Recall

Recall is not a word an action or a sound. It is the outcome of the dog wanting to be next to you and wanting you to be next to them.
The infographic below, created by Homes Alive Pets, shows five essential steps to follow when teaching your dogs to recall and transition to good recall off the leash. Please click on the image below to learn more.

What:

Recall is a signal you can give your dog to make it come to you. It is an essential skill for every dog. Even if you feel like you will never let your dog off-leash, there could be a time when the leash, harness, or collar fail, or the dog gets out of the house or car without you knowing. Recall is an essential skill for all dogs to learn.

Benefits of a well-conditioned recall:

  • It gives you and your dogs more peace of mind and freedom on walks.
  • It is a legal requirement to have your dog under Effective Control
  • It can help you and your dog get away from dangerous situations
  • It builds and strengthens the bond between you and your dog and creates confidence in each other.

Step 1. Conditioning the word:

The most common word for general recall is the word 'COME'. However, dogs don't know the meaning of this word. To start teaching your dog the meaning of the recall word, use the word just before or the second your dog is running towards you, not while they are distracted or when you want them to stop doing something they find enjoyable. If you start using the recall word while the dog is busy or ignoring you, "COME" = Stop doing fun things. If you start using the recall word while the dog is running towards you, and then mark/reinforce them, "Come" = Run to me for good things.
Tips:
Start teaching recall using the quests below at times when your dog is hungry or interested in treats. Build a good understanding of Reinforcement for your dog and reward them with things they value at that time.

Step 2. Conditioning the action:

When you use your recall in the real world, you're likely to reach out to them and clip them onto their lead. This may spook our dogs if not practised, or they may run because it feels like a game. To avoid this, when you train your recall condition, the leash clicks as part of the behaviour from the start. You only need to make the sound and the action. You do not need to actually attach the leash every time. Sometimes practice with the leash on, sometimes off, and sometimes let them drag the leash behind them.

Step 3. Adding the value:

Whenever possible, pair the recall word with reinforcement. Say "Come" and reward recall with a game your dog really enjoys, the opportunity to Go, Sniff, access to certain areas like gates or doors, and even the chance to meet other dogs and people. When outside, on a long line, if you or your dog sees something they would like to go towards, when safe to do so, let them get to the end of the line, then say the COME command. When the dog orientates back to you, mark and start towards the reinforcement together. Try to reinforce the behaviour with what your dog was doing or about to do when you called them back, or something better. For example, if your dog was playing with a toy, you can reward with a game, if they were foraging in the grass, you can reward with a find it, if they were smelling something interesting, you can reward with a novel smell or Go sniff towards interesting smells. Tips:- The outside world has many distractions for our dogs, and a distracted dog is often a non-responsive one. If you struggle to get your dog's attention when outside, try doing a Backpack Walk in a calm location, build in the Name Game and Eye contact or use something like Chirag Patel's Counting Game.

Teaching recall

Quest 1: Recall = freedom

Quest 1. Freedom Questline.
  • When your dog is a short distance away, get their attention and show them their favourite treat/reward.
  • When your dog starts running towards you, say the word "Come",
  • When your dog is within reach, mark the behaviour. Then reward by throwing the treat/reward. (If you have positively conditioned leash clicks make it a part of the game, if not simply reach out and give your dog a scratch around their harness or collar. You can positively condition leash clicks seperately and then introduce it in to recall later)
  • When your dog finds the food and eats it, wait for them to look back towards you then repeat from step 1 as often as you and your dog like.
  • After a few repetitions, you won't need to show them the food anymore to get them to run towards you. At this stage simply say "Come" then mark first before reaching into your treat pouch and throwing the food.
Tips:
When training in the begining, If your dog gets distracted or they don't return back to you, Avoid repeating the word "COME" or forcing them to come back to you, as this could teach them to start to ignore the word or develop a negative association towards it and they may start to ignore you when you ask for recall. Instead - Lure them back with something really special - Try the exercise when they are more motivated and less distracted. - Sit down and give them time to sniff and process then mark and reward heavily when they return to you. (Especially usefull if your dog is nervous or anxious)

Quest 2: Recall = Exitement

Quest 2: Come = excitement questline:
  • Grab a handful of your dog's food and mix it with some high-value treats. Show this to your dog, then run away.
  • As they start chasing you, say "COME" and stop somewhere, then drop a bit of the food on the floor near your feet.
  • When your dog stops to eat the food at your feet, pretend to clip the leash on, then Mark your dog next to you and start moving away, staying within your dog's sight but acting flighty.
  • When the dog finishes what they are eating and starts moving towards you, repeat from step 2.
Tips:
  • Avoid repeating the word COME if your dog is still busy looking for the food in the last area. Instead, make yourself more exciting by moving quickly from one place to another as if you were trying to run away from your dog.
  • We may unconsciously use the word “Come” many times during the day when talking to our dogs or other people. Each time the dog hears the word and is not rewarded for coming to you, the word becomes less valuable. You can overcome this by always marking and rewarding, or by teaching the recall cue is for them when you say their name first.
Ultimate recall I use a whistle for the ultimate recall as the sound is extremely loud and can be heard over great distances. Also unlike the word come a whistle never conveys anger or panic like your voice. Dogs can often pick up on fear, anger or frustration in your voice and this may make them ignore you, slow down or move/run away in an attempt to give you the space to calm down which is often counterproductive to a recall. We can also make sure we always set the dog up to succeed when training a whistle and make sure we are ready to heavily reinforce it, thus creating an extremely positive emotional response in your dog’s brain when they hear the sound. Steps to start conditioning a “Whistle”1. Put your dog in a long line 2. Wait until your dog is already running back to you or use the “COME” command to get them to run towards you. Whistle as soon as the dog is close then quickly run away from the dog to build speed, fun and excitement.4. When your dog catches up to you make a big deal of it, celebrate their success with multiple forms of reinforcement such as food, praise, play, pats and smells.5. Once you have finished rewarding your dog say the “Let's GO” command or something similar and go with your dog back to the area they just came from. 6. Slowly increase difficulty, by adding more distance and practising in more distracting environments. Tips-Only use your ultimate recall in Emergencies or while training when your dog is 100% guaranteed to come back to you so they NEVER associate it with anything other than coming back to you. While it is possible to use a tool to whistle it is recommended that you learn to whistle so that you can use it in emergencies when other tools are not close at hand.