Reliable Recall

Recall:  The Basics

To have a strong recall you must have a solid foundation upon which to build.  If your dog’s recall is not excellent, especially in the presence of distractions, then it is important to start from square one.  A reliable recall is one of the most important behaviours our dogs can learn; it can keep them safe in an unpredictable situation.  

Helpful Steps for getting started:

1. Let your dog wander around in a safely contained area  (i.e. a fully fenced back yard or inside the house).
2. When your dog is not looking at you, call his name to get his attention.  As soon as you have his attention, in your most cheerful and inviting voice, call “come!”
3. As your dog is moving towards you, you can encourage him with a happy voice, but don't repeat your cue (such as "come").  If your dog does not come running, start moving backwards and patting your legs, you can also make kissing sounds or whistle to help entice your dog towards you.
4. Touch your dog around the neck or on his collar with one hand and click with the other hand, taking care not to click in your dog’s ear, and give him a treat.  The reason for making physical contact is that you want to ensure your dog comes close enough that you could leash him up if you needed to, you don't want him dodging away if you reach for him.  If your dog is nervous about hands reaching over his head or about having his collar touched, practice some desensitization for this as a separate exercise.  
5. Then let go and use your release word  (i.e. “free”, “break”, “okay”, etc.), allow your dog to return to playing or doing something fun.  You do not want him to think that recall predicts fun coming to an end.  

IMPORTANT:

It is never a good idea to punish your dog after he’s come to you.  Even if you were chasing him around the yard for an hour and are extremely frustrated, it is still very important to reward him when he finally gets to you.  If he gets in trouble when he finally does come back, he will be more likely to avoid you in the future.  Next time start inside where there are fewer distractions to help build up a history of reinforcement.  Set yourselves up for success.  If recall is associated with being punished your pooch is more likely to want to run in the other direction.

Make your recall reward the biggest and best (yummiest) reward your dog gets during his training.  Recall is a very important behaviour and cue your dog needs to know, so make it fun and rewarding.  Remember to only say the word “come” once.  If he doesn’t come right away, do other things to make yourself more exciting.  

Do not repeat the cue or  he will learn the cue for recall is “come, come,  come,  Fido,  come,  Fido,  GET  OVER  HERE!!”  (You  get  the  idea  ☺)

For more great training tips...

Visit us on Facebook

Visit our website