Early start

After reading the litter adverts in the Perfect Pup section of the November magazine could you please tell me how a puppy can be sold as recall trained - as two litters claim to be. Is it really possible now to go and buy a puppy from a litter already trained like that? I guess so if you are happy to advertise them. I expect there will be a rush for them, but I hope the new owners aren't too disappointed.
Margaret Wildsmith, by email

Beverley Cuddy, Editor, says...
There are more and more breeders selling pups part-trained. I think it is an excellent idea. Pups can learn so much, so young. How much easier for new puppy buyers to have a pup that is already housetrained, can walk nicely on the lead and comes back when called. Now that really is going that extra mile for novice owners and helping ensure that your pups do well in their new homes and don't bounce back.

Elaine Day, KC Accredited Breeder, says...
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone felt confident enough to allow their dogs free running exercise when on walks rather than keeping their dog on a lead because they are afraid it may run off. I have devised a method of recall training which seems to work on every dog that I have tried it on and indeed, our puppies are sent to their new homes at the age of 8-10 weeks completely recall trained using my method.
I am sure that most people have attempted clicker training their dog. Clicker training is a marvellous way of training dogs for some people, but I have found that the vast majority of dog owners find it extremely difficult to master the exact timing required to successfully clicker train their puppy. It often confuses the dog if the timing is not right, which leads to the owner believing that their pooch is one of the untrainables, and they give up.
I only use the clicker to teach the recall to dogs, and the way I train my Deerhound and Whippet puppies is pretty much foolproof. When I decide to start weaning a litter of puppies - usually around 3-4 weeks old - they are fed a complete puppy diet mixed with water until it forms 'puppy porridge'. As soon as the puppies have any of this food in their mouths, I continuously click the clicker so that whilst they are actually eating, they hear the clicker noise. After a few days of this, I can click the clicker when all the pups are asleep, and they will immediately run to where they know their food is. I continue to click the clicker whilst the puppies are eating, so that they associate the noise with food.
Once puppies are allowed outside to play, usually around 4-5 weeks old depending on the weather, I wait until all the puppies are exploring and playing with each other, and then give just one or two clicks. The puppies rush to me and are rewarded with a tasty treat (I use cat biscuits at this stage, as they are small and very tasty). The treat is thrown onto the ground and the clicker used whilst the pups are enjoying their treat. I continue this training until the puppies go to their new family, when a demonstration is given.
I then tell the new owners that when they are out with their puppies, a couple of simple rules need to be adhered to so that this method of recall training continues to work. When out on a walk, the treat being used should never be given at any other time, and the clicker should never be used at any other time. This means that the dog will associate the noise of the clicker and that particular treat with going for a walk. When the dog comes back, gently hold his collar whilst he is eating his treat (some dogs learn to eat the treat then do a quick runner!), and every so often, pop his lead on for a few minutes, and then release. This is so that the dog does not associate getting his lead on just at the end of the walk, when he may not be ready to go home. Keep clicking the clicker and rewarding the dog throughout the walk, and always, always give loads of praise when the dog comes back to you. If the dog does not return immediately, still give loads of praise (a dog must NEVER be reprimanded for coming back to you - however late!), but he does not get the tasty treat unless he comes back immediately - he'll soon learn. Don't forget to use a friendly, high-pitched voice when calling your dog back to you, and try turning it into a game, maybe by running away from him to turn it into a chase game. This way, you will be an exciting part of the walk, rather than the person just trying to catch the dog and spoil his fun.
I have successfully trained adult dogs using this method, and I recently boarded a working Cocker Spaniel for five days which had had very little training - her owners said she was untrainable. True, she was a very excitable little girl, prone to leaping about all over the place and wagging not only her tail but her entire body. It had got to the point for the owners where they no longer allowed her any off-lead exercise, as it took so long to catch her after a walk.
I played with her in my garden, and every time she came anywhere near me, I clicked the clicker and threw her a tasty treat. After about ten minutes of this, every time I clicked she ran to me for her treat. She also ran to me for a treat when I hadn't clicked, and I turned my back on her and walked away. After about half and hour, she understood that when she heard the click she would get a treat, but not at any other time. When her owners picked her up after the five days, I had taught her the recall, taught her to walk to heel, and stopped her stealing food - she was actually a very trainable and biddable little dog. I had to then retrain the owners so that they were no longer the ogres that just caught the dog after a walk and went home, but were the dog's point of interest on a walk.
I have even recently trained a horse using this method. Friends have a beautiful Thoroughbred who is stabled at night and turned out in her paddock every day. They would often spend up to two hours in the evening walking round the paddock with a bucket of food, following the tail end of the horse! The horse did not want to be stabled at night and only associated the owners with being caught. I kept clicking, rewarding, then turning the horse away, until after a couple of days the horse wanted to follow me, rather than the other way round.
I know that my method works as I used it on a litter of Whippet puppies some years ago and placed two brothers with their new family. The brothers came back to me after nearly three years for a holiday whilst their owners were away and I asked if they still used the clicker method of recall, but was told the Whippets now came back to their names. I took them out for a walk with my 10 dogs off-lead, and clicked the clicker, and these two dogs returned to me immediately. I was truly amazed that they had not heard the clicker since they were eight weeks old but they still remembered what it meant!
If you walk your dog where other dog owners may use the clicker method of training, you can very easily use another noise. Just for fun, I used to use a duck call which I purchased from a country fair, and would go around the park quacking at my dogs. It doesn't matter what you use as long as the noise and the treat are only used when out on the walk, and never at any other time.
When I am out with my own dogs - two Miniature Poodles, three Deerhound, four Whippets and a very naughty six-month-old Hancock Lurcher - I can get them all to run back to me if I hear a horserider or hikers. Rather then throwing their treats on the ground immediately, I hold them in my hand and all the dogs stand at my feet looking up at me waiting patiently. This looks incredibly impressive to the passers-by, but I know it only works because they are waiting for the release of the treats - still, no point sharing all my secrets with everyone, is there?