Recall

[TC001]

My dog (5 mth Lab) is stubborn on recall, how do you train for him to come when called?

[persephone]

Practice, practice, practice :D

reward him EVERY time he comes to you ..either with pats or treats ... take him out to teh backyard on a long line and make a game of calling him to you and playing /giving treats /stroking EVERY time he comes when you call . If he doesn't come..a LIGHT tug on the line ..show him the treat/toy ,and wait for him to come .

That's a basic way... but really it is practice !You have to reward him for COMING ,NOT for sitting afterwards, NOT for when he jumps up on you ...

This gives you an idea of the way it works

LINK

[missmoo]

This can also help....

Call the dogs name, don't recall, just his name, when he looks at you REWARD, don't wait for him to come to you or sit, as soon as he makes eye contact "GOOD BOY", play, toy massaging pats, food etc....

Creating this pattern teaches the dog that when he gives you his attention he gets good things....

You can start adding in the recall as well....

Make it a game...lots of enthusiam and motivation on your part will help your dog see the benefit in coming and looking at you when called

As Peresphone said PRACTICE,PRACTICE, PRACTICE...

Contrary to popular belief an excellent Recall takes time, heaps of practice, patience and lots of hard work..

you will get there

MM

[W Sibs]

Practice, practice, practice :D

[persephone]

Contrary to popular belief an excellent Recall takes time, heaps of practice, patience and lots of hard work..

*nods*

it may also be useful if you were to go to an obedience class or three - it's always good to see what problems everyone else is having, and to get help /ideas

[Staranais]

He's probably not stubborn, he's probably unmotivated.

Most dogs I've seen whose owners think they're too stubborn to recall have really just never been given a good reason to value the recall command.

[Erny]

And what you're looking to build is a conditioned recall response - a response that becomes almost like a reflex reaction. Consequently it is quite important to not recall your pup unless (a) you are in a position to ensure that the recall WILL occur (eg have pup on a long line) or (b) you are absolutely certain that your pup WILL come to you.

So as not to produce a failed recall experience, try using a distraction (eg. funny vocal noises from you) to get your pup's attention. When you are quite confident that your pup is going to come over to investigate anyway, then you can throw the recall command in.

I have always made a big point of high reward after every successful recall.

To achieve a reliable recall takes time, practice and consistency. If you're patient and dedicated to training it properly though, it will pay huge dividends later on.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Erny

[OSoSwift]

As per what everyone else said, but also everytime you call and they go to someone and get a pat, or go play with another dog you have just reinforced that come means not much. It also reinforces to them that you are not as fun as the other things. You need to be more, interesting, rewarding or motivating than what they are doing. Sometimes finding the thing that they really like can take a bit of time.

Never have him off a long line - don't use it to haul him in rather than teach him to recall properly, think of it as a back up incase he doesn't come.

Not many Labs I know would be able to ignore frech warm chicken for example. My Whippets high end motivator is balls, bring out a ball and you can't get rid of them to do a recall.

Recall is something that is practiced every day. It may just be to call him from one room to another for a treat or one side of the back yard to you. It does take a while to be reliable and will only get that way with correct, consisant practice.

Edited December 16, 2010 by OSoSwift

[TC001]

many thanks guys. all every good advice.

[*Oscar*]

Rather then open a new thread thought id BUMP this one...

My 7 month old golden is great at recall on my property or at a dog park. HOWEVER does not recall well at the beach. I think it may have something to do with me not being able to whistle loud enough or yell his name in the nice recall voice I normally use.

I was thinking of getting a whistle and teaching him to recall to the whistle as I think he would respond well to this. Im just wondering if anyone has any feedback on this or has tried it? Im still in learners at odebience with him due to late starting and I didnt want to use a whistle if this is later going to impact my abillity to use recall in future classes.

[poodlefan]

I was thinking of getting a whistle and teaching him to recall to the whistle as I think he would respond well to this. Im just wondering if anyone has any feedback on this or has tried it? Im still in learners at odebience with him due to late starting and I didnt want to use a whistle if this is later going to impact my abillity to use recall in future classes.

My dogs are trained to recall to a sports whistle.

[Erny]

My dogs are trained to recall to a sports whistle.

Do you experience any difficulties when your dogs are off lead around a football field when the (eg) juniors are practising?

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I think again it's what everyone else has said... practice, practice, practice!!

But I would also resommend taking the training back a step and putting the dog on a long line until you know it will come back. Can be a bit annoying at the beach, but better than a lost dog! A 10m horse lunging lead is what I use and you can get one for about $25 or less depending on where you go.

The other thing I did with my girl who did not like coming back... On the long line recall every time she got to the end of it, she came back got a treat, then got told to go, recall, treat, go. It became a fun game for her. When I was game to let her off the long line I would then still play the game - recalling her every time she got 10-15m away from me.

But to emmulate what others have said, it also takes a long time to get really good recall. It definitely won't happen overnight because the rest of the world is really interesting. I made it my training priority for about 2 months - we just did recalls in every single place we went no matter how the the lead, but kept it fun and yummy treats involved. We now have a 99% recall.

Good luck!!