Hi there! This is my very first post! Glad to be a member My fiancé and I recently got a GSP puppy. His name is Gunner, and he is now 7 months old. I take Gunner for walks (unleashed) in the back trails (in a wooded area) every day after work. This reassures me that he is getting his exercise. I never had him on the leash in the woods because he never had a tendency to wander off, and if he did it wouldn't be going further than 40ft. As of this last week, he tends to wander off more, and it's to a point he goes far into the woods (bolted and running) where I cannot see him anymore. The snow is beginning to melt, so more smells are arriving and birds are now back from south (which he spots out every time). I'm just worried about recall issues.. I do understand that he is only 7 months old, however his recall in the house is great. We say sit, he stays, we walk around the house and eventually say "come" and he will come. Should he be excited, like he is in the woods, it almost seems like he chooses not to hear my command "come". I have to say, I do bring a squeaky ball to try and catch his attention, it worked at first but now he just doesn't notice. I also bring some turkey/chicken treats! Though these don't compare, as he seems that he would rather smell than get the treat. He was in obedience school as well, and he recently just finished. He's a very intelligent pup! I'm looking for advice to catch his attention outside or a more interesting environment. Also, to let him know that "come" means "come" every time, no matter what. Now Any help is GREATLY appreciated!
Can you keep him on a long line for now while you do more training? Is he more food or toy motivated. If food then find something super smelly and special (people often use hotdogs) that he can only have for training. If a toy find his favourite kind and again only use it for training. Hopefully getting his favourite thing which is a rare treat will motivate him to come back.
Thanks for your reply! I heard of using certain treats or favorite toys for training. But with a long rope, he pulls so much and he's incredibly strong. We're training him to stop pulling while walking on a leash (basically a step step stop and repeat).
I have always found a whistle very effective for recall training. I start off at home with the dog sitting next to me, blow the whistle and give a treat. Very quickly the dog associates the whistle always means treat and comes running. Good luck - he sounds gorgeous!
Welcome to the forum Fawn. The above tips should help with his recall training. Are you in the UK? If so I would also recommend using a secure field for your recall training. There is a website which gives you the nearest secure fields to your postcode. Google www.dogwalkingfields.co.uk. They also have a page on a popular social network.
Thank you!! And no, I am in Canada. A secure field would be perfect for training purposes. I'm hoping to find one around the area.
That's great! We do have a dog whistle, but I think we have to adjust it first. I could be wrong, but this is what my fiancé told me. That may be a good way to practice his recall in a secure field.
He is starting adolescence and discovering you're not the b and end of all. You don't want him to practice ignoring you, so a long line is a great suggestion. And time to teach him not to pull. There are lots of videos on recall training and not pulling - my favourite is kikopup. Have fun.
We have a gsp just a bit older than yours, I will tell you that it takes a lot of practice. We started with clicker training in the house to recall with treats then worked our way to an e-collar. After she was successful with that we worked our way out to the yard with a fence. When she succeed there then she was allowed to start working in fields. Their is a lot of good sources on youtube, i learned a lot from standingstonekennels. I would say if you are going to continue to take your dog out like this a gps collar would be a good idea. These dogs have a strong prey drive if they see a bird or deer they will take off and might not come back, it happens every bird season here.
