emercengy recall

[siberianandy]

i recieved this in a email today about a recall you can teach your husky in an emergency don't know if it will work or not but thought i would share anyway.

What do you think I`m going to say is the #1

thing you must teach your husky?

It's Recall!

Yes, training your husky to come when you call is

a must. Recall is a very serious issue for huskies

because they were bred for running. Most people are

turned off from getting huskies because they are

scared that they'd run away.

A while ago I heard about a guy losing his

Sibe because she ran away and got hit by a car.

Very Traggic!

So I`m going to teach you one of my techniques that

would have your husky running to you like lightning

when you use it.

But here's the catch: you have to only use it in an

emergency! Why? Because I mentioned in a past email

that huskies are very intelligent and are adept at

problem solving. If you abuse the technique it'll lose

its effectiveness because your husky would figure

you out. So only use it to recall your husky in an

emergency when you really need to.

Also, the other thing I want you to note is that this

method should not be used as an excuse to letting your

husky roam in the open without a leash.

Okay, so now that I've gotten those things out of the way,

here's how to teach your husky the "emergency recall".

It's very simple.

First, get an item that makes an uncommon sound and can

be heard from a great distance. A triangle dinner bell or

a loud whistle works fine. Uncommon sounds are better at

getting your husky's attention. An unusual pitch, like that

of a whistle, is also great because it is distinct and is

easily detected in an area where there are other loud noises.

Next, find an activity that is irresistible to your husky.

What is the one activity that he/she loves tremendously

and can never get tired of? Is it food time? Or probably

even your husky's favorite food? Ring the bell or blow

the whistle whenever you're about to feed your husky.

Avoid making the sound for simple treats or things that

are easy for your husky to resist.

At first, you'll want the smell of food to help

convince your husky to come to you. After you're

comfortable with how your husky responds, remove all

traces of food when making the recall sound.

Here's why: "Hearing" should be the only of the five

senses that is involved in recall training. Otherwise,

your husky would associate "whistle" PLUS "food scent"

means come; instead it should just be "whistle" means

come.

Next, to strengthen your positive reinforcement training -

Constantly change the environment in which you make the sound

(for example, go into different rooms or different areas of

the yard) and other distracting areas.

TIPS:

- Don't overdo the whistle blowing or bell ringing.

Make sure it's loud and can be heard.

- Only make the sound when you have the food available.

Don't trick your husky into coming, EXCEPT if there is an

emergency.

- Carry the whistle or bell where ever you go with your husky.

[MyMukki]

added to rep

[Bec]

I'm not a big a fan of emergency recalls. They might work for some people, but I would rather work and proof my dog to respond to commands in any situation as best I can.

For example - would an emergency recall work if your dog was more prey driven than food driven? If the dog was chasing a rabbit, would blowing a whistle that you use at food time be enough to pull the dog out of drive and get him to recall back? Maybe, if the dog was more food driven than prey driven, but probably not if prey drive is the dog's ultimate satisfaction.

I know with my beagle if she is on scent, I could put food directly under her nose and she will ignore it like it's not even there, that is how strong her drive is. This is why I wonder how effective emergency recalls are, and if they really work to pull high drive dogs out of drive peak - when the dog is using a part of their brain called the medulla, the lower cortex of the brain used for primal instincts, and the dog is full of adrenalin, all they can focus on is the prey item, their hearing is all but turned off etc.

And if the dog has never been proofed to respond to commands from the handler in 'emergency' situations, how can we rely on the emergency recall to work? The dog might blow you off and you have wasted time that could otherwise have been spent on training the dog to comply to commands in high distraction environments. If it works for some people great - but it's not really my cup of tea

However, I do know people who have two different sets of commands, one for training in drive and one for general use. This is commonly seen with handlers who train dogs for sports like Schutzhund or protection work, when the dog is being trained to 'work' it is given commands in German. When it is a more relaxed situation, where the dog is not going to be worked in drive and the handler doesn't want the dog to get hyped up for work, it is given commands in English.

