# How do you use a long line to help recall problems?



## Lili (Feb 22, 2016)

Hi, I have a 9 month old cockerpoo and have been having some issues with recall. He has been off lead and responding brilliantly to a whistle & high value treats from a young age but lately when he sees another dog, particularly a female (!) he has stopped coming back and I literally have to go and drag him away because he just wants to play!
This is making walks very stressful but I want him to have the exercise off-lead, as he has so much energy and his behaviour is so much better at home if he's had a good walk.
I have read some good advice on here regarding recall and some people mention using a long line. Does this mean that the dog would trail it behind him while running free but it would give more chance to get him back? If so, wouldn't this be dangerous for getting tangled up? Or is it similar to having him on a retractable lead, which I do in some situations when I can't face the stress of whether he's going to come back or not.
I don't want to have to go back to on-lead walks because most of the time he comes back really well to the whistle. Any advice welcome, thank you.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I much prefer long line to flexi leads as the dog can trail them which works fine generally as long as you are on fairly open ground.

Sounds like your dog is a teenager who is learning to ignore you and the long line is invaluable for this. For a dog who wants to run and say hello to others you need to be holding the line as soon as you spot the other dog in the distance so they can not self reward. I would then be staying a long way from the other dog and waiting for my dog to check in with me. They would be very very heavily rewarded for this and if appropriate and the dog is friendly then allowed to go and play. As they get better at this you can practice closer and closer and your dog will learn they will be rewarded for checking in with you when they see another dog and will still be allowed to say hello so from the dogs point of view better to do this than just go and say hello


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Another use for it is to test their control by attaching both a short and long lead. When pup wants to go play with another dog have them sit and release only the short lead. A few feet before they reach the end of the long lead call them back in. If they "pass" then big fuss and really release to play. If they fail, then keep them on lead and move along. They need to learn that good things only happen to dogs who listen.

As far as the coming away from play it is far better for you to approach them and clip their lead on apologetically. The idea is to always avoid situations where there is an option to not listen.


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