Teaching our dog recall is not just a desirable behaviour but a life saving skill should walking equipment ever break or you accidently drop your dog’s leash. It also enhances and enriches your dog’s life as it means they can come off leash in enclosed, off leash safe areas. We have loads of training tips to teach your dog recall, so please scroll back and check these out. Always proof your dog’s recall by investing in a long line so you can give your dog more freedom and practice recall around different distractions and distances all while having complete control and management of your dog. Your dog should only ever come off leash in appropriate off leash areas and off leash dogs should never, ever be allowed approach an on leash dog.
So, with this in mind, let’s talk about how your dog’s recall can become a bit hit or miss.
The number one mistake owners can make is assuming your dog has a built in recall already. Recall must be learned and practiced and continued to be reinforced. How your dog comes back in the garden at home where they know every sight, sound and smell will not be the same as recalling your dog in a place with high distractions and full of interesting smells. Work on recall at home and set your dog up for success by then start to slowly increase distractions.
Decide on one recall command and be sure everyone in the family uses the same word in the same way. If one family member says “come!”, another says “fido, here”, another says “come, come, come” in a high pitched voice and another says just the dog’s name and nothing else, this can quickly get confusing for your dog . The same goes for reward. The reward should be the same, whatever motivates your dog (food, praise and fuss or a favourite toy) and this should be consistent for your dog.
Your dog’s recall can become inconsistent if they first learn it’s a fun thing to do but it later becomes something they’re only asked to do when something else fun has their attention and they’re being asked to ignore it. For example, if we go a whole walk without recalling our dog and then they come across a half eaten burger on the ground and we recall them away from going to investigate it. They’ve learned the recall means coming away from a fun and tempting thing to come back on leash. Next time we recall them, they may think twice about it and ignore us.
Dogs learn to tune you out because they only get recalled when they’re doing something fun – playing or sniffing something exciting – recall should only mean something good and should always come with a huge reward every time (praise, food, fuss) it should never signify the end of fun for your dog. For this reason, I encourage recall practice around the house and garden when you walk around with your dog and a pocketful of treats. Everytime your dog comes up to you voluntarily you should respond by saying the ” yes!” Marker cue and scatter food on the ground or deliver straight to your dog. Also practice some recall randomly on an leash walk and in the garden and reward your dog when they come then give them a release word like “okay!” And let them go again teaching them that while recall is always praticed and positively reinforced, it doesn’t mean end of play. This way they will always have a positive association with the recall and this makes a 100% recall rate every time.
If you’ve recalled your dog during a practice session and they haven’t come back – make the recall happen – even if this means getting closer to your dog or putting a treat to their nose to get their attention and taking a few steps back and then rewarding them with the food treat and saying the recall command – this reinforces the recall in a positive way and ensures the dog doesn’t learn to tune you out by repeating the recall word over and over.
Reinforce the recall and spend some time doing it. Training is a journey. Much like fitness isn’t achieved with a couple visits to the gym. Our dog’s recall isn’t achieved by praticing recall every once in a while. Spend some time playing recall games in the garden or house once or twice a day. Play “find it” and reward everytime they come back to you. Place treats on the ground and move a few paces away when our dogs are sniffing them out, wait until they come chasing after you and reinforce with the recall command, then repeat.
These are all games to help polish your dog’s recall and is the difference between a “rocket recall” and a every once in a while recall.
