Zest turned 5 months old today and is moving into a challenging age. From now until around 2 years, she will be going through adolescence, hormonal changes, test all of her boundaries to see what works best for her, and, throughout it all, go through a number of fear periods.
This can be a really challenging age to live with a young dog as much of what they've learned becomes something they test and push back on. The stronger the foundation that you have built with them, the more likely it will stand the test of adolescence.
Since recall is the most important thing to me, I have worked with Zest from day one, trying to build a really solid recall. Dogs are so good at doing what works for them, so if they learn that ignoring us works better for them than coming to us, they will learn to ignore us.
In previous posts, I've outlined how I approached teaching a recall to a young pup, with Zest - starting with automatic check-ins, then name recognition, then recalling in low distraction situations, and gradually moving into greater distractions.
Today we tried a few recalls on our hike especially when she was running with or after another dog and she did great! Now to hope that this endures through the test of adolescence!
Let's talk about impulse control!
Impulse control is one of my favorite things to teach, it can be really fun and it's also a great way to mentally exercise your dog. A dog with good impulse control is a much more polite and well-rounded dog as well.
Among the many benefits of impulse control:
- Great mental exercise
- Increased self-awareness and self-control
- The ability for your dog to think when very close to their threshold
- The ability to push thresholds back over time
- The ability to multitask (something that's challenging for dogs)
- A much more polite dog
- A dog that asks for permission before just barreling in to get what they want
- A dog who is much more proficient at any other task you ask of it, especially the recall
Impulse control can be done with food, toys or both. I use 'Stop' words and 'Go' words so the dog knows when they can or can't have the object. I also set up each short session so the dog can't lose. They get a reward for demonstrating impulse control and, consequently, when they control their impulses, they ultimately get the thing they want.
Here are some early baby steps with Zest. I use Leave It and Get It as my Stop and Go words. You'll see she gets a reward for not diving on the treat and ultimately gets the treat as a reward, after she gives me something first. At first I keep it simple and then begin to add more complex requests while she is distracted and wanting the treat on the ground. Calling her away from the treat can really helps build a great recall over time as well.
A little goes a long way with this stuff, especially with a kid. This session was plenty long enough and ended with a great note when I accidentally dropped a treat and she didn't dive on it. Good girl Zest!
I do teach a 4 week impulse control class, Can I Have It, Please? Let me know if you're interested!
Teaching a solid recall takes time and patience. I start from day one with name recognition, build an automatic check in, and then start adding distractions to my recalls so they learn to come no matter what. They also learn that coming into me and checking in always gets them a big reward. I also use a longline to enforce a recall because if they learn they can either ignore you and nothing happens, or learn that ignoring you is more valuable than coming to you, that's a bigger issue that's much harder to fix.
Here Zest is getting rewarded for checking in despite the distractions of other dogs.
FB won't let me upload more than one video, so I'll add 2 more in the comments. The second video I called her with little distraction. Sweep was out ahead of her so she's ever so slightly slow to respond (and she waa tired), but she came. In the last video, she's distracted sniffing and with Java, but comes immediately, bringing him with her. Having other dogs who respond well to recalls can help confirm and reinforce a recall cue.
When training a puppy, it is always best to weave training opportunities into and throughout your day. Pups have very short attention spans and are too young for any sustained training. Taking each daily activity and making it a teaching opportunity can get you really far with little effort.
The cue that matters most to me is Come. I hike a ton and it is essential to me that my dogs come when called, no matter what. They also don't earn complete off-leash freedom until I know they have a rock solid recall and won't chase deer or wildlife, run off after people or dogs, chase bikes, or mess with horses.
I strive for connection - having the dogs mentally connected to me no matter what is going on. Over Zest's early hikes, I'm rewarding her every time she checks in with me on her own. If your dog is aware of you and checking in frequently, they are making you the most important thing out there. I often see clients walking dogs and completely missing their dogs attempt to check in and therefore getting nothing for it, which ultimately makes it more rewarding for the dog to disconnect. The opposite of what we want!
I think I a good recall involves three things-
1. Connection
2. Solid name recognition
3. Recall practice and heavy reward.
In this little video, Zest is off walking with the other dogs but checks in with me on her own and gets rewarded.
Next time you're waking your dog, reward the check-ins. Look for them, ask for them and heavily reward them. I think you'll be amazed at the results.
Can your dogs do this?
Long distance stays can be really helpful, especially on the trail.
There's nothing magic to training this, just time, repetition and building confidence as you get farther away. We play a lot of skills games while we are out and about hiking. Make it fun and the dogs are all in.
I'll post a video in a few days that shows why this can be helpful.
Need help on the trail? Let me know.
A big shout out to the stars of this video - Bounder, Elf, Spring and Sweep 💜🐾
