coming when called
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?
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?
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Comments
I guess I'm really at 0% all around
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.
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.
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!
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)...
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.
It's only been a week so I'm not expecting miricales.
Steve
Don't you just love those shibas?!?!?
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!)
If that doesn't work, keep cheese handy.
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
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
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!
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.
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