Anyone with Greyhounds, what sort of commands do your dogs know? Now both of ours have come to terms with 'pet life' after their limited experiences in kennels and tracks I want to try and get some commands taught, nothing fancy just to make daily life easier. I have managed to get them to respond to 'down' when its food time, this was because we had a lot of jumping and clawing at first. They will do 'down' (lying down on belly) on carpet and grass (Don't even think they would do it on hard flooring! How dare you!) Now the major one is recall, we are moving to an are with lots of fields but on recent visits we have noticed none are enclosed. Both respond to their name in the house but show absolutely no intention of returning once of lead. This in return means they don't get much of a chance to stretch their legs. It isn't a problem for Paddy as he is quite lazy anyway but Pippa has lots of energy and i'd like to give her the opportunity to work it off. Any ideas would be appreciated, oh and Pippa isn't really food or toy motivated at all.
Guinness knows basic commands, such as "come here", "in your bed", "wait", that sort of thing, but it's been a long haul teaching him. Even though he is a food fanatic, he doesn't want to put any real effort in to getting it (he won't bother with a Kong, for example), so it hasn't really made training that much easier. He does have a reliable recall in so far as it has ever been tested, but we've never had to recall him from chasing something or when something has frightened him. We therefore have no idea how his recall would hold up in those circumstances. We are very selective about where he is allowed off lead because of this.
A little off-topic in so far as commands, but if you got one or both of your dogs from a local Greyhound Rescue do you know they have enclosed spaces you can let them run in? I know our local Greyhound Rescue encourages owners to bring their hounds to their secure fields to let them run, during which time you can work on recall and such. Might be worth checking out in the interim.
Yes, but my local RGT is around a 45min to an hour drive, we have took them there occasionally but it's exercise in midweek i'm really after. Where we are now we used the local riding schools indoor arena in the summer but it was closed in the winter. Thanks for the comment
Have you looked at our article on training recall Jamie? Training recall Recall is one of the commands that can take quite a while... so definitely worth persevering with
Nancy knows sit (she naturally sat so we put the command to it - I know not all greys can sit though), down is erratic, her recall is variable - the other one she knows is kitchen (for when I want them in there quickly).
Didn't see that Azz thanks! They got down very quickly, Pippa is actually quite bright. Paddy on the other hand, the most loving dog ever but thick as a bag of bricks!
My Lurcher Reg, who is part Greyhound, is a recent rescue and about a year old. He has learned "sit" "down" "stand" and "walk" (my version on "heel") quite easily but, as you say, recall is selective. If he's got nothing else to do he will come back to a whistle for a treat but if there is as much as a blackbird three fields away or a noisy caterpillar in a hedge 50 yards away it's, "In my own time, I am chasing my lunch at the moment" and other dogs? Forget it! It can be a worry because he needs to run off lead and can jump 5ft fences easily and run through all but the densest of hedges. I read elsewhere that this is typical of the long-dog. They are bred to chase and chasing is their main enjoyment and they can focus on quarry to the exclusion of everything else, including their loved owner's call. There is no treat greater than a live rabbit. I don't have an answer but would welcome any advice. I also have read that they nearly always come back and that people have waited for over an hour in the middle of a field for their wayward hound who eventually turns up. My Reg disappeared into woodland like this in his first week with me. I stood in shock for about 5 minutes and then heard him pounding up at full speed from a completely different direction looking very pleased with himself. If anyone knows of a large dog-secure area anywhere near Lichfield or Burton on Trent that I could let him run in I would be very grateful and so would Reg. He would also love a companion dog to run with. Any breed but not too small.
