Did you have to work on their recall individually or does it help that the owners work on it along with the fact other dogs follow the rules?? Also love seeing the leash time with Dante I have to do similar with my girl when she gets over aroused and switches off from me 💗
Hey Millie. Sorry about the late reply. I’ve been off RU-vid for a bit over Christmas and not back in the swing yet. So, you’ve asked a brilliant question. Maybe I’ll do a video on the topic soon too as it is a really good subject. But to answer your first part, “do I have to work on their recall individually” there’s a bit of a magical zone with the dogs where, when I meet them, I do everything in my power to build up a lot of trust in a short space of time. Usually in their house. That trust is then the basis for the recall and it depends on how quickly it builds as to how much freedom a dogs gets with me. Additionally, as you’ve rightly spotted - the other dogs really help to “train” newer dogs. This helps as we almost always have a dog in the pack that a new dog will bond with quicker than it does with the others. For Otis, this was Elsa. For Rua, this was Dante. Where we run into a bit of trouble is when the dog is too confident - this is similar to Dante’s situation. Too familiar with the dogs (he’s grown up with them all). Too confident he knows where I am. Too smart for his own good. So a time out or quiet time is really good to get him (or any of the others) to do what’s needed. Usually pass another dog or group of people without them being caught up in our pack. Lead time isn’t a punishment as much as it’s a tool to get results. Much like a ball or a tug toy. The dogs learn to accept that being on the lead is part of what we do. My process of taking on a new dogs usually has about 5 separate steps before I let the dog join in with the pack - so by this time, I’m fairly confident I know if they’ll be a good fit with the others - or if they might need some extra attention. This might come back to haunt me in years to come, but I feel I’ve a good eye for spotting the potential in a dog. It helps if the owners work in a similar way to me but it’s not always essential. It’s actually a great time for the pack. As we get to know each other, the dynamics of the dogs change slightly and everyone has to adjust to a newer dog. But often, and almost always that I’ve shown on my channel, it’s for the greater good of the team. Lots of fun. Great question. Thanks for asking it. It properly made me smile replying to you ☺️ See you on the next one Steven 💙🧡❤️
