tried a squeaky ball toy but that failed, my dog prefers food (fatty ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo's Mum Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 I've tried the natures gift treats, he doesn't like them, just spits them out...He doesn't really like any of the commercial dog treats, except dried liver. I guess that's what I get for feeding him a home-cooked diet Cheese isn't any good either, but I haven't tried ham... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!Kristen! Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 With mine, they wont touch the expensive stuff like smakos (sp? definitely wrong) and things like that. But bring out a cube of cheese and watch those ears prick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Chances are that no food will work if Lazlo finds the environment more rewarding than the food. What is his recall like normally? Around other dogs? At training? I would work on his recall in other areas until you feel he is reliable enough to try him on the beach. I would use a long line for now until you have a good recall on the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo's Mum Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 (edited) !Kristen!- I think it's spelt schmackos... His recall is usually pretty good. I can get him to come 80-85% of the time. At obedience classes it's a bit lower, sometimes he just wants to play with the other dogs more than he wants to play with or get a reward from me . Even though I usually let him go back to playing after I call him. Other times I just have to make sure I call him when he isn't sniffing, but on the beach he almost always has his nose to the ground or is playing with other dogs. How long should the line be? I could probably get a five meter one fairly easily. Edited May 29, 2005 by Lazlo's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!Kristen! Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Thanks for correcting me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 My boy loves the hotdog sausage and the little cheerios. I usually cook them first as it removes some of the fat and then chop them up really fine. They seem to have a stronger smell to them which helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo's Mum Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 (edited) !Kristen!- no problem. I see them in the pet section all time at the supermarket, but I've never bought them. My friend tried to give him some chocolate treat thing that brand put out around easter. Lazlo just chewed on it for a bit and then spat it out. He's so fussy Tilly- Thanks, good idea I'll try it, and if it doesn't work on the beach I'm sure he'll love it in his usual training sessions at class or home Edited May 29, 2005 by Lazlo's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 My dogs love cheese Cabanossi works well too. vpzn is right though - if the environment is too distracting food is not likely to work, best to build up your dog's response in another environment first. I don't yet let Diesel off the lead (even though he is pretty good) because he just LOVES to meet new people and dogs! And a lot of people are scared of him because of his breed (German Shepherd). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 kabana no name strass or best treat of all a tug toy he rarely gets to play with, failing that if he sees me on the ground he cant resist the chance of licking!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo's Mum Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 (edited) Proofing eh?... Is there any chance this could ba an adolescent or maturing thing? He's 9 months old. Edited May 29, 2005 by Lazlo's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Last night I almost run over someones pet bunny on the street. It took me and OH 30 minutes to catch it and we took it home. Well... my dog has gone mental and while I carry the bunny around he does everything, extra fast just so that I let him sniff the bunny.... Not that its a treat as such But so far I have not had a better motivator ever for my dog..... Wonder how would an obiedniece judge react if I took bunny into the ring... do you think it would work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-j Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I have a friend used cotton wool balls soaked in a bitch in seasons urine (obviously her dog was an entire male) and I have used a rabbit skin. These may be a bit extreme, but they worked. Don't give up tho i had a client take 12 mths to find what really floated her dogs boat, but boy has that dog improved. It turned out to be a certain brand of devon meat. cheers M-J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlmckay Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 I've never used food for training - I found that my dog was soooo distracted with the food, she wasn't actually listening to me at all. I've used a tennis ball as a treat. She's only been ball motivated in the last year or so and now loves, loves it. She only gets to chase the ball once she's done what I want her to do. So, if she only does 10 weave poles, she still gets a pat and good girl, but she doesn't get the ball. Once she's done 12 weave poles, off that ball goes across the park! Didn't take her long to figure it out. Someone had troubles with recall after throwing a ball to their dog and I suggested they have a second ball in their hand when recalling. It worked, the dog came back with the first ball in order to have the second ball thrown. Might work if you're dog is toy motivated, but it would need to be a toy that doesn't come out very often and they really enjoy seeing it. A tugger or something similar? Good luck! Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlmckay Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 He when I call him he'll sometimes run in my direction, then stay just out of my reach. Just thinking on this bit, when he's just out of reach, can you get him to SIT and then get his collar? Sometimes the dogs don't realise that this means that their collar will be grabbed, they've got their head stuck on "HERE/COME means I'm back on lead" but they haven't realised that SIT or even DOWN could mean this too! Strange but true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 (edited) Proofing eh?...Is there any chance this could ba an adolescent or maturing thing? He's 9 months old. There's every chance it's related to his age, but that doesn't mean he will improve without help. In fact I can probably guarantee he won't. There are heaps of old topics on here on getting a reliable recall, so I would suggest going back & reading some of them. I suggested the long line as a management tool while you are training his recall. That means you can still take him to the beach but know that he will not get an opportunity to ignore you calling him. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make with a recall is to keep calling the dog when they know it won't come. All this does is reinforce to the dog that he doesn't have to and makes the word "come" optional in the dogs eyes. The same with a stay, people move too far away too quick and again, the dog learns that the word means nothing. I think all dogs are different, depending on breed, temperament, background etc. Yours could be fine with food and you just haven't found the right thing yet? I don't know your dog. I would be concerned about him coming close & then running away. Does he get stressed easily? Is he a breed that is known for sniffing? This can be a stress thing, unless of course he's a breed that always has their nose on the ground. What breed is he? Edited May 30, 2005 by vpzn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 "Come" should not mean "c'mere, kinda close" it means "come and sit in front of me" so that if you need to call your dog and hold his collar you can. I think you've been rewarding the behaviour you don't want for a long time and so it's now quite strong, much stronger than your successful recalls. Don't call him if you don't think he'll come back. If you do call him and he doesn't come back, you need to be able to get him and bring him back from where you called, so a long line is helpful. He needs loads of practice before I'd let him off leash. Nat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy's mum Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 My not-so-secret weapon is devon (and sometimes some ham and seasoned chicken loaf). I took Ginger down the dog park once for some distraction training and was followed constantly by a bunch of little dogs (who were followed by their mystified owners) - just because my hands reeked of devon. Funny but didn't help with the training at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo's Mum Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 (edited) There's every chance it's related to his age, but that doesn't mean he will improve without help. In fact I can probably guarantee he won't. Yes, I know that... What breed is he? Border Collie X I've no idea what with. Several different breeds I think. Maybe a shepherd? (NB that's not him in my avatar) Does he get stressed easily? Not really, just distracted...and excited... Edited June 1, 2005 by Lazlo's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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