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Some history on our dog:
We live in Idaho and adopted a dog from a shelter in Tampa Bay, Florida. She had been at the shelter for a few months, was adopted by a couple, she jumped their six foot fence and was immediately returned to the shelter. By the time we received the FB post from a friend of ours in Florida, Kory (our dog) was depressed, had stopped eating, and was set to be put down two days later.
Our friend got her out of the shelter, and we picked her up at the Boise airport a week later.
That was in November, and right from the get-go Kory was a wonderful, sweet, loving, gentle dog.
We live out in the middle of the Idaho desert. A tiny town with tens of thousands of acres of public land right behind the house. Kory is part Belgian Malinois and part something else (lab maybe?). She is very athletic and loves to run (fast as lightning). We spent a few weeks walking her on leash in and around our very small town, so that if she ever got free she would hopefully be able to find her way back home.
Once we felt confident that she was bonding with us, and that she was oriented to her new home and area, we let her off leash out on BLM land and used small pieces of hot dog to bring her back to us. She responded well to being off leash, got to run a whole lot, got to the point that she would come back to us frequently for a hot dog treat instead of us having to call her back. All was well through the entire winter.
The wheels fell off though once the snow melted and winter was over. We would take her out to BLM land and she listened really well, until the moment she...........didn't. She started running away from us and not returning. Sometimes it was a though she was in a running trance and sometimes she actually stopped when we called her, looked back, and turned away to keep running. Inevitably she would run towards home and we would retrieve her somewhere within the town limits. When we found her she wasn't making her way to the house, she was just wandering around seemingly having a great time, content in the knowledge that her caretakers would eventually find her.
She hasn't taken off on us when we are far out on BLM land - just when we are close to town. So far. But with her being so unpredictable, there is always that chance that she will just disappear and we couldn't find her out there in the middle of nowhere.
Chasing after her is getting old. Her listening and responding perfectly one trip and then running off on the next trip is getting old.
She is very bonded to us. She responds perfectly until that one moment when she stops. We live in the middle of nowhere so her getting hit by a vehicle is low, but if she ever gets lost out on BLM land it would be very very bad - rattlesnakes, coyotes, no water sources.
I would appreciate thoughts on where to go from here with Kory. We're worried, frustrated, and (truthfully) a little angry. She knows better. She is an intelligent, athletic, loving dog, and the look on her face when we eventually find her lets us know that she understands our disapproval.
She needs some training. See if there are any professional dog trainers in your area that can help you get the dog to obey your commands. I have a neighbor that does dog training and its amazing how well behaved her four dogs are off leash on her farm. All she has to do is say something and the dogs all obey.
Chasing a dog or following after them teaches them it is fun to evade. Run or walk away from the dog. Never pursue. Make a fun, high pitched noise (like WEEEEE!) if you need to get the dog's attention as you move briskly away from the dog and do not look at the dog! If that doesn't work - lay on your back and twitch your arms and legs like a dying bug. The dog will not be able to resist investigating.
Reward with a high value treat any time your dog comes to you. Calling a dog over and over is a huge mistake, it teaches them to ignore the sound of your voice. So if you have tried your recall and it didn't work, move to plan B which I outlined above.
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You went to all that trouble for a rescue so you could be "angry" that she's isn't your ideal entertainment within 7 months??
We're not actually looking for entertainment. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to keep her safe. She walks often on leash, and we have thousands of acres of empty land where she can run to her heart's content. If she's going to be able to run freely I need to be able to keep her within voice distance because if she wanders too far she can find herself in territory that can be dangerous to her and for which she is unprepared.
She responded well to calling her back and to hot dog reinforcement until winter was over, and now is unpredictable as to when she will and will not obey the command to come back. THAT is my concern and I was hoping for thoughts and suggestions on this issue. It's not about playing fetch.
she should really not be allowed to just run freely, as you said coyotes, rattle snakes, the chance of her not being able to find her way home. you could try letting her run on the end of a long, long line. like 100 or more feet of clothes line rope.
The most common mistake owners make in attempting to teach a recall is they call their dog over and over as the dog ignores them. This is teaching your dog to disregard your voice.
Below is my basic training plan for teaching a recall:
1) Choose a Recall cue. It should have a distinctive ring to it and only be used for serious recalls. The Recall cue is only given ONCE. Your dog must learn to come immediately, not after you’ve called her 17 times! Repeating any cue teaches your dog to ignore you.
