Many of the owners I work with want to improve their dog’s recall. Here are 3 tips for improving recall which can really make a difference.
1. Be more interesting
What do you do on your dog walks? This may seem like an odd question. Many people’s answer when I ask them is: ‘well, I just walk’.
But now think about this from the dog’s point of view. Yes its great for them to sniff and explore, but If all of their entertainment on a walk is coming from smells, other dogs/people etc why would they bother coming back to you when you call?
Yes, you might be offering a treat or two, but often the wider world is much more entertaining for them, and that will beat your offer of a treat pretty much every time. The fun is out there, not with you!
To build a solid recall, you need to be a big part of your dog’s entertainment on a walk. You need to build a pattern of engagement so they actually want be near you and interact with you.
Think about activities your dog likes and find ways to offer them in a way where you’re involved in the fun! For example:
– If they like to sniff, play some scenting games (e.g. hide some treats or a toy for them to seek out).
– If they like to chase, get them to chase you on a cue or invest in a long rope lure/tug toy you can play with together.
– If they like to climb and clamber, ask them to hop over or walk along logs, low walls etc.
Have some fun with your dog outside. Teach them that you are worth sticking close to, because at any moment you might launch into another fun game together! The better your relationship on a walk, the more your dog will listen to you and come when you call.
2. Offer higher value rewards
Consequences drive behaviour, so if we want our dogs to come back to us when we call, we must be able to offer them something they want.
Many people think ‘my dog should come back to me because they love and respect me’, but would you keep going to work if your boss suddenly stopped paying you, offering you only praise instead? Probably not!
If you want to improve recall, remember you are often competing with the high value distractions your dog sees/smells. Therefore you need to offer higher-value treats than normal. You may need to experiment a bit to discover what your dog values most, but in my experience treats like real meat (eg beef/chicken) or cheese are often very effective. This can work wonders with your dog’s willingness to come back to you!
Also remember that rewards doesn’t only mean treats. When built up correctly, toys and play can be very powerful reinforcers for good recall.
You might even use ‘real world reinforcers’, where we use the environment itself as a reward. For example, as a reward for your dog coming back, you allow them more freedom, to go say hi to another dog, or to go to that smell they were showing interest in. Try to be creative with your rewards and see what works for you.
3. Don’t only recall your dog when you need to
Why do we want to call our dogs back? To get them out of danger when they’re running towards a road? To call them away from another person or dog that they’re jumping all over? To put them back on the lead to go home? All of these are very good reasons, but too often people only call their dogs back when they need to.
Why does that matter? Well, it means often they end up only using their recall cues to ruin the dog’s fun! Again, think about this from the dog’s point of view. If they only get called to be put back on the lead or when they’re in the middle of a play session with another dog, it’s no wonder they start to ignore you. ‘Come’ = playtime over.
Be more unpredictable. Sometimes, call your dog back for no particular reason, give them a random number of treats or play a fun game and then let them go again. Now, recall isn’t just something that ruins your dog’s fun, it’s something they want to do.
If you found these tips helpful and want to learn more, check out my other posts here.
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