PAWTENTIAL DOG TRAINING
And Behaviour Consultation
(ABN: 14 965 042 976)
Lyn Witts
Cert IV Dog Behavioural Trainer
Cert IV Veterinary Nurse
TEACHING A RELIABLE RECALL
1) If I call my dog to Come now, will he be glad he came?
This is the first question you need to ask before you call your dog to Come to you.
If you call your dog to Come to you and something negative happens from your dogs’ point of view then you will be training your dog to run away when you call instead of to Come to you.
Don’t call your dog to Come then put him to bed! Don’t call your dog to Come when playing at a park and head straight for the car to go home!
2) If I call my dog to Come now, will he?
This is the second question you need to ask before you call your dog to Come to you.
Let’s say you are standing in a park, your dog is 20m away exploring or saying hello to other people and dogs, and you decide to start calling Come and waving your arms to get attention. There is a good chance your dog is ‘thinking’ that when at the park while he is doing his thing, you like to stand there making that Come noise and waving your arms about! The more you call your dog to Come and your dog keeps doing his thing, the more firmly your dog believes that what you like to do at the park has nothing to do with him!
Only call your dog to Come if you can answer the above questions with a 100% Yes.
Training Technique
-Move, whistle, clap hands or make a high pitched noise in order to get your dog’s attention. Show your dog a treat while taking a step backward.
-Wait for your dog to be moving toward you before slapping hands to your thighs (or whatever hand signal you have decided upon)
-Initially your dog receives the Click/Yes and Treat the moment they start moving towards you. As they are getting more enthusiastic, hold off on the Click/Yes until they actually arrive at your feet.
-When your pup is consistently running towards you, start saying your verbal cue such as Come at the time your dog is moving towards you so your dog learns to associate your verbal cue with the correct behaviour i.e. moving towards you.
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Pawtential Dog Training
Teaching a Reliable Recall
Page Two
Training Tips
-Put distance between calling to Come and anything your dog would perceive as negative.
-Set your dog up to practice Come successfully so a routine is developed into a solid habit.
-Make it so unbelievably exciting to Come to you that your dog never hesitates.
-Start with small distances and minimal distraction before progressing very gradually to longer distances and greater distraction levels.
-Use high pitched noises or unusual sounds (whistle, clap hands) to get your dog’s attention rather than using your dogs name or saying Come and not having your dog respond. If you overuse your dogs name or the word Come, it will become meaningless.
-Use body language to encourage your dog to Follow you i.e. moving away from your dog will more likely draw them towards you than if you are standing still.
-Only say the word Come or Here when your dog is actually moving towards you. This way your dog begins to associate the Come noise with the behaviour. As your dog is moving towards you, use the hand signal you want your dog to associate with Come.
-Start to touch your dog's collar as you deliver the treat. Then start to hold your dogs collar as you give a treat. Then try grabbing the collar as you give a treat. Go back to the step before if your dog shows any signs of moving away at any step.
Games to Play
‘Follow Me’.
-Never ever follow your dog. Don’t train your dog to feel very confident going wherever they want to because when they look towards you, you are always following.
-Dogs will naturally stick with family for safety. Slowly move in the opposite direction to your dog. This will develop into a routine of following you.
-Say ‘This Way’ as you change direction so your dog associates these words with a change of direction.
-Reward your dog for catching up to you, ask for a 'sit’, reward again, then release with an 'off you go'.
-Then start the game again.
‘Hide N Seek’.
-This game improves your dog’s ability to ‘track’ you down if you are out of sight. Make the game easy to start with until your dog gets the idea.
-Praise, fun or a treat when your dog finds you.
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Pawtential Family Dog Training
Teaching a Reliable Recall
Page Three
‘Go To Game’
-Send your dog to another person in the family.
-Whoever the dog is being sent to must encourage the dog to ‘come’ towards them by making it worthwhile for the dog to ‘come’ i.e. have a treat, toy or jump up and down moving backwards.
-When your dog arrives at your feet, place a hand on the collar and treat.
-Ask your dog to do something you have taught it e.g. ‘sit’, ‘drop’, ‘look’, ‘shake hands’.
-Then send to the next person playing the game.
-This game makes ‘coming’ to members of the family fun. It also develops ‘come and sit’ rather than ‘come and jump’ or ‘come and run past’!
-Hand on the collar desensitizes your dog to being held by the collar, something that you want your dog to feel comfortable with.
‘Find it’ game Level Three (See Focus exercises for Level 0ne and Two)
-Toss a treat to the ground and move behind your dog getting ready to call as soon as he finds the treat but before he turns around.
-Repeat the above, increasing speed and distance as you both improve in skill.
-You’ll be able to toss the treat further away as your dog gets better at finding it.
-This provides practice for your dog at spinning around 180 degrees to come to you while distracted.
-Try throwing the treat through your legs for a bit more fun!
Emergency Exit
-Wait until your dog is looking away from you or is starting to move away from you, then yell ‘Quick’ and start running away from your dog.
-Turn around in time to greet them with hand on collar and treat.
-Practise this many times so that in an emergency you will have success. E.g. if you see a snake or cane toad.
Having a dog that comes to you when you call would probably be the most important behaviour for the family pet. It is worth getting right! Spend some time practicing these games in a variety of environments and situations.
Don’t mess this up by moving too fast. Work at your dog’s pace, slowly increasing distance and distraction.
© Pawtential Family Dog Training 2011