@yahtzee92 said in Sanji 4 months Recall:
Dang.. killer job. Can you provide a link to the training you're doing? Thanks!
Well, there's not a single link. She has a lot of free content on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfaslnxiHL2JHPEyV8goR5w
She also has an online course with two levels. One level is just the course (50 or so videos, checklists, schedules, expectations, etc., step by step), $167 if I remember correctly. The second Pro Level Plan is that course, PLUS personal unlimited written questions via their facebook page, and 3 live office hour zoom discussions with a moderator and trainer to answer any questions, about $400. HACK: I got the basic course and found one can upgrade to the Pro level for $75 per month. So I did that for one month, which I found useful to answer written questions, which were answered within hours.
https://www.howtotrainadreamdog.com/puppy-perfection-course/
I recommend scrolling through the entire page, though it seems a bit long. But it's all genuine.
The video on two-person recall training I think was the most helpful. But the work on "stay" training at the same time, and then doing a sit, stay, walk away, and recall, and you're making progress. It's SLOW though. Don't have expectations beyond what is realistic. Always try to make it FUN. That is a KEY element.
PERSONAL VIEW
It's a great foundation course. I learned 9 years ago from a local professional trainer. This was more in-depth and MUCH more convenient. The foundation skills, like the "bump game" don't seem important, but then later one discovers how helpful they are when one needs to get the pup accustomed to nail trimming, ear and teeth cleaning, etc. So, there's a lot there.
Limits: I have found that my basenji, at six months, reached a point where he's not as food motivated as he was, and consequently with "heel" training (covered in her course) we reached a point of marginal returns on the training I was doing. My expectations are probably part of it, and if I just kept at it over the next year, he'd improve and get there.
Nevertheless, about two weeks ago (weeks after I made that clip) I started with some electronic collar training, which is NOT shock training. One uses vibrate, beep, and lowest level electrical stimulation just to get the dog's attention, never to elicit a yelp or pain (in contrast to an electric fence, which, by the way, is working GREAT), and always in combination with positive reinforcement (treats or praise), as demonstrated in the video (link below). I also have found that my verbal praise works sometimes better now during heel training than a treat does, in part because he's understanding better with age what I want, and in part because he's more responsive to praise as he ages. He wasn't as emotionally in-tune or mature as a young puppy.
So the ecollar work has helped with heel work right away. I vibrate when he starts creating tension, and praise when he looks me in the eye and returns to my side. Sometimes, with greater distractions, I have to move up to sound. (He already knows sound, vibration, and painful shock because that's associated with getting close to the electric fence. But that's not how it's really supposed to work. Per the video, one is training with the ecollar using positive reinforcement, not for negative reinforcement -- that he might get a painful shock after the sound if he continues the behavior.
I found that the ecollar does does help with recall too, for sure in the short run. I don't know if this ecollar training for recall will "stick" and will work without the collar down the road, which is the goal. I'll find out over the next 6 months. But, as shown in the video, when he's intensely distracted and doesn't listen or hear me call or whistle, the vibration seems to do the trick, if one has done all the pre-training that we did with the online course. When I use the vibrate in those special situations, he'll turn to me and then will come. Or he may stall, and I'll vibrate again and he comes. About 95% of the time when he's with other dogs he comes by whistle or name. It's just when he's intensely distracted that the ecollar seems to help.
Qualifications: I never even try to recall when he darts off the path to chase something. I don't need to. He always comes back looking for me within a minute or so. I mean always. I'm very very comfortable going off leash in parks (would never do so in town). He gets along with all people and dogs. (The trainer we worked a few months ago for swimming lessons said he's the nicest Basenji she ever met.)
Ecollar training: https://youtu.be/SmBhKFdtMAY
