Skip to content
Basenji Forums
  1. Home
  2. Basenji Training
  3. So, I've been working on the recall . . .

So, I've been working on the recall . . .

Basenji Training
  • agilebasenjiA

    So I decided Zest's recall could/should be better when she gave me the slip and ran around the non-fenced portion of our 5 acre lot and then (for the first time) made it all the way to the road so she can check the pee-mail under the mail box. So I made it a priority to do recall work and have been working very hard on this over the last 2 weeks or so. I used Premack principle with the neighbor goats and she was coming back to be before I could even call her. All was going well.

    So yesterday, I pulled her out of the dog yard (leaving the other 3 dogs there) and head to the agility yard. We did a little focus work and I release her so I can go inside and grab a toy (I had treats, but we use a toy with agility training too). She flushes a rabbit and gives chase and the rabbit runs towards the fence (wire field fencing). Unforunately (or not) the rabbit misjudged the holes in the fence and bounces off of it and lies there stunned about a foot or two from the fence. Zest says "SCORE!!!" and runs up to the rabbit; I run along the outside of the fence (to do what I have no idea :confused:). So I go back towards the gate, Zest grabs the rabbit, the rabbit squeals. I go into the yard and stand at the gate thinking "crap, now what?" :confused: (I'm not real fond of dead animals unless they are pre-packaged and the last time there was a rabbit kill, it involved lots of fleas and then I found out the basenjis are allergic to flea shampoo.) So I call her; I have no idea why I did this. Zest, being the brilliant enterprising dog she is (recall = really, really good treats afterall), trots over to me carrying this 1/2 dead twitching rabbit. I grab her by the scruff (not a correction as we've worked on this being play) and get her to drop the rabbit and proceed to stuff her mouth full of chicken praising her the entire time. If I'd been smart, I'd have premacked the rabbit right then, but I didn't have the fortitude for that (okay, so I'm a weenie).

    But I am pretty pleased with our recall work. And our retrieval work.

    0
  • nobarkusN

    Good work on the recall. With my last 2 Basenjis I heard too many jack rabbit squeals and stopped taking them out to this huge field for off leash romps. They once nailed 5 in 1 hour. The rabbits didn't try to run until it was too late. They'd be crisscrossing this huge field wide eyed, nose to the ground and deaf.

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

    0
  • agilebasenjiA

    Thanks. This was a cottontail. I can't imagine her retreiving a jack. She's only about 20 pounds and I think the jacks around here are that big. And I don't think I could have called her off the rabbit, so I did wait to call her until after the chase.

    0
  • thunderbird8588T

    What does premacked mean please ?

    Shelley

    Basenji Malaika

    Basenji Malaika
    Basenji Kwame

    0
  • nomrbddgsN

    Haha. At least you could have kept a piece of fur for coursing! I can just see you there on the other side of the fence looking in!

    Arlene, the Basenji Brats with the Boxenji![](images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin")

    0
  • nobarkusN

    @thunderbird8588:

    What does premacked mean please ?

    Never heard that term myself. I found this.

    http://www.petsalley.com/newsreinforcement.html

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

    0
  • agilebasenjiA

    Yes, in short, an organism will do a less desired behavior in order to get to do a more desired behavoir.

    http://life.familyeducation.com/dogs/pet-training/47296.html

    She came to me (with rabbit in mouth) and I should have allowed her to return to the rabbit as a reward for coming and dropping it. I did reward her with chicken, however a bigger pay off for her would have been to return to her new favorite toy, the dying rabbit. So now, I wonder the next time (if there's a next time) will she be more apt to NOT recall because last time she did recall and all the fun ended.

    0
  • BasenjimammaB

    Sounds like she is doing great. I have been wanting to work Otis on the recall, but we haven't really had any space to do it, and I haven't had time to have him separated from our other dogs..so if I call him, they all come including him, but I don't think it is because he is wanting to, I think it is because he is following the 2 non b's to me..they are very eager to come when he called, he really couldn't care less..but we will work on it here in the fall. Thanks for the ideas as well as that link..

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

    0
  • agilebasenjiA

    Bmamma-
    Pick up the booklet or DVD called Really Reliable Recall by Leslie Nelson. She has Afghans and so is familiar with training indepentant sighthounds.

    The other thing you can do with a pack is to use one word to call everyone. "Dogs, come" and the first one (or two) that get to you gets the treat. Soon you should have everyone running to you as quickly as they can. I haven't done this with recalls, but I have done this a little with sits.

    0
  • nobarkusN

    @agilebasenji:

    Bmamma-
    Pick up the booklet or DVD called Really Reliable Recall by Leslie Nelson. She has Afghans and so is familiar with training indepentant sighthounds.

    The other thing you can do with a pack is to use one word to call everyone. "Dogs, come" and the first one (or two) that get to you gets the treat. Soon you should have everyone running to you as quickly as they can. I haven't done this with recalls, but I have done this a little with sits.

    I have that DVD myself. There's some really good stuff in it. More geared towards sight hounds.

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

    0
  • wizardW

    Premack is also described in the "Offleash Control" book (I think that's the correct title).

    I don't think you need to worry about the next time. This was only her first "test" after all and anyway she had a very good reward. You didn't say what you did with the rabbit – I'd have cut off a leg or the tail for future workouts.

