We walked in and I started practicing some recalls with Harley and he was doing really well. I gave him lots of praise and sometimes treats. After a few great recalls I let him drag the leash and continued to call him back to me a few times and he did wonderful. I was happy and regaining confidence in his recall, which has been lacking lately. We walked all the way to the pond and then headed back after hearing some thunder.
On the way back to the car he did a couple of recalls and then we came up to a fork on the trail. Harley ran ahead towards the right but we were going left. I called him and continued a few steps into the left path. Assuming, I guess, he would run back to the beginning of the fork, take the left path and catch up to me. Pretty complicated, now that I think about it. Well, he didn't get my memo on that. He looked at me and headed through the wooded area in between the paths to get to me on the other side.
That's when it happened, a scent, A very gooood SCENT and he followed it - "Elvis has left the building." I called again and this time he was further into the woods, but I could hear his tags. My friend and her dog went to the other side of the fork, I returned to the left side, but then I stopped hearing the tags. I couldn't hear or see him anymore and I felt the panic. I told my friend, "Okay, 'C' I am starting to panic...I am officially panicking". I think she told me not to worry and continued to track him. At that point I headed into the woods after him as a million thoughts rushed through my head. From "what was I thinking he was not ready for off leash!" to "what if he heads for the road?" and then looked down to search for his tracks so I could follow him (we've had rain so the ground was wet). After a while, what seemed like hours to me, I heard the tags again. I called him, I made kissy sounds, and then my friend called out that she saw him. I caught glimpse of him and then I could see him running towards me...I started praising. "YAY!!! What a good boy, yaaaaay!!! Good job!" Grabbed his collar, took a hold of the leash and I totally cursed him out in a VERY happy tone, let out a sigh of relief and we continued our walk to the car and then home.
Harley had a blast yesterday and he was pooped! I learned where our training needs work, but how well his recall also is. See, I don't think he was a bad dog, stupid or stubborn. He was just not ready for that scenario, it was too hard for him. Also, if you think about it he did come back, he just took a detour to check out the scent first! I would prefer he doesn't detour in the future, but that means I need to continue to work and proof the recall. Break it down for him and set him up for success. There were a few things I could have done to avoid him going too far ahead and heading right instead of left at the fork in the path, but even though I am a great dog trainer I make mistakes too. Everyone does and my dogs are not perfect. They are among my most valued teachers.
Moral of the story: Set realistic expectations for your dog. Let your dog set the pace and set him up for success. Break behaviors down into small steps, if that's too hard, break it down even more.
