Tips on Training Shiba Recall
Posted Thursday, January 10th, 2008 by nycgadgetgirlRecall is tough with any dog - some breeds more than others - and, well, I think the Northern/Spitz-type breeds probably take the cake on this one. Ask most owners of a Shiba Inu what happens when they call their dog and they’ll tell you they get one of two looks from the little darling… either “F you. Try and catch me!” or “Why? What’s in it for me???”
This topic has come up 3 times in the past week. Once on a Shiba mailing list, once on the meetup message boards, and just now by email from a new reader of this blog. Since it is such a hot topic, I decided to post here about it also. Snicks recall is fairly good - exceptional for a Shiba really. Here are a few things that helped get it that way.
- I have a life or death recall (”Snickers, COME!) and a common recall (”Come here Snick”). He knows the common recall is optional but the other is definitely not. This keeps me from “wearing out” his recall.
- He always, always gets yummy treats and happy praise when he responds to “Snickers, COME!” and I practice at random times so it isn’t just pattern trained.
- You should never give them the opportunity to fail when you train recall. Although I despise Flexi leads in the city, I started teaching him on a Flexi. I would let him get way ahead and then call him. If he didn’t turn back immediately, I would reel him in and then treat and praise. Be cautious in expanding their range. When I started doing it off leash, I started from about 3 feet away! First we did it at home and then at the dog run, but only when it was empty. I expanded the distance very gradually and waited until I was VERY confident before trying it with distractions. Add the distractions in slowly and always give big rewards.
- Don’t get in the habit of always using the life or death recall to make him leave fun things (like the dog run). Often, I will call Snick, treat and praise him, and let him go back to what he was doing. I want him to always feel like the reward for coming is greater than the potential for loss of freedom.
- Never, ever, EVER call them to you to punish or admonish them (even if they didn’t come the first time you called and you’re mad). If you need to correct your dog, go to him. The last thing you want is to teach your dog that he’s going to get in trouble when he responds to you!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
So glad you posted this! The “f you” i’ll come when i want to attitude i’ve always accepted. keep thinking i need to work on the life or death.
guess i now know what i’ll be starting up.
Nikko gets bits of turkey hot dog when we are “working” and oh boy does he love those!
thanks, jenna!
January 10th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
LOL and what if you can’t catch the little stinker to correct him??!
January 10th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Thank you for posting this! So many people accept that their shibas won’t be trainable on this one and they really can be. It’s just always about “what’s in it for me” when it comes to shibas lol. Your post is such a great help!!
January 10th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for the excellent post. We’re working on training our Shiba, Roux, and this info is very helpful!
January 11th, 2008 at 12:39 am
LOL Bear is really great at recall but lily I am sure was the one left behind when the spaceship took off. She stares at things only she can see and comes back only when we have a laser pointer she can chase I guess I should retrain her.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Yeah, we call the shiba, Scout, our “F You” dog and Max, the little mutt, our “Joy,JOY; Oh, Mommy I LOVE you; Daddy, I LOVE you” dog.
Yet, when Scout wants something - he’ll deign to be all Mr. Suck Up.
I have taken to tricking them when it comes to recall - “Want to go for a walk? Want to go for a ride?” That gets them to come running so fast from down the street. They’re little escape artist if they find a way. Then I usually have to take them for a ride around the block to reward them. Or the suburb if there was something especially tempting they left behind.
It’s critical that I do this, b/c our city has coyotes and deers.
January 12th, 2008 at 2:56 am
NikkosOkasan - My guys love hot dog too. They are also VERY responsive for Mozzarella cheese!
Janet - Tips on how to catch your Shiba coming soon.
Mari - You just have to be willing to work WITH the “what’s in it for me” attitude!
Ginger - I’m glad it is helpful!
bibby - Maybe you can teach Bear to retrieve Lily for you.
Kristine - Tricking is good. Tricking a Shiba isn’t always easy.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
The car works for my male –but when that’s not available, then, there has to be more… so I bought on eBay a whistle that police use in Europe. It is a very unique sound and doesn’t change in pitch– unlike your voice when you get stressed… Trink used to have the best recall, but it’s fallen a few rungs, so I need to get out there and redo recalls!!
March 18th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I have 2 recalls as well. “Come” is optional & used frequently. “Clean up” is our life & death one.
You see at home if we accidentally drop human food on the floor and it is okay for a dog to eat, then we tell Loki to “Clean up”. We keep this command as always being a very positive experience. It has worked well outdoors as our life & death recall.
Sometimes we have to use “come” when we cannot catch him and he is being bad. So “come” sometimes has a negative associations.