2) Inside the house, practice the recall when you are 100% sure your dog will come to you. Reward with 3 treats, given one at a time. Praise liberally! (Rewarding with multiple treats teaches your dog not to "dine and dash".) It is helpful to start praising as soon as your dog starts moving in your direction. Let him know he's on the right track in his attempt to comply.
3) Outside, practice with your dog attached to a long light-weight cord / rope. Try to be 99% sure he is going to come to you before giving the cue. When your dog comes to you, praise and reward with 3 treats given one at a time AND THEN RELEASE HIM to go back about his business. (The light weight cord is to be stepped on if absolutely necessary.)
4) Make a habit of touching your dog’s collar and petting him as you reward with treats. This teaches him to be ready for you to get your hands on him when he comes to you, which may be necessary in an emergency situation.
5) Increase difficulty as your dog becomes more reliable. Try your Recall when your dog is sniffing a good spot in the yard, when he’s distracted by a bird, when he’s interacting with another dog, etc. Resist the urge to repeat your cue if your dog doesn’t come. Instead, use the tip below to follow through with the Recall.
While you are still working on Recall training, there may come a time when you need your dog to come to you and you feel there is a good chance she WON”T because she is distracted. For now, don’t use your Recall cue, but instead make a fun, high pitched noise and run away from the dog. If your dog is being really stubborn, you may have to lay down on your back – few dogs can resist their owners in such a position..!
View things from your dog’s perspective. If every time she is called, she is given a few treats and is then set free again, you’ve set yourself up for a powerful, solid, works-every-time Recall. If, however, she is often called and is then crated, leashed, or brought inside, she may come to view “Come” as the signal that all the fun is ending.
The general rule is: Don’t use your Recall Cue if something unpleasant is to follow. Depending on the dog, that could mean a bath, having nails clipped, being crated, etc.
Consider using a special treat for Recall training, something your dog can’t resist and only gets for Recalls.
Think of something that ALWAYS makes your dog come running. Maybe it's the rattle of his food dish as you fill it with food, maybe it's the sound of the doorbell. These prove that dogs CAN reliably come on cue, we just have to make our Come command as powerful as those other examples by consistently associating a high value reward with the sound of our recall cue.
Here is an example of recall training with distractions:
We're not actually looking for entertainment. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to keep her safe. She walks often on leash, and we have thousands of acres of empty land where she can run to her heart's content. If she's going to be able to run freely I need to be able to keep her within voice distance because if she wanders too far she can find herself in territory that can be dangerous to her and for which she is unprepared.
She responded well to calling her back and to hot dog reinforcement until winter was over, and now is unpredictable as to when she will and will not obey the command to come back. THAT is my concern and I was hoping for thoughts and suggestions on this issue. It's not about playing fetch.
she is extending her territory. you need to clip her wings a bit. just because you have the acreage to run free doesn't mean she should. how about running her along side a bike?
Chasing a dog or following after them teaches them it is fun to evade. Run or walk away from the dog. Never pursue. Make a fun, high pitched noise (like WEEEEE!) if you need to get the dog's attention as you move briskly away from the dog and do not look at the dog! If that doesn't work - lay on your back and twitch your arms and legs like a dying bug. The dog will not be able to resist investigating.
Reward with a high value treat any time your dog comes to you. Calling a dog over and over is a huge mistake, it teaches them to ignore the sound of your voice. So if you have tried your recall and it didn't work, move to plan B which I outlined above.
k9 thanks for this, but when Kory runs she RUNS. She can cross an entire field in probably 20 seconds and be gone out of site.
We have thought of the possibility that this is becoming a fun game for her.
We have also come to the same conclusion recently re: the highlighted above. Thanks again for your post - some things are starting to come together re: what we have been doing wrong. This recent "game" was unexpected because we felt over the winter that things were coming together re: her running free but returning when we called. Now we're rethinking and trying to figure out the right approach.
If she's part malimois, she's bored, and that's her way of her " working" these dogs are not " house dogs" they have a very high drive and their minds need to be constantly working. Paired with that they have the protective instinct. What your dog needs it's a job, playing fetch will not do it, tracking, obedience training, different places to expose her to, it's a lot of work. I know a few malimois, they are all in either tracking or schitzhund, some are going into police work or security. I have a Dutch shepherd, almost identical in temperament, and at times it's exhausting to keep up with her.
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