How can I get my Terrier to stop chasing things?

So you want to have a Terrier that can actually recall reliably on cue when you need them to? Here are my top 5 strategies to help you achieve that.

One - Take a freedom first approach

Ok yes I know what you are all thinking here, give a dog that can’t yet recall more freedom? Surely this goes against everything pretty much every dog trainer has ever said and how can I if I can’t trust their recall?

So here is the caveat that goes with this, you need to provide as much freedom as you can within the rules of keeping them, others and any wildlife safe. So where you might be on a path of having them on a short lead all the time in order to keep them close until they ‘earn’ more freedom but I promise you this is hurting your overall success. Your Terrier craves freedom, independence and adventure. They also love a conflict and will step in to one as a way to entertain themselves and find some bread fulfilment. Combine those two things and you have a heady mix of a dog happy to fight you for their freedom, breading arousal and frustration that is hampering your progress in training. Not only that the slightest sniff freedom and they are going to act like a teenager on their first trip to the pub. Overindulge and end up in a right state of affairs. So we need to give a little here to get something back. Think long lines and easier environments as a start point.

Two - Don’t be the fun police

This goes for life in general but also ties in really closely with the last point. Terriers aren’t loaded with the genetics that goes along with other working breeds. They don’t inherently look to you for instruction like retrieving or herding dogs do but they have the same (often more) amount of drive and intelligence. If you are the fun police constantly telling them NO, they will find their fulfilment in conflict with you, take the slimmest opportunity for what they are looking for that presents itself and not care a jot that they’ve caused you a tonne of drama in the process. In fact all that drama was kinda fun….

So ease off everywhere for a while. Set yourself up to be successful by only putting them in situations where you have the upper hand and where you need rules, which you do, stick to them religiously. Less rules overall but calmly kept to with a religious level of consistency.

Three - Work out what really motivates them

What do they really want and need? Is it treats? Is it play? Is it adventures? Not all of them are equally motivated by all things but it’s likely if you are struggling with recall then play, freedom and adventures are actually higher up on the list than you think they are. Simply exchanging a recall for food will work to teach them the process but it WILL NOT cut it when it comes to calling them off another dog, some wildlife or that stinky dead rabbit.

Four - Manage the environment not the dog

Putting heavy amounts of management on a Terrier often leads to frustration for everyone involved. They don’t relish being controlled at every turn, in many ways working with them is much more like marriage than a more traditional relationship with ‘man’s best friend’. You need to put the effort in with date nights and know everyones boundaries and stick to them. In the meantime while you work on all that only put yourself in situations where you can succeed. This might mean finding some calm and quiet walks where you can ease up on the rules a bit.

It’s a it like taking a toddler to a toy shop letting them loose and realising that you forgot your credit card. They end up wanting the whole shop, you can’t provide and everyone leaves frustrated. Take the same kid out in to the forest in a waterproof suit and they jump in the puddles they want for free and everyones happy. Set up your environments smartly with your Terrier in the same way. (Although the forest is likely to be your Terriers toy shop - just an FYI)

Five - Know your limits

Not every Terrier is going to be able to have 100% reliable recall with the use of positive reinforcement only. That doesn’t mean you have to give them a negative consequence if you don’t want to. It something you need to weigh up for your own personal circumstances and how the lack of recall is effecting your lives together. But in the meantime you need to know your limits. In what environments is my recall reliable enough to actually let them off a lead or long line? You need to remember that one failed recall that leads to a chase of wildlife or any other high adrenaline event can undo months of work. 

Prevention is always better than cure. 

We all have our own levels of comfort with risk, in my opinion too many people are too comfortable with the fact that they actually can’t recall their dogs at all unless the dog actually wants to. That’s not going to help you in an emergency. So before you unclip the lead think carefully - whats the consequence of a failed recall here? If it’s potential harm to anyone other than you or own dog, which is your choice to make, then you need to keep the lead on or work harder on your training.