coming when called

edited March 2009 in Shiba Inu (柴犬)
I know it is in a shiba's temperment not to always come when called
and i never intend to let my dog off his leash unless in his high fenced back yard
but, toki (7mo) comes roughly 80% of the time when indoors and maybe 30% of the time when outdoors in the yard.
Does anyone have advice on raising these percentages and getting their shiba to come the first time he/she is called
in addition, what percentage of the time does your dog come when called?

Comments

  • edited November -1
    I'd say Keiko only comes when called in the house if I have something in my hand that she knows she's not going to get (people food). We've never (knock on wood) had to deal with calling her outside.

    I guess I'm really at 0% all around :o/
  • edited November -1
    Mine is really food motivated. If im at home i like to carry them on me, so if i can get her to come on the first try i usually praise her a lot and give her a treat. also my voice can be unintentionally intimidating if I yell, and she will react in a scared manner. so I try to control my tone and volume when i call her to make sure that its pleasant.

    I have an excellent recall rate indoors, i would say 99% of the time. outdoors in the backyard is also 99% however it takes a lot longer and i have to call her a few times. at dog parks though its about 50%.

    on a side note, if i am in a hurry and i need her to come (if shes in the backyard, living room, or just not in the same room that I am) i will tap the treat bag and she will usually ran at me at full speed. so hopefully yours is food motivated too, cause they will pick it up really fast.
  • edited November -1
    You will have better results with recalls if can get your dog to focus on you. I won't do anything off leash unless my dogs are paying attention to me (and I would suggest that you always keep your dogs on lead or in secured areas). It starts with the dog having a positive association with his name.

    Everytime you say his name he should whip his head around, stop what he's doing and look at you. The name won't become the recall signal, it will become a cue to the dog that you are about to ask him to do something and will reward him for it.
    At first you will catch him while he is looking away or sniffing something, and say his name to him (you may have to do something else like make a weird noise at first just to get his attention). When he turns his head to look at you, praise him and treat.

    Eventually, after a few short lessons, his head will come whipping around when he hears his name. Then you can start pairing this behavior to some simple commands like, "Toki (wait for him to stop and look at you), Toki come". Try not to repeat the command. You can give a tiny tug on the leash and you move backwards away from him so he has to catch up to you. Try and make it a fun game. If at home, not on lead, tempt him to come to you with a treat or toy, or back up quickly away from him so his deisre to chase you is triggered. When he "catches" you, give lots of praise.

    Eventually you will be using longer training leads, going around bigger areas of distraction, and building on the successes he has. If he is making mistakes like ignoring you, go back to focus exercises-make them fun and different. You may want to incorporate a "sit" and "stay" in front of you after his recalls become more reliable. The point is, after all, to be able to have the dog recall in reach of you so that you can grab his collar in an emergency.

    Beebe challanges me 100% of the time to convince her that recalling to me is worth her while, and not listening=no fun for Beebe. I don't let her get away with not doing what I ask. Ike knows I am soft on him, so he chooses to listen to my recalls if he feels it's in his best interest and he knows I won't get angry at him. Go figure.
  • edited November -1
    Lindsay has some great advice.

    Bella has a 100% recall inside and about a 90% recall in our yard. We have never had her off leash anywhere else, but I would imagine her recall would be about 0% somewhere else outside. Nola has about an 80% inside recall and about a 50% recall in our yard. Again, never had her off leash anywhere else, but I am sure it would be -150%. :-P

    Anytime we say the 'come' command, and they come, they ALWAYS get a treat. And we always say the word in a really excited tone. You want them to associate that word with the best thing in the world. That way, they will drop whatever it is they are doing and run to you!
  • edited November -1
    Josephine (a Kai Ken who is over 2 years) has pretty good recall now. I'd say close to 100% indoors (too boring in here), and more like 80% outdoors off leash (too thrilling or "on the hunt" out there). Not sure I know how recall would be measured on-leash, but we do also have to deal with the stubborn "plunking my butt here and not moving until you go my way" behavior from time-to-time. For that, we stop and just stand and wait for her to change her mind, calling her name from time-to-time. When she does come, there is lots of praise and petting (sometimes food, but she is not so food-motivated as other dogs). Sometimes I (less patient than my husband) will "fake her out" after stopping for a time by walking in the direction she has decided she wants to go and then circling around to my direction. That seems to work well most of the time because the stop for a period of time breaks her concentration on whatever it was that enticed her.

    In addition to all the training tips provided above (and we have used similar methods with Josephine) one thing I have noticed that increases the recall percentage immensely is the advancement of age. To have such tremendous recall as you do with Toki at 7 months is phenomenal in my view! Puppies are so distractable, and then (to forewarn you) it seems puppy-hood is followed by that special teen-age time of life for a dog that lasts at some level until at least 3 years or so. Our former dog (who lived to about 12 years) did not seem to have "perfect" recall (and then at times it was still reluctantly if there was a squirrel or a bunny or a kid to play with) until he was over 3 years (maybe more like 4-5 years).

