corvus
Posted : 10/11/2007 1:08:35 AM
snownose
OK....usually, I train my dogs to listen, but, let's just say I get a rescue that acts like Pyry.......easy.....I will make myself more interesting.....I will not accept the dog walking away, as a matter of fact, I will make it interesting to be with me and the pack, may that be with a higher pitched voice, combined with active ball playing, clapping hands....running away from the dog and then handing him a toy.....there are many options of the dog having fun.....but, here is the secret....multiple dogs at play, having fun always draws in the bystander, unless the dog has serious issues.....
So, if you had this situation and were not able to hand out treats, how would you handle this situation?
Yeah, Pyry is a challenging dog to focus. He actually doesn't always care if there's fun going on with the other dogs. When he's off leash, for example, he'll strike out on his own if he gets bored, and he does get bored very quickly, especially of play. He'd rather forage. Which is unfortunate, because I like to forage and he'll happily stick with me for the sake of company off the paths, but my mother is not a forager, so he finds her boring and goes by himself. At home, he sticks around when mum is home, but the moment she leaves, he gets out somehow and goes off to chase roos on his own. He doesn't care overly for packs, although he appreciates company.
I should have mentioned that part of his mistrust when being calls stems from being called becoming associated with getting his ears cleaned out. He's had chronic ear problems his whole life. Out of the yard, he's more trusting, but not really more reliable. He'll come if he hears the treat tin rattling, but only if he hasn't found something even more interesting than food. He's not properly trained, but not for want of trying. He's been allowed to get away too often, not helped by the fact that he is remarkable at escaping from a fully fenced yard. I think at the moment he's as reliable as he's going to be. I keep telling mum to put a dead bird in her bag of goodies and see how quickly he recalls then. 
I feel the approach with Pyry should be physical restraint and better rewards. The dog wants to hunt, not play or eat. Maybe if he'd never got the chance to run off and have fun on his own he could be retrained, but he is amazingly smart and has a memory like an elephant's.