Ah! Now I recall...

Of the basics obedience skills, I think the most important is recall. That is to teach your dog to come when called. Even if your dog only has the earliest glimmer of a recall that little bit can save his life if you drop the leash. For that reason, I want everyone to work on their hound’s recall skills. It doesn’t matter how much or how little your dog knows, recall is a lifelong work in progress that requires regular practice so humor me & practice, will ya? For those who have not worked on this, now is the time!

So quickly before I loose anyone, here is something to start with. If you read nothing else, please read this one!  "10 Rules for a Really Reliable Recall"  http://www.brisbeethewhite.com/id26.htm

OK, back to the regularly scheduled post.

Though important to anyone with a dog, as Greyhound owners a recall is even more important. Do not let that “always on leash or in a fenced area” clause give you any false ideas that you will never have a situation where you need a recall. You will. If you love your Greyhound you will work on teaching recall. This also includes you who are happy just watching your Grey roach on your couch and are only reading this blog hoping to see a another houndie you know featured soon. (And I promise that will happen.) Would I bet my dog’s life on the fact that she will come immediately, every time? No, but if you don’t work on recall then you are betting your dog’s life every time you open the door. OK, OK. That’s enough of the scare tactics. You get my point.

Like many other basic training skills, this one is very easy to start. In fact, it could hardly get any easier. Call your dog’s name & then quickly pop a super yummy treat in his mouth. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. That’s it. That is the first step. This not only teaches your dog his name but also ensures he will turn to look your way when you call it as he will be expecting a treat. This simple thing in itself could save your dog’s life. Imagine dropping the leash in a parking lot. Bubba starts to mosey away slowly or perhaps faster. “Bubba” you call out & Bubba, now conditioned to look your way in anticipation of yummies, does exactly that. That slight hesitation could be all that’s needed to allow you or someone else to grab the leash. From there you start to reward for moving towards you, then add the actual recall word like Come or Here or even Kumquat if you want, and the process continues.

So it’s easy, right? Well, um… yes & now. While easy to get started, a really solid, reliable recall is one of the most difficult things for the average pet owner to teach. All in this group please raise your hand. OK, those of you with upraised hands may now lower them. I had to lower mine so I could resume typing. So now we know we’re in good company. A reliable recall can be very hard. For some, even a 50% reliable recall is difficult. Does that mean we shouldn’t try to teach recall? Heck no! Recall is an important skill and even more so if we are going many places, doing lots of things with our dogs.

Whether perfect or just barely there, any amount of recall training is better than none. I am not particularly good at training dogs and even worse training people so I am not going to tell you how to teach recall. I will instead provide some links at the end to help you get started. These work, I assure you. They really do. And please start, please, please, pretty please! When you do, remember the following:

   1. Dogs come reliably when it is reliably rewarding. Make coming to you a good thing and do not call them for something they consider at all unpleasant.
   2. Scientific studies prove we learn more from success than failure. Set your dog up for success. Don’t ask for more than he can deliver.
   3. If it is going to be reliable, there really needs to be a lot of successes. You may be surprised at the success you can have with lots of very short yet successful & rewarding recalls. This means that even if you don’t have a safe fenced area you can still work on a 6’ or even just a 4’ leash.
   4. Keep working on it. Practice really helps and really needs to be continued over your dog’s lifetime. Keep at it.
   5. Teach your dog to respond to other people when they call your dog. (I am so guilty of not doing this and have vowed to correct that.) Your dog is far more likely to get lost, injured or killed when loose if she will only come when called by you.
   6. It isn’t a recall if you cannot hold onto your dog’s collar. Having your dog respond and come to you is a good start but a recall includes getting your dog back under your physical control. Make taking hold of their collar part of the command.
   7. Even if you can only do it inside, work on some off leash recalls with your leash in your hand & do not reward until you snap the leash on. Why do I suggest this? Some dogs could spook if you suddenly pull out a leash when all prior recalls did not involve it.
Some dogs who allow a stranger to touch their collars may bolt when there is an attempt to leash them. And sometimes pulling out a leash adds just enough distraction to blow a recall.
   8. Never correct or scold your dog after he comes to you. Does this one need to be said? If a recent trip the park is any indication then, unfortunately, yes. If when you release Kraken, he initially ignores a recall but then finally comes back or you manage to catch him, never, ever act upset or correct him. Coming to you should always be good. Don’t spoil it even if Kraken has already spoiled your day. “Good Kraken! Thank you for only making me slog through half the swamp. Let’s go home boy. How did you manage to climb through all that kudzu? By the way, there’s a leaf in your collar.”

