I can't let my 13 month old staffy off the lead when we're out :-(

When I take Rocky out for a walk he's fine until he sees another dog when he goes mental barking and pulling on the lead because he wants to get to it. I know this is because he wants to be let off but if I let him up he runs up to other dogs sniffing their bits and jumping up at them trying to play or hump them lol and other dogs then often become agressive with him and the owners get annoyed with me. He won't come back to me either when there is another dog around however much I call him. I see other dogs off the lead walking lovely next to their owners and they aren't bothered by other dogs so what's up with Rocky? I've booked him in to be castrated on Thurs i'm hoping that will help? :-) I've only had him a couple of months so i've not been able to train him from a puppy.

You could use a long lead and work on the recall command. Also try talking to the handler to see if it's okay for him to interact with their dog. The more dogs he meets and interacts with the more socialized he will be.

Firstly, castration won't make a bit of difference to his recall! Only training will do that.

Have you thought about getting a long line? You can get them fairly cheaply off ebay - about 60' long. Just clip it on when you let him off lead & let it trail, but make sure that the end is always easily reachable. Every so often, call him back. If he doesn't come immediately, pick up the end of the line & reel him in, using treats or a squeeky toy to keep him interested.

Never let your dog go up to other dogs without either your say so or the other owner's say so - always try to introduce the dogs properly first.

Can only echo what has been said, build up trust and recall. Moo was10mnths ish when I got her and she learnt with training

He has got an extendable lead. I have tried recalling with treats but when there are other dogs around he is not in the slightest bit interested in them. I could try a squeeky toy?

I can certainly vouch for the benefit of a training long line as hubby and me still use one on Rocky now.

We are able to keep Rocky under control and he has the benefit of a good run.

It just takes training, reading the signs and being aware of the circumstance and outcome before it happens

I would reccomend a long line. I use one with Buster, who was exactly the same as Rocky. He is getting better, but it can take a while. We can now walk past another dog on a path without him pulling across me to see it. Dogs running around on a field is a bit more of a temptation though. Buster also has an extendable lead, but a long line is better as he gets more of a distance. I use treats, a ball and a tugsy toy when out on walks and vary between them as a reward for coming back

gemmaz1 wrote:He has got an extendable lead. I have tried recalling with treats but when there are other dogs around he is not in the slightest bit interested in them. I could try a squeeky toy?

An extendable lead isn't really long enough & keeps a constant pressure on the collar, so he knows he's on lead. A long line will just trail & you only pick it up if you need to bring him back.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blue-15m-Long-Dog-Pet-Training-Obedience-Lead-Leash-1-25mm-/271034725455?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item3f1aedb44f

I have to chime in about the long line. It is different than the flexi-leash. Just got a 60 foot line (at the suggestion of some members here) and am finding this is a good way to work on Callie's abysmal recall...The flexi is really just for places where I need her on lead but want her to have more freedom, like the walking path at the lake or at the beach. Too short to teach recall.

OK, well, maybe I should let you know for sure in a few more weeks but I THINK it's working!

Another one here struggling with recall! She's an angel at coming back on first command if no other dogs are around, but as soon as there are, she's off!

I've been using an extendable which is fine when she's on lead for reeling her in when she sees other dogs. I've been told not to worry that it's not that long and that as long as I don't keep repeating the command, if she comes back, even with a tug, then she's learning.

Long line might be a better option for me too though - checking ebay out this minute!

I have taken on dogs a in their teens and still got a good recall from them, it does take longer to teach an older dog but it can be done, you just have a teenage hooligan.

This is how I teach a good recall.


To have a good recall with your dog you need to have good recall in your house and garden before working outside in various places. It is very important to set our dogs up to succeed with recall, there is nothing worse than trying to call our dogs back and them not coming.

First decide on a word to use for recall, this can be any word but one not in constant use generally. If you have a word for recall and you dog ignores it, use another, it is easier to teach a dog to a new word than to change his idea of the present word.

Never call more than once, we have all see dogs that come on the second or third call, have you every wondered why? The owner has taught the dog to come on the second or third call by continuing to call, the dog has learnt that he doesn’t have to come at first call, this isn’t good enough for me.

Never call your dog when you know he won’t come, that is teaching him to ignore you, again we don’t want this. This is very hard to do but worth the effort as you dog soon learns that you only call once.

If your dog has his head down a rabbit hole or investigating something he won’t hear you when you call so no point in calling, his mind is on something else. Think of a child watching a good cartoon on the tv and you ask them to tidy their bedrooms.

I use a long line clipped to a harness, I don’t let my dog get to the end of the long line so he never learns how long it is, this is handy when I add another long line. I call him back from various distances and give lots and lots of praise, I go overboard with the praise.

