Q:I have tried whistle training with my dog but he ignores me?
A: One common problem is we introduce the whistle or recall signal early on when our dog may not be focused on us. This is a common problem if you get a young rescue dog that appears over stimulated by the wonderful outside world. We may have gone about introducing the recall signal properly but the dog was so over excited outside that it ignored more of your recalls than it listened to. One thing to consider is to start again with a new signal. Once your dog has settled and is starting to pay more attention to your training, restart your whistle training with a new signal, for example 5 quick pips, try this inside, always having a very exciting reward, then use your garden, then the long line in the park and finally off lead in the park. You may find that introducing a new signal can prove very effective because the dog only associates the new whistle signal with a rewarding recall, instead of the old signal that he sometimes listened too and sometimes ignored. Remember you can use whatever signal you like, its up to you. Keep your rewards very exciting, liver, sausage or cheese are firm favourites, and don't blow the whistle when you know your dog is going to ignore you, for example they are chasing something, or playing with another dog, get their attention by calling their name, running away etc, and only when they are on their way do you blow your whistle. If you use your whistle too many times and it is ignored then you are back to square one and trying to invent new signals again.
Q: My Springer Jumps up when I come into the house
A: "Bess used jump up at us when we arrived home. I solved it by making her sit and wait then giving her a stroke/hug when she was sitting nicely. She now sits patiently without being told. Sometimes she's so good that I forget that she's waiting until she gives a little whine to remind me!" (Kath)
By implementing a no attention until all 4 feet are on the ground rule, you can easily teach your Springer that jumping up is a waste of time and and will not get them any attention. Shouting no and pushing them away is all attention to them, turn your back, ignore them and wait for them to sit for their fuss.
Q: My Springer does not come back?
This answer was taken from the forum,
Sandra had taken on a dog with no recall called Zante, and this is how she
dealt with it.
A: "Well Zants recall was pretty much left to her own devices before she
came here, coming back when she thought she had gone far enough or when she
felt like it. Andy assured me she always came back, but in her own time. I
could not risk that in a new place as she didn't know her boundaries, and
she scared the life out of me when I first let her off the lead, running off
maybe 300 yards flat out, something I am not used to a dog doing!
So I worked on her in our yard, just getting her to fetch toys and bringing
them back, something she was never interested in doing before.
As my other dogs all recall to the whistle she soon picked up on them
returning to me and I would take them all out together, and bless their
hearts my girls did a lot of recalling in the first week Zants was here I
can tell you! I would not let her go more than 50 yards before recalling,
and she would at first look up and I could then get her attention by just
running the other way, of course all the others followed me and with Zants
being in a strange place as well, she didn't want to be left behind. So she
started coming back with them, crafty but it worked, I took advantage of her
insecurities in being in a strange place, as we walked different places
every day, the fact that she was now enjoying being with other dogs, her
seeing that the others were more than happy to come back on the recall, and
lastly and most importantly I think in Zants case I gave her loads of praise
and then sent her away again. Many dogs don't like to be called back as they
are often put on a lead and think their walk or fun is over. She is now so
used to coming back being given lots of praise and being sent away again for
fun that she sees it as a game and not a chore or even a punishment.
Also when recalling her I would often get her to sniff out something, like a
treat dropped down, so that she also got another reward for returning. This
I had to do on her own as there would have been 5 noses all sniffing for one
treat and you could bet your life Zants wouldn't have been the first in the
queue to find it!
When she was in the garden I would go and hide and call her with my voice
followed by the whistle too, this again turned into a fun game!
She stays quite close to me now, 20-30 yards which is ideal, but then it's
still farther than my other dogs, but I am more than happy with this
distance. She also responds very well to the whistle and then me saying
'This way' in a cheery voice when I change direction." (Sandra)
Q: I don't want my Springer on the furniture?
A: "We decided, that we didn't want our dog on the furniture before we brought our puppy home. First, we never ever lifted her up on the sofa to sit with us when she was little. It wouldn't be fair to allow the puppy something you don't want it to do a few days or even months later! Always start as you mean to go on as they say. I always sat down on the floor with her, where she happily curled up on my lap when she was tiny. The problem rose, when she was big enough to get up on the sofa herself. First, I tought her the off command: When the dog jumps on the furniture, get a treat and lure her down, when she is just about to jump, say 'off' and give the treat once the pet is on the floor. Do this a few times. After that, you say 'off' and throw the treat on the floor. But be careful that your dog is not jumping up in order to get a treat, so you have to phase them out quickly. Our puppy learned eventually not to be on the sofa when we were in the room, but she still jumped on it, when she was by herself, because all she knew was, that she isn't on the furniture when we are in the room, but she is safely up there when she is by herself. So we had to prevent her from going up there when we weren't in the room. Either you don't give the dog access to the room by herself or you prevent it from being able to get comfy up there. We put the sofa cussions up and we also put our kitchen chairs up to block the sofa for her. The main thing is, to basically never have him/her up there so he/she can't get the habbit. It needs lots of patience and persistence. There were times, were the puppy jumped off the sofa as soon as I came into the room, but there were also times, when she decided to stay up there and I had to bribe her off. It is not recommended to grab and remove them physically, because some dogs don't like that at all and might start growling. If that is a problem, rather put a thin lead on the dog, so you can pull the pup down via a leash" (Christine)