    0
  • agilebasenjiA

    Close, "Control Unleashed". And we do a lot of that stuff (actually, I ended up teaching CU classes)

    The rabbit - I told hubby to perform a funeral (Otherwise I'd have tossed it into the tall grasses in the easment and left it for nature)

    And I do have quite a few assortments of skins - rabbits, fox (i think) a coyote tail and I even have a mink stole that kind of grosses me out (they have eyes and clips in the mouth - ick)

    0
  • thunderbird8588T

    Thanks for the info on Premack

    Shelley

    Basenji Malaika

    Basenji Malaika
    Basenji Kwame

    0

Suggested Topics

  • AntigoneA

    How I 'trained' my Basenji 'Antigone'

    Basenji Training
    25
    0 Votes
    25 Posts
    21k Views
    AntigoneA
    Good Morning Debra, I do not feel as if have to defend why my HUGE dogs from the Dog Pound hated their crates. I still have an assortment of dog and cat crates from huge to small. Whenever my Basenji went to the Vet (which was often as she was a Cancer survivor and also had a seizure disorder which meant she had to take Phenobarbital 3x per day) of course she went in her crate. She didn't like it and complained until she fell asleep but she was in her crate. Big dogs from the Pound hate crates as it makes them feel extremely nervous as the crate is often like their cage in the Pound. Furthermore, it is not really safe to take a big dog that you don't know that well and put him in a crate; a great way to get bitten. I have had Malamutes, Rottweilers, Rough and Smooth Coated Collies, a Bull Mastiff and 2 Akitas. I know dogs. People call me when there is a Wolf or a nice dog that has been dumped by its owner and I usually end up rescuing it and finding a new home for him. I rarely get females for some reason. Regarding Amanda, she is the least famous person I know, I was not trying to impress anyone, I just included her as we rescue horses together and I got one of my Wolves from her. My Horse charity is a Charity. It is by Law and I am able to accept donations as I do what I say I do which is Rescue, Rehab, Re-Train and Re-Home horses. The rehab can take years and I have one 'Lifer' because she is so messed up health wise she will never have a saddle on her back because she weighs 950lbs and she should weigh 1100lbs. She has Gastric Ulcers from being drugged at the track. She is the 'Secretariat' great granddaughter. The Rescue is a 501©(3) Public Corporation and we pay taxes to the State and the Feds. That is why we are allowed to accept donations. I pay $1450.00 PER MONTH to BOARD the horses in the rescue. Donations have been down, clearly due to the economy but the horses get all they need including their joint supplements. Crate training is not something I find important for inside the house. In the car, yes! My big dogs have always ridden in their huge crates in the back of the car and fell asleep. We used to walk to the Vet. Antigone really hated being confined and let me know only the way a Basenji can, she shrieked just to let me know she was still the Alpha. I know how to use crates and I use them in the car but not in the house. My dogs and cats were all very long lived except for Howly so I think I can say I KNOW HOW TO KEEP THEM SAFE, HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND WELL. :) Antigone
  • agilebasenjiA

    Recall, heeling, stay work, Premack

    Basenji Training
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    3k Views
    agilebasenjiA
    @wizard: "Rewarding bad behavior" in order to achieve good behavior was one of the hardest to understand until I realized (was told) you are actually rewarding the dog refocusing on you even if only for a microsecond at first. I'm not sure that's exactly true. I think you are rewarding the dog and thereby changing the emotion of the circumstances. Read what I wrote here about dog growling at other dogs: http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=10968 As I wrote that, I'd been sort of 1/2 @$$ed doing what I said. When I wrote that, I decided to kick it up a notch and by george if I haven't noticed improved behavior. Even from my 13 year old, Jet the trying. (Of course he also just had his back adjusted, so he's probably feeling a little better which helps.) But with the LAT game, you do click for the dog looking at the object and then reward off to the side so that the dog must turn his head to get the reward. So the dog does have to sort of re-orient to the handler. (If the dog won't/can reorient, the dog is probably over thresh hold and you must move the dog farther from the stimuli. All of that is covered in the CU book.) Zest is great at the LATdog game however once when I was using her for a demo dog, she refused to LAT the rat terrier in class. The only thing I could think of was that normally I played LAT with dogs bigger than she is, so she didn't realize that smaller dogs are dogs too.
  • KipawaK

    Any tips for the 'stay' command?

    Basenji Training
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    T
    For a teenage boy to be 80% with distractions is great. We're very proud of him and his Mom for doing such a great job with him. His little sisters Olive (aka Fina) and Scarlett will be coming to visit us next week. I hear they are also doing well, in fact I could hear Scarlett barrooing at her dad when he called to tell us they were coming for a visit. The bending thing is a mistake I make frequently so I have to remind myself all the time to watch my posture. Therese
  • lvossL

    Nose Work Brag

    Basenji Training
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    2k Views
    M
    Congratulations! I don't know much (coughanythingcough) about nose work but it does sound very exciting and brag-worthy. I'll have to do some googling and read up on it. Sounds like you have some very smart Bs. :)
  • SharlaS

    Help with Recall

    Basenji Training
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    rnastoR
    Roast Beef, Chicken, Turkey, etc. In short Lunch Meat
  • VanessaV

    Ha! I've Got The Upper Hand Again

    Basenji Training
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    2k Views
    VanessaV
    @luzmery928: That's great. Good thinking. Human 1 Dog/Cat 0…..for now. lol You are totally right. I have to stay on top of my game in order to keep order in my house :o