Why isn’t my dog’s recall working? (or stopped working)

Any dog can be taught to come back to you with a super-fast recall. But before we dive into how, we need to let you in on a little secret.

Your recall is not working, or will stop working, if you call your dog and expect them to come back for a piece of cheese. Even a rib-eye steak will pale in comparison to chasing a squirrel for most dogs!

This might be what you were taught to do – but this is where your recall could be going wrong. 

Recall Problem Number One – The reward experience

Your dog needs to be rewarded with more than food. You need to BE the squirrel! We’ll show you how below. But if you want to beat the squirrel, or the dog on the other side of the field, then you need to be just as exciting, and it all starts with experience.

Recall Problem Number Two – Your dog is predicting

How often do you recall your dog and then put them back on lead? When you recall your dog, they might be thinking about that tasty reward, but they are more than likely thinking about how the fun is going to stop the moment they come back to you. We want to keep them guessing because as soon as they start to predict what’s about to happen, they start to play their own game; the ‘Keep Away’ game. Do you know the one? Where they come back but only far enough that you can’t get them to put them back on lead. Yep – we think there’s a secret dog meet up in Market Deeping somewhere where they teach each other that one! But don’t worry – we’ve got some recall solutions below.

Recall Problem Number Three – They don’t find being near you rewarding

Something that many dog owners do (and us included!) is play a good game of fetch. Which is great fun! But we throw balls as far as they will go. So our dogs run far away from us. They’ve learned that all the good stuff happens AWAY from you. The ball, the squirrel, the other dogs. Being close to you just isn’t that fun – in fact, being close to you just means the lead is going to go back on.

So if your dog won’t come back for food, and they like to play the ‘Keep Away’ game – then how DO you get your dog to recall?

3 Ways to take your dog’s recall to the next level 

These are three things you can start doing today that we teach our students at On The Ball Dog Behaviour and Training to help with their dog’s recall. Three things that are going to take your recall to that next level. Your recall will be SO good that other dog owners will look on with envy as your dog RACES back to your side!

1) Teach your dog that coming in close is cool

This is something we call teaching value in proximity. When your dog gets used to the idea that being close to you is a good deal, you’ll start to notice that they check in more regularly on a walk because they know you might play this fun game with them.

Start this game at home in a very boring place, like the kitchen or lounge, then the garden, and once they get the hang of it you can start to play it out and about while on a walk.

Step 1 – Throw a piece of food away from you. Something like their ordinary kibble will do. Your dog will go and get the food.

Step 2 – Then because there are no distractions around, they are going to look up and come back to you at which point you will say ‘YES’ or ‘GOOD’ and you’ll feed them 5 pieces of food.

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 several times until your dog gets the idea. Don’t call them, don’t hassle them, just wait for them to turn, and look at you and then say to them ‘YES’ or ‘GOOD’ and they’ll run back to you to get the food.

The idea is that the lower value food is away from you. And the higher value food is with you.

You can also change this up to throw a piece of kibble out, and have a higher value treat in your hand that’s super tasty and irresistible for when they come back in.

TOP TIP: When playing this on a walk, have a long line on your dog, so that they don’t practice running off should a distraction come along that they aren’t ready to disengage from.

LEVEL UP

You can up the difficulty of this game by throwing the lower value food towards a distraction like your partner, your children, or maybe the bin. Something they like to get into! That’s a good test to see if the game is working and they get that coming back to you is a better deal.

ADD A CUE

When your dog is coming back consistently you can start to add a recall cue. We prefer to use something that isn’t their name (as we use our dog’s name all the time!) Something like ‘pup pup pup’. Make it sound exciting if you can.

2) Teach them coming back doesn’t mean the fun ends

Dogs are masters of prediction. For example, they look for those subtle cues that they might be going on a walk. Like getting excited when you reach for your shoes or coat – it’s no different on a walk.

To get rid of that prediction that’s become so ingrained in their mind, you can mix up the probability of it happening.

Try doing all these things at least once on a walk at various points.

1. Instead of taking the lead off just drop it.
2. When you clip the lead on start to play a game so that the fun doesn’t end, it continues. You could play the game above or you could play with a ball or frisbee close to you.
3. Clip the lead on and take it straight off.
4. Clip the lead on, walk for a few minutes then unclip the lead again.
5. Clip the lead on at different points when you end the walk. For example, if you tend to go to the same places, don’t clip the lead on at the same place every time on your way back home or to the car.

3) Be the Squirrel!

Okay so we don’t mean go and buy yourself a squirrel costume here (it’s optional!) But we do want to show your dog that you are JUST as exciting. We want you to boost that relationship with your dog. YOU are fun. YOU are a great deal here. You are going to give them that reward experience that they want. So what does your dog enjoy? Most dogs enjoy movement. Whether that’s moving or chasing.

So here are two ideas to help you improve that reward experience for your dog.

Reward Experience Idea One – The KAPOW game with a chasey tug toy

When you recall your dog, you are going to whip out a toy that you know they can’t refuse. Ideally, something with a handle on it that you can shake and run with, trail on the floor and tug with.

On your walk, with your dog near, you are going to randomly shout ‘KAPOW’ and you are going to whip out the toy that your dog is going to go crazy for and play a game of tug. Run away if you need to, get them to chase you, play with you. HAVE FUN! Then after a few minutes, the toy goes away. Hidden from sight. And back to your walk. Your dog is going to wonder what the heck just happened! But they won’t forget that super memorable experience they just had. And they will start to pair that word ‘KAPOW’ with something incredible happening. Congratulations you just became the squirrel!

TOP TIP: This toy is going to be reserved for walks only. You don’t want the novelty to wear off and it needs to be a surprise. So make sure you practice it at totally random points on your walk

Reward Experience Idea Two – A favourite training game

Most dogs really enjoy learning new tricks like leg weaves, or coming into your middle, or even learning to run in a circle around you. There are lots of tutorials online where you can find out how to do these step by step or you can go to training classes like the ones that On The Ball Dog Behaviour and Training run, to learn some super fun new skills and tricks.

When you recall your dog immediately call them into the trick. Do a leg weave or a spin. Your dog will LOVE it. And these are all tricks that require your dog to be close to your body, and near you so you can get them under control and pop the lead back on.

And if all else fails – how do you recall your dog?

Call your dog and run in the opposite direction. Most dogs will follow their owner if they see them running and screaming. Don’t worry about what you look like here – the more animated you can be the better!

The takeaway here is that recall is about three key concepts:

Proximity – your dog enjoying and seeing the value in being close to you.

Relationship & Reward Experience – your dog thinks that you are the coolest person in the world, even cooler than a squirrel!

Predictability – Keep them guessing.

To learn more fun ways to train your dog that are going to give you better and more consistent results, get in contact with On The Ball Dog Behaviour and Training.

As part of a new series of blogs to share training and behavioural tips for healthy and happy hounds, this blog has been written by On The Ball Dog Behaviour and Training. Visit the Pet Stop online store or team in store for advice on training leads, toys, treats and accessories.