    Keep up the work with Toki and I'm sure things will improve immensely (but as you note, off-leash is a dangerous state of affairs for any dog at any age of life unless you are totally confident in your surroundings, i.e. fence or other environment where dangers are minimal)...
  • edited November -1
    Evan! LOL! I feel your pain my friend. Our male is at 0% as well. Little a-hole will stare at me from a distance until I'm done with my theatrics of calling him, then he goes the other way.

    Tsuki has her CGC and I still cannot get her above a 50% rate outside (in a fenced area, or even on a 20ft lead!).

    Lindsay has some awesome advice though.
  • edited November -1
    Nemo's recall at the dog park is shockingly high, like 95%. I say "let's go" and he runs to the gate. With that being said, I'd still never trust him outside the fence. Just always make sure to praise and treat like crazy when your dog comes to you when training, even if it is after they act up for awhile or make you chase them all over. A dog should never be punished when it returns to it's owner, because then why would it want to come back again?
  • edited November -1
    We're in the beginning stages of recall, Oliver seems to know his name and looks our way. If you say "come" and start to walk in the direction you want him to go he'll follow but lose interest in it a little more than half way there. If I kneel down and say "here", he'll come to me but won't come close enough for me to grab him....then the chase is on......lol. I tempt him with a treat but he's not going to get it until I actual have him in control. It can be very frustrating, in the end the volume of my voice has to go up and a strong "stay" in order for him to stand still long enough for me to grab him.

    It's only been a week so I'm not expecting miricales.

    Steve
  • edited November -1
    Sake and Miso have 100% recall from the backyard (fenced) IF I have cheese or a cookie in my hand. If I am not offering anything good to eat, it drops to about 50%.

    Don't you just love those shibas?!?!?
  • edited November -1
    LOL! Kristin, that is why I always have peanut-buttery goodness when I call the gals. Even still, if Nola is outside, she still only comes about 50% of the time. Now if I go out into the yard and tell her to 'come look what I got' she comes immediately. Silly girl.
  • edited November -1
    OK, so honestly.....what do you do when you're outside in the yard, in the park, etc. when your Shiba won't come to you? How do you react? What range does your voice get? Are you frustrated? How do you get your Shiba back? I'm just curious because I can't believe that everyone here can be cool calm and collected 100% of the time when your dog won't obey. How does your dog react to you when yelling, reprimanding, etc. To me it's just like raising a child, you feel frustrated but you have to learn to repress your anger for a time when you're not around the child or just walk away. Problem is, you're in public, your dog is running around not listening and you can't walk away...what do you do? Just interested in hearing comments...
  • edited November -1
    Interesting thread! I didn't realize that Shiba's were so variable in their recall and so selective in their hearing! LOL!

    Well, it just goes to remind me when the breeders of Shikokus (who also breed and/or own Shibas) say that even though they look similar to a lay person, their personality is not the same.

    I would say that my Shikoku has had a 100% recall in the house and yard from the get go as a puppy. And outside off lead in training, it is also 100%. But outside in the woods, it would probably be about 80% (given all the wild animals).

    Alas, I am used to Shiba-type of recalls, as I owned Siberians for 25+ years and they had a similar recall rate as many of the Shibas on this thread. I always said that they had a "legal scale" in their head and they weighed every "come" command. They would think "I could come and that would be "boring" or I could continue on with what I am doing and that would be fun" (ie, I would rather have fun and get punishment later than obey and do something boring!)
  • edited November -1
    When I really want to get Miso and Sake to come to me and I don't have anything super yummy to give I squat down and tell them to "come". Usually when I am in a squat they think I am playing and will run right up to me.

    If that doesn't work, keep cheese handy.
  • edited November -1
    Kris,
    It's funny because you can visibly see them contemplate the ramifications of each and every single command.

    "Sit? Hmmm...I am kinda hungry, and that treat looks kind of good, so ok I sit."

    "Come? I can barely make out their hand, and they are upwind of me and I don't smell anything, so...my owner is lying. I'm going to stay right here and continue playing. Besides, I love the chase game more than I do the recall game"

