Recall : Some Advice
Ah, recall - the final piece of the puzzle. Everyone’s No.1 exercise, for good reason. It can save your dog’s life. A lot of people struggle with it but no wonder why, getting your dog off the lead with confidence can be hard work. Here is some advice on how to start building up a solid recall.
Firstly, make sure that your dog already loves the reinforcement you are using. Don’t chance it and shout for your dog to come and play with a toy they have never seen before. Get them to love fetch, tug, working for food beforehand.
The next step is to condition the cue word/noise just like you would a marker. Say ‘come’ then start playing or feeding, make it mean something before we jump into training.
Management is so vital, especially in the early stages. Get yourself a long line or a flexi lead - there pros and cons to both. I personally prefer a line as in the later stages you can drop it and can trial getting used to having your dog off the lead. Remember safety is of course paramount and learn how to hold a line properly. I’ll never forget when I had a 30m line and a dog hit the end off it - it felt like I had broken my shoulder!
If you have been training recall for a while and it’s not working, maybe consider a vet’s trip. Training won’t work if your dog has a health condition that is at play.
In terms of motivation, look at what your dog is bred for. If your dog has been bred to chase, give them something to chase. Recall won’t ever stop your dog chasing/hunting but do it properly and it can be the cue to start. It’s much better to invest in your dog’s strengths as we don’t get to choose what our dogs like.
Set aside some time to train recall specifically. Training on your walks is great, but the more you can build up a reinforcement history and set up the environment for success the better. You can set up distractions at home so you can predict when they will happen, and if your dog fails, there is no risk of them going somewhere we don’t want them too.
Remember that it takes time. Don’t rush it! The stronger the behavior the better. There is no shame in keeping them on a drop line for a little longer to ensure they will not fail when they are free. If you look at what the best dog trainers in the world do with their own dogs, they take their time. The best trainers in the world aren’t the best because they do it the quickest, they are the best because they put in time.
The Environment we train our dogs in is everything, taking them to places where we need to recall them repeatedly, isn’t the best idea. Taking them to places where we can reinforce them being around us, rewarding check ins etc, is just as beneficial as teaching a solid recall.
My take on the ‘relationship’ between you and your dog is the reinforcement that comes through you. If your dog loves to crash into water, use it! Whatever your dog likes you can use, it’s not just limited to food. Food is just a great way to start a behavior, and every dog is food motivated so you know it will work for everyone.
Timing is oh so important, in the beginning especially. You want it so you can just say your cue and your dog will turn on a dime to come back, but to get that you must time it properly. When your dog has a break in play from another dog, when they are thinking about doing something, you do need to be switched onto what your dog is doing so you can try and can call them at the right moment.
Getting Started:
I personally like to start with food and make it a nice easy game. Make sure you have charged a marker, if not here is a link on how to do it.
Pick a new cue, it is much easier to teach a new one than to bring an old cue back from the dead. For example, using a novel sound like a gundog whistle can really help.
I start by throwing out three pieces of food (something not very interesting) and let your dog eat them. Then say their name and your chosen ‘cue’. The moment they turn back to you, mark and reward while running backwards. Running back while doing this can encourage them to come back quicker and make it more fun for them. Reward them with some food that is much better/higher value than the food you threw – for example cooked chicken, cheese, sausage perhaps, something they really enjoy. Repeat this process! It won’t take long before they pick up the pattern.
When using a line, start them short at around two meters. After three successful reps let out another meter, and so on. Make sure you keep them moving as much as possible and get them running around to keep it fun.
Keep the sessions nice and short. A few times a day practice in the house and outside where there isn’t a lot going on.
Now after a few sessions I would practice on your walks, keeping them on a line. Ask your dog to recall out of the context of the initial game so we slowly start to generalize that recall, make sure there is nothing going on. Remember that we are only just beginning of teaching recall so no hard distractions.
Next step;
I would start the drill the same way and throw out three pieces of food, then count to two and call your dog back. For some this could be easy, especially if your dog would rather chase a ball or play tug than eat some low value food, but for some it could be quite the challenge to call your dog off eating some food. If you are on that end of the spectrum, I would start with a toy your dog is not very interested in the beginning. It might seem silly but it the best way to start in my eyes.
You need to figure out what is at the bottom of the scale in terms of motivation for your dog and what is at the top. Start by using the high motivating item as the reinforcement to call them off the low.
You can increase the value of your chosen reinforcement by how you deliver it. You can take some food which might not be to interesting, but giving your dog the opportunity to get their nose to the ground and hunt for it if they are bred for it, might just be the best reinforcement for your dog. A ball might be no good for some dogs, but giving your herding dog something to herd or chase might be just what will get them to come back.
This is the beginning of getting your dog to call off distractions. If they can’t recall from a toy, they probably won’t be able to call off another dog or some wildlife when out and about.
Make your way through the motivation list until your dog can dependably recall of something that is equal value to what you are giving them. Remember three reps and move it on and build up with small steps.
Now hopefully you are in a better place with your recall and you can keep progressing on your walks.
Some final notes:
· Recall is a hard exercise to teach a lot of dogs and it does take time and effort
· Recall will not work if they are endlessly running up to people and dogs etc. as this will set back your repetition/built pattern. You will need to keep them on a line so they cannot access that reinforcement
· Don’t repeat your cue multiple times when training it - say it once and wait for them to come back, even if it takes an age and mark when they turn back
· Don’t punish them for not coming back. It will damage your recall cue and their association with it
· There can be more work to have a successful off lead dog than just a solid recall so if you do need further assistance, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to help
· Not every Dog will be safe off the lead, your dogs life is as boring as you make it. Plenty of dogs, leave a very happy, safe life on the lead. If you need to exercise your dog but they can’t go off the lead, there are plenty of alternatives, but if your dog is behaviorally sound, putting in the time and effort to getting them off lead will greatly enrich their life.
· Teaching multiple cues is a good idea, keeping the conditioning up, and different cues to do different things is cool too!
· Ultimately A big part of training, is the history you have. The more successful reps the better. Recall is something you will always want to reinforce because it is so important for our dogs safety, don’t skimp on it.
