# Training a solid recall...



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

So puppypaws awesome puppy Braxton got me thinking...I am a slacker LOL. Avery is 20 months old and our recall is lacking. 

In the house Avery is the ultimate velcro dog. If I am running around the house cleaning or getting ready he will follow me up and down the stairs a dozen times because he wants to be where ever I am. Actually when I first got him (at 8 months) I started to worry about seperation anxiety, if I closed him into a room alone he would bark frantically...now if I have to run downstairs just to grab something quick he will happily relax in my room, but that didn't happen overnight.

On the other hand outside he is a completely different dog, there are just too many distractions for me to even exist to him. Sometimes treats don't even work when we are outside (esp if there is another dog around) and I have been using some of his favorites...

So puppypaws suggested rewarding him every time he comes to me in the house, but we practice NILIF and if I pet him everytime he comes over to me then he may start thinking that everytime he comes to me he will get attention. Avery is a demand barker (he will bark for attention), we are working on curbing this behavior mostly by ignoring it, but if I have to I will leave the room...therefore I do not want to re-inforce his demand barking. 

I would love to hear what others have done to build a solid recall!


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Anyone have any suggestions?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We practice NILIF also but a nice come is free. Yes any pup or dog who comes to me gets at least praise if not a toy or treat. If they bark at me or paw at me then nothing - I find that rude, but a nice come and eventually a sit is praised and well deserved. I have never had a trained dog with seperation anxiety (not that they don't exist) but I do believe training gives a dog more self confidence and security. When on a walk or int he park I will sometimes just stop and if tehy come immediately we get fun or treats or jsut lots of affection. We also praxtice just being out on a long line (20feet) every time the dog checks back I praise softly and if he actually comes all they way to me I treat and praise. Anyway it works for me. Hope that helps. Oh, we also teach a watch command where they make and keep eye contact - the longer they do the better the treat. I now have a youngster who does a beautiful heel because she almost wraps around my leg so she can watch my face. So easy.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would start working with him in your backyard. Get him on a tether (20 feet is preferable) and have someone handle the other end of the line. The person helping shouldnt connect with the dog at all, but just be there to hold the dog still (make sure the other person never drops the long line). Then you want to stand about 5 feet in front of him, starts jogging away from him and then call his name clearly and sharply ONCE. Continue to jog/run away from him until he catches up to you. If he doesn't come to you, you've probably started out moving too far away, shorten the distance until he does come to you. This may be only 5-10 feet but you have to start somewhere. 

When he comes to you, grab him by the collar and immediately start shoving treats in his mouth for a good 30 seconds...no joke. The fastest way to solidify a recall is to give a dog a "jackpot" of treats when he does come. And make sure these are high quality treats like cheese, deli meat, hot dogs, etc...whatever your dog goes the craziest for. 

Slowly and gradually start making it more difficult. Don't move out of the backyard until he has a solid recall there WITHOUT the long line, meaning he comes to you so fast and so well every time you ask, even in the presence of a high distraction. Then move up to the front yard, then maybe a quiet park down the street, etc.

The biggest mistake that most people make with recall is moving too quickly. Always start out the new "level" of difficulty using the long line and eventually getting rid of it.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

You are so right - I hear all the time he was great in the house but when you really dig into that statement he was only great if he was hungry or bored. LOL


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## maplewood (Apr 14, 2011)

I think one thing most trainers neglect is when training a recall you should let the dog return to his fun 90% of the time. Yes we give lots of treats and praise but we end all the fun. 

Call your dog to you, reward and release. Repeat repeat repeat.


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

The way we taught Remi recall was similar to what Natalie mentioned. 

We started out "proofing" it in the house. Literally about 1,000 times perfected before moving to more distractions. Started out on a lead, 5-8 ft in the beginning. From there, move further away, adding distractions, and distance. We perfected that THEN moved outside on a lead. Start all over once you get outside with a short lead and work from the bottom up. Minimal distractions on lead to higher distractions at bigger distances and eventually take off the lead. Proofing the behavior with distractions is key. 

Remi was our most difficult to teach recall. He was very adventrous and didn't have a care in the world to listen to us outside. Solidifying his recall has been one of THE most important goals of mine and we're finally getting there. He's got a better recall than Morgan at this point which is amazing. Morgan is just plain stubborn! Its not that I don't trust her, its that she comes when she feels like it. Morgan is in her own little world! 

All of my dogs are trusted off leash in our yard now. THANK GOD. It was hell this fall/winter trying to exercise a GSP on lead. He's been great and I know I can trust him to turn on a dime when I call him. 

I feel recall is one of the most important training tools to master. It could potentially save your dogs life.


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> I would start working with him in your backyard. Get him on a tether (20 feet is preferable) and have someone handle the other end of the line. The person helping shouldnt connect with the dog at all, but just be there to hold the dog still (make sure the other person never drops the long line). Then you want to stand about 5 feet in front of him, starts jogging away from him and then call his name clearly and sharply ONCE. Continue to jog/run away from him until he catches up to you. If he doesn't come to you, you've probably started out moving too far away, shorten the distance until he does come to you. This may be only 5-10 feet but you have to start somewhere.
> 
> When he comes to you, grab him by the collar and immediately start shoving treats in his mouth for a good 30 seconds...no joke. The fastest way to solidify a recall is to give a dog a "jackpot" of treats when he does come. And make sure these are high quality treats like cheese, deli meat, hot dogs, etc...whatever your dog goes the craziest for.


I'm reviving this old thread because I haven't done much recall training with Duke, and it really is his biggest weakness (I tend to let him off-leash with my brother's dogs, who always come when called, because Duke sticks to them like velcro).

Natalie, what would you recommend when my dog never really leaves my side anyway? Haha. If I take him out into our yard with a long leash, and I'm walking around/away from him, he's going to follow me anyway. How can I get him to realise he's getting treats because he's coming when I call, if he's already there? Or do I just wait it out until he eventually gets bored with me and his mind wanders? It's easy to have him "distracted" when we arent in our yard, because he wants to explore, but this doesn't sound like a good place to start.

Also, would it be useful for me to be holding the leash and gently pull him in my direction to get him to come? I've read about doing it that way before. Or would you always recommend someone else holding the leash (I'm assuming to prevent the dog running off)?

Would you use hotdogs with your dogs, being on raw? Or should I stick to his usual dehydrated liver treats? Perhaps something new might make it even more exciting for him.


EDIT: Sometimes it's also hard to get him to concrentrate once he realises I have treats. I was never able to use treats to get him to "drop", because he'd drop the object the first time, to get the treat, then he'd refuse to pick up the item again because all he wanted was more treats! Lol. Hopefully he will go back to ignoring me and wandering off so I can call him back for treats!


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

I didn't read all the posts but here's what I've done successfully... I just call the dog, treat, release, call, treat, release, and never hook them back up to the leash or make them go inside without calling/releasing them 4 or 5 times at least first. I do that for a few weeks and then taper off call/releases, and then stop rewarding for EVERY come. BUT- I still occasionally reward a successful come so they never know when to expect a treat or not!


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