Oh, hey wait! [insert sound of tires screeching to a halt]  I wasn’t supposed to be trying to teach you anything. That should be left to the experts. OK, here are those promised links:

This one again just in case you missed it the first time:
"10 Rules for a Really Reliable Recall"  http://www.brisbeethewhite.com/id26.htm

"Recall Redux" from the Shirley Chong site.
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson6.html

 “Really reliable recall or Fido, PLEASE come home!” by Pamela Dennison
http://www.positivedogs.com/articles/fido_come_home.html

“Recalls - Coming When Called” by Jen Bachelor (hmm… that name seems familiar)
http://neversaynevergreyhounds.net/come.html

This is a webpage from Suzanne Harris. It gives instructions for a simple yet surprisingly effective modified version of Leslie Nelson’s Really Reliable Recall.
"Come Here Now"  http://www.dogdaysusa.com/comeherenow.html
We've done this & it works. [Note: This is not an endorsement of this trainer, just this method.]

"Really Reliable Recall" by Leslie Nelson is available as affordable booklet from Dogwise.com or still somewhat affordable DVD version from Tawzer Dog Videos: http://www.tawzerdogvideos.com/

And check the links on the right side of the page. Included is Training Levels by Sue Ailsby. Then designed to be trained in a complete level at a time you can also pick one behavior like recall and work up the levels on it without finishing the rest of the level.

A good dog and a good citizen

Just want to send out congratulations to Joon and her teammate Susan Manning for passing their AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation recently. Though the individual skills in this test are not really that hard it definitely takes training and practice to not only learn these but to put it all that together at once with an evaluator watching everything you do. Most important is the fact that these skills are so useful in everyday life. Some, like recall and stay, can even save your dog's life. Using the CGC as a training goal is quite helpful even if you have no interest in taking the test. The majority of our Greyhounds could pass this test with just some basic training.  Susan and her beautiful girl Joon are the latest addition to SEGC's growing list of CGC Greyhounds.

There is something about Susan & Joon's test circumstances I want to mention. I think most of us have had the experience of believing our dog understood something only to later have them act like they have absolutely no clue what we are asking of them. Sometimes all it takes are a couple distractions, a new location, using a different body position or tone of voice to make it hard for our dogs understand us. If you then tell someone, "OK, we will now begin the test," the pressure to get it right can really amp up even if we are there voluntarily with nothing but pride on the line. So it always impresses me when people are able to work well with their dogs in an unusual or distracting environment or in a stressful situation.

There was no doubt in my mind before their test that Susan & Joon could do everything required. Still, when you find out the test administrator set them up 6 feet inside the entrance of a Petco on a Saturday it starts to really sound like a challenge. I know this store and the layout. They were right in front of the sliding glass doors with all comings and goings including dogs of all shapes and sizes, shopping carts, cats, ferrets, mice in little cardboard boxes held by little children, everywhere... the smell of treats and food and a few bits of peemail left by other dogs... well let's just say this was in real test. They deserve congratulations on this accomplishment. Greyt job girls!

 

 Joon pays close attention to Susan as they 

work together at a special pet therapy visit.

Pet Therapy visits

So we covered M&G’s for our first activity. Next I want to feature Pet Therapy. It comes in different forms. The most basic version is simply taking our well behaved, well mannered, well groomed, people loving hounds to visit with people in nursing homes, hospitals, hospices, etc. This is often termed pet therapy but the Delta Society calls this an Animal Assisted Activity to distinguish it from Animal Assisted Therapy which is much more specialized. Whatever you call it, it is a wonderful and worthwhile activity. The benefits of visits from animals have been scientifically proven. Though there is more required from our dogs in way of behavior and to some degree training, it is most definitely worth it for both team members.

