The Golden Rules of Recall Training
10 Important steps to help you with your dog’s recall…
Are you struggling with your dogs recall? Do you think you will never be able to let your dog off leash? Training a bulletproof recall is a long process, but its absolutely possible to have your dog off leash, and in my opinion, it shouldn't take years to get there. I put together a list of the 10 most important rules when it comes to training a solid recall.
If your dog doesn't listen to you perfectly on-leash, there is no way they are going to listen to you off leash. Make sure your dogs obedience is perfect on leash, in many different environments, with many different types of distractions before unclipping that leash. Be creative, go to busy city centres, train outside of dog parks, find squirrels and cats and work your dog around them.
Don’t water down your pup’s name. Nobody likes to be nagged, especially your dog. Don't constantly be asking for your dogs attention, or constantly be asking for obedience when its not necessary. Of course its great to practice, but if you're going to ask your dog for a behaviour, be very clear, follow through, and make sure you're prepared to reward your dog - especially if its a tougher environment.
Always keep a leash on your dog while training recall. If your dog is able to ignore you and run after that squirrel instead of coming to you, why would they come to you?
Have multiple languages with your dog, meaning casual and enforced commands. This will ensure that your commands stay meaningful - we want our pups to be highly motivated to complete all of our commands.
During training, don’t use your recall command to call your dog away from fun things, as it will become a signal that fun ends.
Foster pack drive - don’t follow your dog around, give them the job of following you!
Don’t jump the gun - do not let your dog off leash with no long line in a very advanced setting (like a dog park) and expect them to come to you. Calling dogs way from playing with other dogs is a very advanced skill and takes a long time. Baby steps!
Have a very clear communication system & reward marker. Your dog needs to know how to ‘win’ in training!
Never chase your dog. firstly, don’t put your dog in a situation where there is a good chance they will blow you off. But if you find yourself in this situation, chasing your dog while calling them will instinctively make them run away from you - and now they are practicing the exact opposite behaviour that you are looking for. Instead, running away from them will tap into their prey drive and they will likely come barrelling after you.
Be of value to your dog. Be someone that your dog WANTS to come to because you represent so many great things. If you have a solid relationship with your dog, they are much more likely to recall to you.
I hope this helps kickstart your recall training journey! Please reach out to me if you’d like to book a session on recall training as there are a lot more details when it comes to training a perfect recall.