I try to get my dog looking at me at first before asking for him to recall, this is so I know he has heard and I can encourage him back with my body language as well. If my dog isn’t looking at me I can try several things, high squeal, rustle a bag that normally has nice things in, start to walk the other way and saying “This way”, bounce a ball, anything will do to get my dog’s attention. I have been known to lie down on wet grass. I can then give the command for him to come back to me.

As my dog improves I stop getting his attention first and still expect him to come back to me immediately unless his head is down a rabbit hole etc.

Once my dog is doing well and coming every time I introduce a whistle, I give the command and whistle, it doesn’t take my dog long to associate the whistle as come and I continue to use both.

This doesn’t really take that long, it just looks like it takes a long time.

Once my dog is 100% recall on a long line I add another and carry on setting him up to recall every time but start to use the whistle more. The whistle travels a lot more than our voices so is very handy for recall.

I will often add another long line depending on were I am and how busy it is.

Once my dog is 100% recall I then drop my end and let my dog trail the line still working on the recall. If everything goes well I take a line off , work some more before taking the last line off.

I take my dogs away a lot and don’t know what the countryside is like, in these situations I will still put a long line on my dogs but let them trail behind. My dogs are used to this and don’t think anything about it.

When teaching recall to our dogs we also have to take into account our dog’s breed and what they were bred to do. Some dogs like Labradors are bred to obey us, others like Terriers are bred to think for themselves, it is up to us as owners to find something that our dog will come back for. This can be treats, praise, play, toys etc some dogs we have to mix these to keep them interested.

Both mine have been trained to recal on a whistle as Skye was a night mare when other dogs, kids, especially if they had footballs

I started with them both sitting in front of me at home blow the whistle and give a treat repeat a couple of times then leave them to relax

About an hour later go into another room and blow the whistle once only as soon as they come treat

I repeated this at he for about a week before taking them out to the park and started trying it when quiet

The reason I find a whistle works is because the pitch always stays the same so never sounds angry even if I am lol

I always start with the voice command for recall, if I am in the house and need my dogs I need the voice command, once they are well used to this I then move onto a whistle.

The noise of a whistle travells a lot further than even my voice, and can break a dog's concentration better than a voice command.

I'll say Chance is castrated and he cannot be let off lead for various reasons and he's nearly 3.

We do if we are at the beach or somewhere similar, but we do use long leads for him so he can have a run around with Harv and he is quite content with it

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I might try the whistle :-)

Cyril baby wrote:I always start with the voice command for recall, if I am in the house and need my dogs I need the voice command, once they are well used to this I then move onto a whistle.

The noise of a whistle travells a lot further than even my voice, and can break a dog's concentration better than a voice command.

I started with voice commands but Skye went through an ignore mum stage so found the whistle a great help now they both come to their names and the whistle

That is when I hide, I only call once, if my dog doesn't come I hide.

Ive used a whistle before even with Chance when he's on a long lead and they definitely work, but i keep meaning to buy one

I will not let onyx off a lead, his prey drive is not measureable. He does the " I'll drag dad over to see a new dog". He will be pushy and sniff, never will I allow him to stand or lay legs on another's back. That's a brawl expected to happen, more of less imposing his will on the other dog. When a friend comes over we walking then distance then bring the dogs in slowly to get them use to each other. And have opposite dog/owners meet apart from their own dogs to reduce excitement of initial meet

Leadless onyx in my area laws prohibit and prey drive issues prevent it

This is a really helpful post!
Although we can let Sash off the lead and she will be fine around other dogs, she doesn't always come back on the first recall, we have had to chase after her at times which is really embarrassing when the other dogs are following their owners.

Sasha is never aggressive towards other dogs but really playful, she is like this with Marley (our cat) and if other dogs on the field get too snappy, Sash walks away or cowers, i haven't seen her react badly back to the dog.

The recall word we use is her name and whilst at home (with hardly any distractions) she will come - outside is a different story. Saying this, she will come back if there are no dogs around.

I think i might do the whistle and treat thing.

I totally understand, Kenny has 2 sides, good kenny, off lead on the mountain, call him , he comes back, bad Kenny, hears a motor bike , chases it for miles. Because i cant pridict when he'll hear a bike, i have to keep him on lead at all times. We had a 20 nylon training lead that we use for the mountain, aleast he gets to sniff around without being right at my side. I do wish i could let him off, as theres nothing like a good old run

Tommy has taken up the sport of following (I say following not chasing) joggers it's a bit difficult for me as I am not exactly fit at the moment to go catching him . They are like the porsches and BMW's on the motor way look over your shoulder and it's clear , let the dogs off the lead and next minute ther's a 1 howling past you