[siberianandy]

as i said i don't know if it does work but it was interesting so thought i would share thats all

[siberian_wolf]

good thread Andy, added to rep

[Bec]

as i said i don't know if it does work but it was interesting so thought i would share thats all

Sorry share ahead! I just thought I would give an alternate view

[siberianandy]

Sorry share ahead! I just thought I would give an alternate view

thats fine your views are always welcome

[Mistyrayn]

good thread ...rep added

[Sarah]

good thread added to rep, think i got this email as well lol

[Becca]

I use a whistle as my recall cue anyway. It's clear, distinct, won't be lost in the wind or drowned out in conversation or be mistaken, and since I can whistle quite loudly on my own I can use it anywhere whether we are in our house, outside in the yard, or at a park. I have to say, using a whistle vs. "come" has increased Charger's reliability responding to the cue.

One other thing I would suggest, is to know what are the big payoffs for your dog. Right after we got Charger, he escaped out the front door on me twice, both times were before we had worked on training recall, so the only thing I could think of to do was say "Ride" and run to the car, open the door and pray he fell for it. He did and hoped right in both times, both time, he got his ride too. Find something that can get their attention and follow through, if you say "ride" and it works make sure to take them or it may not work next time. Another thing I've heard is that screaming and falling to the ground and laying deadly still can stop some dogs in their tracks and make them come over to investigate. Some other people find running the other way while yelling happily can help in getting them to chase you, away from something they're going for. Of course you shouldn't rely on these things and actually teach your dog to respond to a recall cue but there are sometimes situations where cues do not always work and other actions may.

[jackie62]

Good tip andy ........

[Alex T]

Something ive found with Isis is that if we say "here" harshly she will drop to the floor wherever she is and just lie on her back. Noticed this a few weeks ago when she had an accident in the house and i said "here" so that i could let her out - She possibly submitted due to her little accident, but ive said it since then to her without her accidents and 9 times out of 10 she submits and stays exactly where she is until shes released!

[Cat]

I tought the technique to my dogs ages ago. I decided to teach recall using voice and the whistle. I use the voice command day to day and once every so often use the whistle either in the house out out walking on the extendables.

The reason for using the whistle for me was because I tend to panic easily and if they hear it in my voice when I try and recall they might be reluctant to come (which is vital in an escape situation)

They know they get a treat when the come to me at the sound of the whistle but I havn't had to use it in an emergency yet.

[Cat]

Something ive found with Isis is that if we say "here" harshly she will drop to the floor wherever she is and just lie on her back. Noticed this a few weeks ago when she had an accident in the house and i said "here" so that i could let her out - She possibly submitted due to her little accident, but ive said it since then to her without her accidents and 9 times out of 10 she submits and stays exactly where she is until shes released!

Don't rely on this behaviour. As she gets older she will get more confident and less likely to freeze when she thinks she is in trouble.

[Lyn]

We teach recall to all ours at home and hope it would work in ana emergency, but we are talking Sibes here, so can end up in the lap of the gods!

I would say the main thing to do if your dog gets loose in an open area is NOT panic!

If you panic, they sense it, and think its a great game game to stay just out of reach.

couple of tactics Ive used that worked:

* Dog bolted from not properly latched cage when loading up to go training: She was in a 'play-bow' on the grass verge when I came out with the next dog. I got in the van, put that dog in his cage, then called her. She ran back, jumped straight back in the van and into her cage....as didnt like the idea of us going for a run without her

* Dog slipped her coller on the stakout in the forest. Ran 100 yards down the trail and stood and looked at us. Ignored our recall. I hooked up a team and set off down the trail. She ran alongside the team and followed the team back to the finish, where she then happily allowed us to hook her back on the stakeout (and tighten up her collar!). Ive seen the 'send out a team' tactic work at race events too. They HATE to think they are missing out!

[Sarah]

good advice lyn, added to rep.

I've found with Kimba if i run away from him and call him it's a bit hit and miss but this morning, he got stuck round a tree and as i was trying to untangle him, Kaiser was tugging to play and i dropped Kimba's lead, he buggered off and I called him and ran away and he ignored me, so i said what i normally say at home when it's feeding tim - "Kimba, are you hungry babe?" he looked at me and came bouncing towards me and sat there waiting for food so i gave him a treat and grabbed his harness quickly - good job my boy likes his food!! phew

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

omg glad u got him back i had a heart attack 2day blaze slipped his collar luckily he just ran in2 my mums m8s house god i nearly died gonna start wrkin twice as hard on the recall now lol