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Universal Commands - Catch

The "Catch" command. Used to send a dog away or get the dog to walk behind you

In Border Collie Rescue all verbal commands used are accompanied by hand signals which serve to emphasise and compliment the instruction.
This is of great benefit when training deaf dogs, dogs with learning difficulties and dogs with short attentions spans.

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Pretend to throw with underarm 'Bowling' motion while using other arm extended and palm facing dog in 'stay' command.

Mime the action to prime the dog that they are going to need to be ready to catch or retrieve an item prior to letting go of it.

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Once you have their attention, the item can be thrown or lobbed but remember to throw in the direction of the previously mimed sign or the dog will begin to mistrust your command and look for other meanings in it.
When you release the object remove the 'Stay' command sign to free the dog to catch it or go after it.
It may sound trivial, but in a situation where a dog is at a distance and may be poor at recall for a variety of reasons, it can be applied to get the attention of the dog and make him move to another location or closer to you.
With some dogs recall efficiency may be dependent on distance from handler - it will return when called if 20 foot away, but not at 100 foot -  so you can move the dog to a position where it is within distance that it will come back when called by throwing a ball that will bring it closer to you.

If your dog has a tendency to run to with other dogs and play or confront, you may use this sign to get the dogs attention at a distance and then throw a ball in a direction that will move it away from another dog that has just entered the vicinity.
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If you are interested in adopting a Border Collie from us,
please do not write to us or email us - we want to speak to you before we start the process.
Please phone us during office hours. Details here.

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