Well the Internet at the farm is pretty much dead in the water and so I am posting this from my phone. Please forgive any autocorrects!
Loki did really well with Recall today. We had him on a 30 foot ground line and played Puppy Hot Potato. My parents, Claven and I made up 4 points to a square around Loki and each took turns calling him. Once he came to the correct person and sat down he would either get praised or be given a treat (only 2 of us had treats and so it was always a mystery what he would get). At first he tried shooting past us to get us to chase him but once he clotheslined himself on the longline (timed perfectly with a loud "NO" from me) he didn't try that again. His attitude quickly changed and he was running from person to person as we all took turns calling him and sitting down happily.
I am hesitant to remove the line completely and really work off leash. He has a very bad bolting impulse and I am not sure if this comes from a place of playfulness or anxiety. Either way, I do not want to chase him around the county. On this note I will be expanding my octagon pen this month but not before Loki goes home. I may take him to the new fenced yard at the dog park and practice there a little. I have lately been using our fenced garden to run dogs but we have baby garlic in there now. Alas.
However, even with my hesitations I am confident that we will have him fully off leash by mid-late this week. It will mean some work on his owners' part to continue working with Recall when he goes home so he doesn't revert back to old bad habits.
Loki loves the snow!
Loki did really well with Recall today. We had him on a 30 foot ground line and played Puppy Hot Potato. My parents, Claven and I made up 4 points to a square around Loki and each took turns calling him. Once he came to the correct person and sat down he would either get praised or be given a treat (only 2 of us had treats and so it was always a mystery what he would get). At first he tried shooting past us to get us to chase him but once he clotheslined himself on the longline (timed perfectly with a loud "NO" from me) he didn't try that again. His attitude quickly changed and he was running from person to person as we all took turns calling him and sitting down happily.
I am hesitant to remove the line completely and really work off leash. He has a very bad bolting impulse and I am not sure if this comes from a place of playfulness or anxiety. Either way, I do not want to chase him around the county. On this note I will be expanding my octagon pen this month but not before Loki goes home. I may take him to the new fenced yard at the dog park and practice there a little. I have lately been using our fenced garden to run dogs but we have baby garlic in there now. Alas.
However, even with my hesitations I am confident that we will have him fully off leash by mid-late this week. It will mean some work on his owners' part to continue working with Recall when he goes home so he doesn't revert back to old bad habits.
Loki loves the snow!
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