There are also more specialized programs targeted to specific needs. An example are some children’s reading programs where kids read out loud to dogs to improve the child’s reading ability. Sounds fairly simple but it really works and also can require a little more training. Most of these programs do require certain certification/registration with specific organizations.

There are groups who sponsor pet therapy programs that do not require any specific training or any sort of certification. Many others do have some form of these requirements. The point is not to get people to attend a lot of classes or testing but to make sure the dogs are ready and their human handlers can both control and help the dogs so visits are safe, fun and indeed therapeutic. Dogs do not need any specialized training or necessarily any certification for this, but they absolutely must be well mannered, well behaved, of good temperament and should truly enjoy visiting and interacting with people. They should also get along with other dogs. Though our dogs are there to visit with people not dogs, remember that most visits will include other dogs though perhaps only Greyhounds. Some locations may even have other dogs in residence so if your hound is a Greyhound snob or not small dog tolerant, you should check in advance.

So how do you know if your dog is ready for pet therapy? I will now go on record as saying that I personally believe training up to at least the CGC level is a very good start even if you skip the Sit part. Many of us doing pet therapy voluntarily train to that level & some go beyond including a certification/registration test administered by Delta Society, Therapy Dogs International or similar organizations. Even if you do not do this, I think it is helpful to learn those requirements and consider why they have them. Before you take your dog for that first visit I think it good to ask and honestly answer this. Can your dog do the following:

• Really enjoy visiting and interacting with people
• Walk politely on a loose leash
• Keep all four paws on the floor and off the people you are visiting
• Maintain calm even if someone else, human or canine, gets excited including flailing arms or sometimes yelling
• Allow strangers to stroke, pat, & sometimes even unintentionally hit almost anywhere on his/her body without feeling threatened or unduly stressed
• Remain quiet, no barking or whining
• Walk with confidence on a variety of surfaces including shiny floors (for most locations)
• Feel comfortable working around medical equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches, IV poles and beeping machinery
• Not be severely startled or panic at loud, sudden noises
• Tolerate regular nail trimming (even short nails can damage skin as fragile as that of some nursing home patients; imagine what some of those long Greyhound nails could do)

If the answer is yes to all then you probably have a good dog for pet therapy. If the answer was yes to some then you may have a good candidate who just needs a little more training and/or socialization work with exposure to a greater variety of sights, sounds, experiences, etc.

As this is an activity that can sometimes ask a lot of the human portion of the team as well as the canine, I wanted find some way of addressing this. Pet therapy can at times leave some of us feeling at least a bit awkward as we look for something to say or same may even feel quite emotional. Having never been comfortable visiting even my own family and friends in hospitals or nursing homes, I was initially worried that even though my dog may be ready perhaps I wasn’t. That was partially true I guess but it was fairly easy to get into the swing of things with the dog as the real center of attention. Whatever I lacked in people skills was, I hope, compensated by my dog’s ability to offer love, companionship & compassion of the furry, four footed variety. I have always left visits feeling glad I had been there. It is always worth the time.
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There is a lot of info about pet therapy on the internet. Here are a few places you may want to check out.

DogPlay.com has a section on the basics of pet therapy. There is an Overview section on the main page with links to a series of pages in the that I think are helpful.

AKC CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test requirements are almost all skills we have routinely used.

There is a reason the national organizations have their requirements. Even if you do not plan on joining them or even getting your dog tested for certification/registration, there is a lot to be learned by reading their requirements and information. Here are some links to various program info and test requirements:

READing Paws  http://www.readingpaws.org/

Delta Society Pet Partner Program - has team evaluation requirements divided into two documents as Part 1 and Part 2.

Therapy Dogs International has a testing requirements brochure. 

Therapy Dogs Inc. has a general info document which includes “Helpful Hints & Tips” and a test document.