drop on recall

[Gunnermom]

Since we now have our CD, I want to start on some Open work. Jayda already has a pretty good retrieve. But what are some suggestions to start training the drop on recall. She will drop during heeling and she will down while across the room from me. But she has a nice FAST recall. So what are the best steps to introduce the drop during the recall?

[Elaine]

You should very rarely ever actually do the drop on recall as it will wreck your recall in a huge hurry. What you can do is break the exercise up into it's parts and practice them: recall from a down and lots of random downs from a distance and at speed. You can try throwing a ball or toy and periodically drop the dog both coming and going. If she doesn't drop in place, take her back to the spot she should have dropped and drop her.

[IliamnasQuest]

The biggest help I've found in teaching the drop on recall is to teach a down that involves having the dog fold back from a stand. I call this the "sphinx" down. The reason this helps is because a dog has to stop forward motion in order to do it.

If you imagine your dog standing and then, without moving a leg, folding backwards and directly down onto the stomach - that's the down that I teach that is excellent for both the moving downs and the down in the utility signals. I use a separate command for this down (as opposed to the other down that curls them onto one hip for a stay). I start teaching it by luring them with a treat (bringing the nose down between the front legs and back, with one hand on the shoulders to gently help them fold back). Gradually the hand is phased out and it's put on verbal command (and signal, actually).

When I start teaching the drop on recall, I start close in and I tend to use both the verbal and signal so that the dog can't miss it. When the dog drops, I throw a treat BEHIND the dog so that they have to go back to get it. That helps encourage the distance work. When the dog starts back to me after getting the treat, I will often give another drop command and then throw another treat behind them - if you do this several times in a row, you will likely find that your dog is dropping faster because they've linked the throwing of the treat with the drop on command.

Most dogs will go through a period where they get confused as to whether they should drop or not on a recall, but with consistence I've never had that be a big problem. I mix up regular recalls with drops on recall until the dog is doing them smoothly without confusion.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

[Shalimar]

I never did competitive obedience, but we did a lot of training with my old dog. When I taught her the drpo on recall I started using 'come' instead of my usual 'front'. She still came quickly but it slowed her down just enough that I had time to drop her part way to me, as opposed to her Mach 3 recall when told 'front'.

My question is if we were competing would using 2 words like that work? Either way it was a good exercise for us and impressed the heck out of my family who never thought I could get the dog to drop as she hated down stays.

[Kayla's Dad]

Originally Posted By: ShalimarI never did competitive obedience, but we did a lot of training with my old dog. When I taught her the drpo on recall I started using 'come' instead of my usual 'front'. She still came quickly but it slowed her down just enough that I had time to drop her part way to me, as opposed to her Mach 3 recall when told 'front'.

My question is if we were competing would using 2 words like that work? Either way it was a good exercise for us and impressed the heck out of my family who never thought I could get the dog to drop as she hated down stays.

I also use the two commands. Front means she is coming all the way into me. Come means there may be another command coming during her recall. We're not back out competing yet, but that is the way we are preparing for the ring.

[Gunnermom]

Thanks for the suggestions & help. I was also planning two different commands. She has a great, fast, straight recall so I was going to stick with "front" for a straight recall. Then when doing the drop on recall, I was planning to call her "come", then "down", and the "front" for the final recall.

I have been working a little at home with random down's, heeling and then down (to get used to droping from moving position) and calling her to me and immediately down. I'll see if these suggestions help also. Although........ I also want to work more on agility now....

Thanks!