Recall Training

One of the most difficult (and stressful) things to teach your dog can be the 'recall', especially when there are dostractions around (other dogs/people/interesting smells!)

So i thought that the forum members might like to share 2 tips for the rest of us on how to improve our dogs' recalls.

I'll start:

1. When you've been chasing your dog for 45 minutes, trying to get it back on the lead, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shout at it or punish it once you have caught it. If you do, you will be punishing your dog for coming back to you or being with you & they won't want to come to you in the future.
2. Put your dog's lead on & take it off several times throughout your walk, so that he/she won't associate the lead going on with the end of his/her fun & going home.

only have one tip at this stage

1. Always use a calm and happy tone to your voice.. or your dog will think it is in trouble and may not come back..

My only one is practice practice practice. Moo's certainly not perfect all the time but persistance and re-literating things ddo work

So, we have........

1. When you've been chasing your dog for 45 minutes, trying to get it back on the lead, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shout at it or punish it once you have caught it. If you do, you will be punishing your dog for coming back to you or being with you & they won't want to come to you in the future.
2. Put your dog's lead on & take it off several times throughout your walk, so that he/she won't associate the lead going on with the end of his/her fun & going home.
3. Always use a calm and happy tone to your voice.. or your dog will think it is in trouble and may not come back..ome.
4. Practice practice practice. Moo's certainly not perfect all the time but persistance and re-literating things do work.

Also if your dog say is ignoring your call, turn your back on it and start to walk still calling they will hear you and will need to make a split second decision to follow or loose you they do panic and get anxious and stop what there doing and follow (monkeys)

So, we have........

1. When you've been chasing your dog for 45 minutes, trying to get it back on the lead, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shout at it or punish it once you have caught it. If you do, you will be punishing your dog for coming back to you or being with you & they won't want to come to you in the future.
2. Put your dog's lead on & take it off several times throughout your walk, so that he/she won't associate the lead going on with the end of his/her fun & going home.
3. Always use a calm and happy tone to your voice.. or your dog will think it is in trouble and may not come back..ome.
4. Practice practice practice. Moo's certainly not perfect all the time but persistance and re-literating things do work.
5. If your dog say is ignoring your call, turn your back on it and start to walk still calling they will hear you and will need to make a split second decision to follow or loose you they do panic and get anxious and stop what there doing and follow (monkeys)

bribes work!! I always have a pocket full of nice but tiny doggy treats(cheese, sausage,ritz crackers (fave at the mo)) So if Logan see's something more exciting i pull out a treat and recall him. Luckily he is very food motivated but this works with training toys too.

Hayley109 wrote:bribes work!! I always have a pocket full of nice but tiny doggy treats(cheese, sausage,ritz crackers (fave at the mo)) So if Logan see's something more exciting i pull out a treat and recall him. Luckily he is very food motivated but this works with training toys too.

I was gonna say bribery!
I use dog hot dogs

Also, just make a big fuss. Make yourself the most exciting and most inviting thing to the puppy, instead of the patch of grass that's got its attention, or other dog or anything else.

If your dog's ears go up and they look like they are going to run off to see another dog/person/something more exciting than you then it's your job to be MORE fun! Whenever you see them getting ready to bolt start doing something distracting, accompanied by a high pitched sound. This should encourage the dog to follow you and not run off particurally if they are going to get atreat aswell.

I tend to run away squeaking in a cartoon-type voice waving my arms like a nutter and my girls generally think it looks like something they should be involved in!

So, we have........

1. When you've been chasing your dog for 45 minutes, trying to get it back on the lead, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shout at it or punish it once you have caught it. If you do, you will be punishing your dog for coming back to you or being with you & they won't want to come to you in the future.
2. Put your dog's lead on & take it off several times throughout your walk, so that he/she won't associate the lead going on with the end of his/her fun & going home.
3. Always use a calm and happy tone to your voice.. or your dog will think it is in trouble and may not come back..ome.
4. Practice practice practice. Moo's certainly not perfect all the time but persistance and re-literating things do work.
5. If your dog say is ignoring your call, turn your back on it and start to walk still calling they will hear you and will need to make a split second decision to follow or loose you they do panic and get anxious and stop what there doing and follow (monkeys)
6. bribes work!! I always have a pocket full of nice but tiny doggy treats(cheese, sausage,ritz crackers (fave at the mo)) So if Logan see's something more exciting i pull out a treat and recall him. Luckily he is very food motivated but this works with training toys too.
7. Also, just make a big fuss. Make yourself the most exciting and most inviting thing to the puppy, instead of the patch of grass that's got its attention, or other dog or anything else.
8. If your dog's ears go up and they look like they are going to run off to see another dog/person/something more exciting than you then it's your job to be MORE fun! Whenever you see them getting ready to bolt start doing something distracting, accompanied by a high pitched sound. This should encourage the dog to follow you and not run off particurally if they are going to get atreat aswell. I tend to run away squeaking in a cartoon-type voice waving my arms like a nutter and my girls generally think it looks like something they should be involved in!

