Recall from chasing into bush

[PenelopeBerman]

My spaniel is generally pretty good at recall except when she gets a scent of our bush turkeys (in australia) which are found not only in our suburbs but many through the walks we do. If she is on a scent I can't get her back - until the bird flys away. Do you have any tips on how to train her to come back from a mission she is on? She will do a "leave it" for food on the ground but when she is after a turkey/bird I can't get her to return. 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Prey drive runs deep into spaniels. Spaniels were selectively bred for various purposes, but one of the most prominent tasks was flushing game out of brush. The "game" consisted mostly of birds. 

In the early times, birds were hunted mainly by throwing nets. Spaniels therefore turned helpful in flushing birds out of thick bush into nets. As the first shotguns were invented, spaniels were used to drive birds out of their hiding spot so that the hunter could aim and shoot. The term used for depicting the action of driving the birds out of their hiding spots is "flushing" but the term "springing" can also be used. 

The job of spaniels was therefore more "dynamic" compared to other gun dogs, such as pointers who had to stand motionless pointing, and setters who had to "set" that is, crouching down at the sight of birds. These latter dogs required more impulse control as they needed to hold their desire to chase the birds. Spaniels on the other hand, got to have more fun, chasing the birds so to get the out of their hiding spots. 

It's therefore not surprising that your spaniel has show such keen interest in the bush turkeys. In the past, when dogs were used for hunting, this could have been a prized, much cherished trait. Nowadays though, we may find the behavior purposeless as we keep our dogs mostly as companions. So now to your question: any tips on how to train her to come back from a mission she is on?

From what I am reading, I presume your spaniel is off leash on walks. This has therefore paved the path to a dog who encounters temptations left and right and gives in to these temptations. When we allow her to chase the turkeys, we are establishing a strong reinforcement history. She is getting to carry out an ingrained instinct and this is internally reinforcing. 

Calling her from doing what she likes doing best may come to feel like a chore, not worthy or even can feel as punishment.  It will also risk weakening her response to her recall since she's not coming when called and our recall risks becoming victim of a phenomenon known in training circles as "learned irrelevance." Basically, failed recall, after failed recall, our recall starts losing its power until it becomes irrelevant. 

So I feel it would be important to engage in management for now until we can work on obtaining a more stellar recall-which will take some time as we're working against strong instincts here. 

So management-wise, I would keep her on leash, or alternatively, you can find a compromise and use a long line. A long line is a long type of leash (ranging from 10 to 30 even 50 feet). I would start with the shorter ones, and work my way to the longer ones as she gets better in her recalls/leave its. 

Below is the guide for training recalls. Using a silent whistle may come handy when calling dogs over distances. It's the same process only that rather than voice your dog learns to come when you sound the whistle. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/

In your case though, you are working under strong distractions with a breed blessed with ingrained chasing instincts, so we're looking more at an advanced form of training. I have successfully trained hounds and bird dogs/hunting dogs to recall despite strong prey animal distractions, but it takes time and lots of practice. You need to start indoors, then in the yard and then gradually increase distractions on walks. 

One of my favorite methods is to practice recalls and leave its with fake birds and helpers that drag around stuffed animals tied to a long string in tall grass. I also have helpers also toss rocks (without the dog seeing) in tall grass on an opposite field and practice with that while the dog is on a long line. Soon, the dog realizes that the sounds of grass being moved by the tossed rocks doesn't produce prey and learns to attend less to it and pay more attention to the treats I have.

Practicing leave its and drop its with a flirt pole can also turn helpful. There are also artificial birds that fly one can practice with. Very important is to use very high value rewards for choosing to leave it or come when called under strong distractions. These rewards need to surpass the adrenaline associated with the fun of the chase. 

I consider being off-leash in the open country a big privilege. It is something that I feel should be warranted only after dogs have proven themselves over and over of following our directions. Personally, I feel most dogs reach this level of maturity later on, usually around the age of 4-5. Youngsters can be quite unpredictable as they lack impulse control https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ and are highly energetic. 

However, even with lots of training, a time may come where we may meet a distraction we haven't worked on yet and things can get upsetting and even risky. Even a well-trained dog may catch and kill a rabbit or may run in a road full of traffic. It can happen, and this is why service dogs and police dogs in airports are often on leash too. It keeps them focused and out of trouble.  So it's always best to use a leash for safety. 

I have to admit, I had look up online Australian brush turkey as I am not familiar with them. As I read through their characteristics, it said that these birds are protected under state wildlife legislation and it's considered a serious offense to harm brush turkey. So the leash may ultimately be the best choice based on your situation. 

Hope this helps,

Happy training!

Best, Adrienne 

 

[PenelopeBerman]

Thanks very much for your advise. She has never actually caught a brush turkey - but when she has a scent or knows their hideouts she is off! I prefer to walk offleash on some of our bush walks as she gets much more excercise and is usually very good at recall - except when a turkey is involved. I'm more concerned about her surprising a snake in the bush and getting bitten. Since I've had her (about 1 year - she is 5 years old) she has become a lot more confident and happy to run around and come back to me when I call or have a specific whistle. It's this confidence that has made her go further into the bush where she used to just stay close to me. Street walks are no problem as she is on a leash.