    Jesse
  • edited November -1
    rockinhlabs, thank you for posting your frustrations, because when toki doesn't come or worse runs the other way like its a fun game...its very annoying because I feel like a dog should at the very least come when its called (their supposed to be loyal) but my dog experiences are with a german shepherd and golden retriever so they practically never left your side. If he doesn't come right away, I make it look like I have a treat and he comes eventually. but if he runs up to me and then jumps away like its fun to tease me and I should chase him, I just turn around and walk away...and I usually feel like fine don't come with me go see if you can make it on your own...and then he comes and follows me and spoiled boy gets a treat. i'm such a push over..sigh..what will i do if i ever have kids.
  • edited November -1
    Coming when called,
    I wish my kids would come down when I call them. My Shibas have a faster more reliable response than the kids!
    My experience about recall with a shiba.
    I have 2 that are reliable off lead. The first is Rally titled dog. He went through quite a few attention training classes to get him that way. That said I still would not trust him off lead. The main reason for him is his dog aggression issues. He is an AKC champion,an Award Of Merit winner and a rally titled dog,but given the chance he would fight any dog that came up to him. In the ring he is fine with other dogs, at home he is fine with other dogs, even strange dogs,but out and about he was not.
    The other is one of the girls. Never any "official" obedience training but is realiable off lead. I would'nt let her loose in the city, but in a rural setting she is good, will always come when called, may hesitate for a second or two if she sees something but will always come.
    As pups everytime you call and they come give food. Thats what I do. Even if it takes a while always praise and give food. Don't get uptight,yell grind your teeth etc. even if they take the longest route to you.As long as they get there give food. When out use a long lead,every few minutes call them to you give food and then let them wander, call again, food,wander. Let them know if I come I will get food and then be let to wander again. They have to know every time I come I will get to eat and go again.
    Just my 2 sense

    Phil
    www.tengaishibas.com
  • edited November -1
    I think most of us are pushovers for our Furbabies. :)
  • edited March 2009
    The trait of loyalty doesn't beget obedience. Having had a few different breeds growing up/fostering.. I think I can say that my shibas (my male moreso than female, right now) has much more loyalty for my husband and I than any other dog we've had. His faithfulness to us is exclusive, as opposed to some like the basset or our current basset mix foster that never want to leave my side, but could cling to any other person just the same.
    I think its because shibas (nihon ken?) are less people oriented than other breeds.
    However, I think they are more intelligent than other breeds, though, in that they have intense problem solving skills.
    Which can be frustrating.

    Training, defined by me, should be fun. Every moment you interact with your dog is a training session. Each move you make is interpreted, each word you said is heard (but not always understood). Attaching a desired action to a word is difficult, in my opinion. My dogs respond better to hand signals than the spoken word. My hand with fingers extended, touching, and raised to the sky means "sit". My hand from that position to the ground, flat means "down". My hand raised half way palm facing them means "stay". My arms loose and my back turned opposite them, leaning back means "come". Each time they respond, even just slightly the first couple times until their action is down, they get a reward.

    Of course its frustrating, but training is a lifelong event, and I try to make it fun for me and my dogs.

    p.s. I like Phil's 2 cents!
  • edited November -1
    I like Phil's 2 cents.
  • edited November -1
    As an aside, check this out:
    http://awinnieday.blogspot.com/2009/03/shiba-inu-seminar.html

    I'm trying to find (or compose) an article on HOW the shibas hunted together. Obviously they were off lead for this, so how did they know to not stray and come back? Did all of them come back? Was there any prior training involved or do hunters rely on the dog's pack instincts?
    I think understanding how a shiba inu (or nihon ken?) was bred to perform its task will help a companion pet owner of the same breed tailor their training and goals for their dog.
  • edited March 2009
    Yeah ditto on Phils two cents, Jens and lindsay.

    I have found that in many cases Shibas work far away and moving out far. Meaning they go wide in a "c" and working in a fan out front and then circle back. They don't always make a straight bee line back like you see in all the glorious obedience examples. Even well trained, just when you think they won't come they circle back, so you really have to be patient and reward regardless how they come in for a landing (LOL). It gets better the more consistent you are and if you remain positive.

    A long lead line works well but they are smart enough to be able to discriminate between on a line and off. When dogs are young it helps to have two people to play relay with a favorite toy as a reward and also goodies. If you are lucky enough to have a dog that likes to retrieve us a ball to help with recalls.

    That being said, even with long time training and some decent reliability I would not have a Shiba off leash in my area (exception is a fenced dog park), the risk is too great. Each dog is different about how it will behave off leash and some will always be a flight risk.

    Snf

    --to rockinlab: training focus, "watch me" or "watch my face" or "check" is really helpful to begin with. You need to be able to get attention and eye contact before any distance work. Also there is an operative word or reserved word you must teach for emergencies. I use "snacks" and run the opposite way to a safety area. LJ I think uses "carpet". Whatever you use, never chase as in tag.... always practice having the dog follow or chase you in play. You can also hansel and grettel a dog in an emergency to a safe area if necessary. What is effective will differ. I also have a squeek toy in my pocket and yes treats. My pockets are always cruddy with treats. Sometimes simply stopping, crouching, and looking at a blade of grass in interest will peak curiosity. The gotcha game with treats also helps in being able to reach for your dog as they pass nearby. You would of course practice all this at the training center or at home inside and then work on things bit by bit outside in a fenced area for greater distance and distractions. Here is a helpful link too http://www.crashinggoodtime.com/recall.html
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