23/05/2020
Recall
Recall is one of the most important things you need to be able to do with your dog. If your dog will not recall every time, it should not be off the lead/long line, unless in a safe and enclosed environment. The amount of times I hear owners shouting their dogs to come back and the dog is going “sod that, chasing these squirrels is so much more fun than you”. I have seen dogs chasing deer through the woodland, being followed by the owners bellowing them and the dogs only focus is the deer and the hunt. I have seen a spaniel chasing the horses in the field next to the park and mentioned it to the dog walker who was in charge of it to be told “it always does it and will come back when it is tired” this is not acceptable and down right irresponsible. If you don’t teach the dog, don’t expect it to respond to you. In point of fact by constantly bellowing, you are, 1. teaching your dog to ignore your commands, 2 telling your dog you are angry and that makes them less likely to come back and 3 when they do come back, you shout at them again which actually makes them less likely to come back because you are telling them of at that point for coming back to you. I hear people say “he is having fun chasing the squirrels”, great, but what happens when he sees one run across the road and you have zero recall? What happens when the dog chases the deer across the road and you have zero recall. By letting your dog chase wildlife you are telling it it is ok to do that. Next you go past a horse field and the dog gets in and starts chasing. The dog gets into a field full of sheep. You still have no recall. To spell it out, you are risking your dogs heath and ultimately it’s life. Being hit by a car, kicked by a horse, trampled by a herd of cows or being shot by a farmer isn’t going to end well for the dog. You still have no recall you call these dogs your fur babies, you want to protect them, but you have not trained them. Surely it is like letting a 2 year old child wander around by its self on the streets, crossing the roads, playing in the canal. You would not do it so why risk your dogs and the untold damage they do to other animals by just getting to a park and unclipping them. Teach them what you want, help them to understand ,and most of all keep your dog safe. If you don’t want (and I quote previous posters on this site) a “performing seal” because you cannot be bothered to train them then keep it on a lead/long line to protect your dog, other animals and yourself.
