Teaching Your Dog to Come when Called

Recall, or teaching you dog to come when called isn't difficult if you set about it the right way.

One thing must be emphasised from the outset though.  However long it takes him, when your dog comes to you, reward him with a treat at once. 

How often have you seen a frustrated dog owner calling their pooch for ages, but when he finally gets the message, they chastise him.  They don't appreciate they've just punished the dog for obeying their command, however belatedly.  As he begins to understand there's something in it for him, his responses will speed up tremendously.

Teaching recall to your dog

 1. Load up your pocket (or a bag or pouch) with treats. You’ll need more than usual for this lesson.

 2. Take your dog to an area where there won’t be a lot of distractions.

 3. Move about 10 feet away from your dog as he’s not paying attention to you.

 4. Enthusiastically call out your dog’s name, followed by the come command: “Come! Come! Come!” Do this while turning sideways (don’t turn your back, you need to watch him closely), and start clapping as you begin to run away from your dog.

 4. As soon as he moves in your direction, call out your praise (“Good!”) and keep going.

 5. Slow down and let your dog catch up to you; then stop and immediately give him a handful of treats and lots of enthusiastic praise—like coming to you was the best thing in the world!

 Important: This method reinforces your dog’s actions twice—first for diverting his attention from whatever he’s doing (Step 4), and second when he reaches you (Step 5). Step 4 is just as important as Step 5. Be very good and consistent about praising your dog the instant he turns his attention to you.

Considering how many smelly distractions there are in your dog’s world, getting him to stop whatever he’s doing and look at you really is quite amazing, and you need to show your appreciation.

Give your praise (“Good!”) immediately when he looks at you and starts to move in your direction. And be sure that with Step 5, you give the treat immediately when he reaches you. Do NOT wait because he may sit down. If you give him the treat after he sits, he’ll think sitting was the action that’s being rewarded, not coming to you.

 6. Walk about ten steps away from your dog and wait for him to look away from you.

 7. Repeat Steps 3, 4 and 5.

 8. Repeat this process three times.

If your dog doesn’t do what you want

If your dog doesn’t come, he’s probably too distracted. That’s OK. Remember, he hasn’t yet learned that coming to you will make him happier than anything else he’s doing.

 So here’s what you do: go to him. (This is difficult for some people to do as they feel it is “giving in” to their dog. But please trust us… this is the right thing to do at this point of training your dog.) Let your dog know you have a treat in your hand, and use it to lure him as you walk away, giving your come (“Come! Come! Come!”) command. Stop after a few steps and give him the treat.

There are more sophisticated techniques to refine the process and we will look at those another time.