Theres some really great advice there well done all

It's strange - if you said to most people "How about giving advice to others?" They'd say "Oh, no, not me, I don't know anything".

But you get to learn little things as you go along & they are SO useful to others who are just starting out!

One thing I've learnt, as well as the others I've mentioned, is patting my legs seems to grab Molly's attention. I think it's just about making as much noise as possible to get her attention. In her case any way

While yelling or telling your dog off in or out of the house never use their name. you should only use their name when there will be a positive outcome for the dog.

Caryll wrote:It's strange - if you said to most people "How about giving advice to others?" They'd say "Oh, no, not me, I don't know anything".

But you get to learn little things as you go along & they are SO useful to others who are just starting out!

I'm still learning, and I've trained/tried to train 2 lol, thanks all for your own experiences! Its good to hear others with the same issues

So, we have........

1. When you've been chasing your dog for 45 minutes, trying to get it back on the lead, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER shout at it or punish it once you have caught it. If you do, you will be punishing your dog for coming back to you or being with you & they won't want to come to you in the future.
2. Put your dog's lead on & take it off several times throughout your walk, so that he/she won't associate the lead going on with the end of his/her fun & going home.
3. Always use a calm and happy tone to your voice.. or your dog will think it is in trouble and may not come back..ome.
4. Practice practice practice. Moo's certainly not perfect all the time but persistance and re-literating things do work.
5. If your dog say is ignoring your call, turn your back on it and start to walk still calling they will hear you and will need to make a split second decision to follow or loose you they do panic and get anxious and stop what there doing and follow (monkeys)
6. bribes work!! I always have a pocket full of nice but tiny doggy treats(cheese, sausage,ritz crackers (fave at the mo)) So if Logan see's something more exciting i pull out a treat and recall him. Luckily he is very food motivated but this works with training toys too.
7. Also, just make a big fuss. Make yourself the most exciting and most inviting thing to the puppy, instead of the patch of grass that's got its attention, or other dog or anything else.
8. If your dog's ears go up and they look like they are going to run off to see another dog/person/something more exciting than you then it's your job to be MORE fun! Whenever you see them getting ready to bolt start doing something distracting, accompanied by a high pitched sound. This should encourage the dog to follow you and not run off particurally if they are going to get atreat aswell. I tend to run away squeaking in a cartoon-type voice waving my arms like a nutter and my girls generally think it looks like something they should be involved in!
9. One thing I've learnt, as well as the others I've mentioned, is patting my legs seems to grab Molly's attention. I think it's just about making as much noise as possible to get her attention. In her case any way
10. While yelling or telling your dog off in or out of the house never use their name. you should only use their name when there will be a positive outcome for the dog.

fab Caryll x

Glad you started this thread Caryll.... I tell ya Holly is a shocker... she wont come when we call her unless is suits her..
I need to get this under controll before we take her to the beach that is forsure...
With the GSD we just sat either end of the yard and called him to each other and had some treats waiting.. soon it was a game...
but she isnt the slightest bit interested in that ! lil poop

It is a great topic you learn things every day at this forum.

MissRogue wrote:While yelling or telling your dog off in or out of the house never use their name. you should only use their name when there will be a positive outcome for the dog.

Really good advice!! My husband says Logans name in a really low voice when he's up to mischief! But i'll ask him to stop now so Logan associates his name with positive things!!

Hayley109 wrote:

MissRogue wrote:While yelling or telling your dog off in or out of the house never use their name. you should only use their name when there will be a positive outcome for the dog.

Really good advice!! My husband says Logans name in a really low voice when he's up to mischief! But i'll ask him to stop now so Logan associates his name with positive things!!

With my three its hard not wanting to yell their name cause if i yell "enough" which is the word i could be telling one of and all three will look and the two i wasn't yelling off would think they done something wrong and they were just playing so yelling enough worked adventually cause it was the dog i stared at afterwards that knew they done something wrong and not the other pair lol