Hi All,

Just had a quick question if anyone has had any experience with this.

My Husky is about 10 months 3 weeks old right now, and he is actually off leash quite a bit. I have a townhouse by the Boise River with tons of land to run free and play, so I always take him out there to run around and go crazy. When it is just him and I, he won't let me out of his site. The second he get's to far away he either looks back to make sure he can still see me or if he can't he comes running back till he can.

However when there are other dogs around he doesn't listen quite as well. He still will come when called but it usually takes about 4-10 times before he does. Today was the first time I've encountered a serious problem. My grandparents live out in the country and their neighbor has sheep. Well by big boy decided to go exploring out there and went into the guys drive way, it took a few times of calling him but he finally came running right up. My Grandpa told me to keep him away from there because the guy could mistake him for a coyote or wolf and think he's after the sheep.

My question is, what is the best way to get a Husky to come the "FIRST" time you call them or is that even possible? I've read everywhere that Huskies run off and to keep them on a leash, but for some reason mine has never gone further than what I can see.

Thanks in advance
Brad

Mine has a really good recall, too. It is possible!!!! We even take her camping and hiking and she can be free.

Anytime she's off leash, I have treats. I just don't trust her 100% (for the same reasons as you have listed!), but if I have yummy food and she knows it she will come right back.

I second the treats thing, my bella is actually pretty good and i can let her off the cable outside and she will trott down the drive but if i call she comes usually, she has ignored me a few times and i turned around and headed in saying " ok fine bella bye" like i do with my 3 yr nephew and she came running back or i'll shake the treat bag or bin and all you see is a bella blur. Jasper i dont quite trust because he doesnt want to listen as well ( mainly cause when i try to work with him bella bites him, all attention has to be on her all the time) but i would say keep working it and maybe introduce your dog and the neighbors tell them that you just wanted them to know what the dog looks like and that he is no harm to their flock ( as long as thats true) i would be sure to tell them when you are visiting also so theres less likely to be an accident. Or look into a long leash for when you visit, me and my sister are getting at least 50' ones so we can bring the dogs to the field by our house and give them a bit of freedom during the summer since we arent comfortable with dog parks yet.

An excellent way to teach recall, in addition to using positive reinforcement and baiting, is to use a long line.
Essentially, a long line is just 50ft of rope attached to the collar, left to drag. Call your dog to you. If they ignore you, step on the line to stop them, and say "no" walk up the line a few feet. Try again. If they ignore you say "no" walk all the way up to them, leash them, tell them to.come, and walk them on leash. Try again in a few minutes.

A safety recall is also something you can look into.

In essence you start by using a very uncommon word others wouldn't use as your command word. Another language works well here. Get EXTREMELY high value treats, I'm talking top of the line.

Associate the treat to your chosen command simply by rewarding it when ever you say it at first and then move onto when you get eye contact. Move into normal recall training (Sit, Stay, Recall) and using your new command trigger a recall and reward with the top of the line treat. Reward any recall at first and as you continue to train over the weeks only when you use the new command and recall is done on the first call.

Within a couple of months, you've trained a safety net. This command shouldn't be used to recall normally but instead to trigger a recall when you absolutely need it. The idea is the treat reward is SO HIGH they will stop everything they are doing when they hear that word and run your way (Examples running into traffic, running out of sight, anywhere you don't want them).

Our special recall is Donkey.... Don't ask we were watching Shrek while talking about it... I'm not proud of it either.

~Chris~

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A safety recall is also something you can look into.

I like Tika's suggestion, I may have to try that idea now!

But, for Kiara's normal recall, what i've done is let her out off leash since i've had her (i live in a large apartment complex that is fenced in) and when ever i take her out, i will sit on the back porch and randomely say (not yell) "Kiara, Come" two or three times while she's out sniffing things. When she comes, give her a small treat and some praise!

It's worked incredibly well so far for me, even after I've noticed her growing quest to explore the area. But, the people/pet distraction is still too... distracting, for her. so I think Tika's method will work great for that!

I've only had kiara for a couple months now so i am a relatively new owner, so obviously my method might not work with other dogs.. But good luck with whichever method you choose!

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Thank you everyone for all your help! I also really like Tika's suggestion and think I'll have to give that a try. Thanks again everyone

What is a top of the line treat?

Mishka'sMom wrote:

What is a top of the line treat?

It's different for every dog. You just have to find what makes your dog tick! Some examples would be boiled chicken, maybe cheese...

Mishka'sMom wrote:

What is a top of the line treat?

It really depends on your dog, and what it would do for different treats. For us, it's Zuke's bones, and our emergency recall is "Ghost, you want a Zuke's bone?". She comes every single time.

I'd love to have my girls trained off leash. Ilya is getting it but is much better with my husband who has a much deeper/ more commanding voice. Ilya is a mix so I'm attributing what little success we've had with her to her non-husky DNA. Nike isn't even 4 months yet but hardly ever comes when called outside.

My voice doesn't travel very well so when Shaqua is in the back of the yard or across the dog park I whistle. There is a certain tune I use for her and she knows it means "come here". I used treats when she was younger, now I just praise her.

Tika wrote:

A safety recall is also something you can look into.

In essence you start by using a very uncommon word others wouldn't use as your command word. Another language works well here. Get EXTREMELY high value treats, I'm talking top of the line.

Associate the treat to your chosen command simply by rewarding it when ever you say it at first and then move onto when you get eye contact. Move into normal recall training (Sit, Stay, Recall) and using your new command trigger a recall and reward with the top of the line treat. Reward any recall at first and as you continue to train over the weeks only when you use the new command and recall is done on the first call.

Within a couple of months, you've trained a safety net. This command shouldn't be used to recall normally but instead to trigger a recall when you absolutely need it. The idea is the treat reward is SO HIGH they will stop everything they are doing when they hear that word and run your way (Examples running into traffic, running out of sight, anywhere you don't want them).

Our special recall is Donkey.... Don't ask we were watching Shrek while talking about it... I'm not proud of it either.

~Chris~

I started doing this with our dog Blizzard. We have his normal treats, but whenever I use his recall word I will always give a special treat, but I always mix it up (chicken one time, watermelon, mango, cheese, etc.) I just keep him guessing so that every time he hears his recall word he knows he's going to be getting something that he doesn't normally get.