worried he wont come back when let off lead

we are concerned our 7 month staff Trigger, when let off the lead over the park will not come back when called, espesially if there are other dogs around. This is a big worry of ours as we would love to let him off and see him run and play freely. We have done this in a fenced off field with no other animals or people around and he has come back when called. He is so playful and loves other dogs, so when let of the leed when others are around we feel that the freedom to play with others may lead him to pay no attension to us when we call him back. HELP !! Thankyou....

I know it is a worry and you want him to have some freedom, but the best thing you can do is practice in a safe environment with other dogs etc, calling his name may not work so getting a dog whistle may help and when he looks to where the noise came from, get low down and be excited about it lots of phrase and treats, tell him to sit put his lead on and do it all over again.

Also carry lots of treats with you on walks (if he's food-orientated) or favourite toys (if he's toy-orientated).

Failing that, until you're sure he'll come back when called, use a long training line on him. You can get them measuring anything up to about 60 feet in length, so he'll think he's free, but you'll have control!

Thanks all, will try your suggestions.....much appreciated

I lot go crazy for the squeeker in squeeky toys i remove the plastic part and use it as a whistle worked better than the dog whistle i have anyways.

I also carry the plastic squeeker from one of Hollie's toys, it's a great way to get her attention.

I take them out of the toys, but because for some reason Blue is scared of them and runs away
Tried showing him the bit which makes the noise but as soon as you make the noise with it he's off.

this is a good thread. I was wondering the same thing, Billy is only 16 weeks old yet and we have not took him off the lead. He is good in the garden depending on his mood, but a few shakes of the treat tin usually sorts that out. But out in the park with other distractions could be a different matter

Try taking him somewhere outside that is secure first. We have an astro turf football pitch near my house which has a 10 foot fence all the way round that next to a park. Once kids are in the park I praticed trying to get his attension then. The gradually put the dog in an environment has more distractions.

BlueStaffBlue wrote:Try taking him somewhere outside that is secure first. We have an astro turf football pitch near my house which has a 10 foot fence all the way round that next to a park. Once kids are in the park I praticed trying to get his attension then. The gradually put the dog in an environment has more distractions.

That is what we did with Milly and she is really good off the lead now, she has the odd wobble but on the whole is really good

We did a similar thing when we first rescued Ty. We took him to a enclosed basketball court and practiced recall then put more distractions in the court, first kids then sister in laws dog lol and just kept working on it x

I had a similar problem with my old BSD. we had to go right back to basics. everytime we said their name we gave a treat (tiny bit of sausage) and let her walk away, we had to keep doing this until we could almost whisper her name and she would come back.
You can gradually wean off the treats of not give them as often.

thanks, lots of good tips there

lynne wrote:thanks, lots of good tips there

Hope they work for you Lynne

Those with older dogs have you noticed they become imune to their names being called especially if you use it too much? My spliff did so we got a whistle for him to come too instead lol