Oh sure, it is a cute face now…
But it is not cute when she takes off at the park and refuses to listen as you call in vain!
As I mentioned before I have been taking Etta to the park for some off leash dog group play time, every Sunday. For the first few weeks she was a little angel. She came when called and did not venture more than a few hundred feet from me. The last two weeks have been a different story! She will stick close by for a few minutes and then she runs off to greet every dog she can see from here to the horizon. Part of me is really happy that she has become so much more confident but the bigger part of me is horrified that one day she may not come back. She adores playing and running with the other dogs but I hate to take that away from her. Right now, for her own safety, it is back to practicing recall. This situation is partly my fault for slacking on practice. I am going to try and do at least 10 good recalls with her a day. I need to remember to always have some high value treats in my pocket at all times so that I am ready when she is. It is a wonderful feeling to graduate from training class but us humans need to remember that training is never finished, it is a life long thing that we must do with our pups.
Here is a terrific article from Whole Dog Journal with some tips for recall.
