Recall
Greetings!
We recently had an 18 month old intact male pit bull walk up our driveway. No microchip, no tags, no collar. Huge balls. After trying to find his owner through various means in our intact male pit bull indiscriminate breeding rich neighborhood, we chopped his dangly bits, got all his shots and microchipped him. I promised him he wouldn't die.
He is super sweet. Not kid/human/toy/food/dog/chicken aggressive, though a good cat chase sure is fun. We have a dog powered scooter and between that and the dog park, we have just gotten to the point of tiring him out. Otherwise his constant playfulness/rowdiness/need to constantly wrestle with the other four dogs or play toss the bone on the tile floor will eventually drive me batty. (Think work from home and have hard wood floors and a just over 900 sq ft house).
I can deal with all that..... However.... When he is having a good time, nothing can distract him except an even more good time. He has passed up hot dogs, liver, steak, everything, to have a good time. So recall is less than stellar. I'm just happy when he got out this morning he just went to race back and forth with the other pit bulls across the street. (Only time he has escaped).
The area where it annoys me the most on a daily basis is the dog park. I have never needed to try and fetch my dog and walk him to the holding space. Treats won't help with this.
My next step, as annoying as this may be to everyone else, is to stand near the out, go inside of it with a ball, get him inside, close the gate, open the gate back up and then throw the ball. Repeat 100 times or until he gets it. Whichever comes first.
Any other suggestions?
I know general recall needs to be worked on as well and how important it is, but, at this point, baby steps. I can work him at home on a 40 foot lead for that. He just doesn't give a rats ass about any treat or any toy (to redirect) at that point when he is having a good time.
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