I'm not sure the fake bush/bird noise will work because it's the scent she picks up on. All other noises etc in the bush she ignores. The impulse control training is tricky because she doesn't exhibit those things at home. I'm more concerned about her chasing a turkey into a bush and surprising a snake so want her recall to be better - but it goes out the window when a turkey is around. 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome. Thanks for the extra info.

It's great that she has a good recall under other circumstances.  I would stick with the long field leash for now (preferably in leather and attached to a harness) so that you can keep exercising her while still having some level of control. The more she rehearses the chasing behaviors, the more she'll feel compelled to do that. Chasing, even if no prey animals are caught, can be so self-rewarding (the power of the adrenaline rush) that it becomes more and more difficult to control if the dog is constantly permitted to engage in it. Not to mention, since she lives in an area with snakes, with a long line you can quickly shorten the leash and reel her back to safety should she ever approach one. Better safe, than sorry. 

In general, we know that dogs track prey first by using their eyes, then their ears, and lastly, their nose. This means that on their first attempt, they generally uses their sense on a visual and auditory basis. Only when this is unsuccessful, they'll try to find a scent trail they can follow (scent hounds on trained for this specifically). So I would still aim to work on mimicking some movements birds make in bushes to cover all basis.

For taking off upon picking up the scent, other ideas that come to mind is that, if you ever find some feathers, you can practice with those (since they retain some odor) by creating set-ups. Like you can have a helper on walks place them in a bushy area (prior to you walking by), and you practice walking by that area and doing leave its/recalls at a distance (always with the leash) using super value treats to reinforce good choices.

If at any time she seems to distracted to listen, take that as a sign that you're working at a level of distraction she's not ready for yet. Take a few steps back and work from there. Progress should occur gradually but steadily, but setbacks aren't uncommon, especially in the initial stages.

With some challenging hunting dogs, I find that more than verbal cues (like saying leave it) they may respond more readily to sounds. I have therefore had more success with these guys by making a smacking sound and then delivering a treat to reinforce paying attention to me/looking at me. I start training this in areas with little distractions like a fenced yard and then gradually increase the level of distractions. Here's a guide on this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/look-into-my-eyes/ Rep after rep, the goal is to have a dog who learns to look at you by default anytime your dog hears a sound/catches a smell. 

Another idea that comes to mind, if you spot on walks an area where you see them and then they fly away, you can practice walking by this area since there will be some residual scent. 

With leave its/recalls under such strong distractions, I like to feed several treats in a row (I use the super duper high value foods like strips of baked liver) to leave a strong impact. However, in some hunting dogs (especially those who have chased for some time), the drive/instinct to hunt is so strong that they can care less even if you dangle a slice of liverwurst in their face. Their eyes are sort of glazed over, and they look as if they're in a trance. It's important to catch them before they get to this state and are under threshold since we are competing against an instinctive behavior that has been genetically determined through a long evolutionary process.

We can recognize early signs of predatory behaviors by looking at the dog. Be watchful for:

-A front leg bent

-Standing still

-Concentrated look

-Ear twitching in a particular direction

-Upward tense tail

-Fast tail wagging. Spaniels have this endearing trait of wagging their tails quickly upon spotting birds.

-Sniffing the ground or air 

Other tips that come to mind is finding ways to help her burn some energy in lieu of chasing the birds. And some extra training on walks. 

-If you have access to a large field with good fencing that can be a great way to allow her to run freely and explore

-Many owners of active dogs have found that they can drain their dog's energy by letting them wear backpacks with weights on walks. If you want to try this, ask your vet first though so to know what's the best load based on her weight and size. 

-Provide outlets for hunting behaviors. Brain games, food puzzles, flirt poles, engage the mind and provide outlets for a dog's natural need to scavenge, hunt and consume. 

- One of may favorite games to play with dogs with strong prey drive is on walks to stop in an area and scatter several tasty treats in one spot in a treasure hunt style. Then, I'll say in an enthusiastic tone 'Hey!, look what I found" and show them my finding. This helps reinforce the idea that great things happen when we call our dogs. 

-Finally, consider that ideally, walks should be a great opportunity for bonding and reinforcement. If a dog is focused on walks primarily on searching for prey animals and chasing, he/she is gaining reinforcement from external sources and us owners fall into second place. This makes it more difficult for us to obtain dogs who are responsive when we need it. The more bond and trust forms, as you become a centerpiece of fun and reinforcement, the less attractive prey animals may become. 

Let me know if you have any questions and keep me posted on how things go!

[PenelopeBerman]

Excellent information. thanks very much. This is totally ingrained so for now I will keep her on leash in the parks she knows where the turkey nests are located and keep the off leash for other areas. I might try working with treats while on leash in the areas where I know there are turkeys.

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a plan! 

Keep me updated how it goes. 

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne