Recall

The Best Gift We Can Give Our Dogs -
A Reliable Recall

Not too long ago, a beautiful 13 month old labrador retriever darted out a door that his owner thought had latched. The owner went after the dog, but the dog ran into the path of a car and was injured so badly that he had to be put down. It was a heartbreaking accident -- particularly so because it was an accident that might have been avoided if the dog had been trained to do a reliable recall.

Goal:

Upon the owner's single command of "Come" (or other word), the dog will immediately leave whatever it is doing, return promptly, at a rapid pace, to sit directly in front of the owner and await further instructions.

Common Obstacles to Obtaining a Reliable Recall

  1. lazy handlers who won't make the effort to train their dogs;
  2. misinformed handlers who don't know how to train their dogs; and
  3. obstinate persons who are so busy making excuses or explaining what he perceives as an unusual or difficult problem that no word of reason can penetrate this wall of obsession.

The truth is, if you put in the work and never allow your dog to know he has an option to disobey, you can train your dog to come on the first command, regardless of the distractions around him.

If your dog has already learned that he can disobey, then you have a harder path. Harder -- but not impossible. If your mind is made up to succeed, you will!

Phases of Training

Instructive

During this phase, we will pattern the dog to perform a recall, making it mechanically impossible for him to disobey and extremely rewarding for him to obey.

During this phase, the command "Come" is never given unless the dog is on leash and the handler is prepared to enforce and reward the command.

Proofing

During this phase, we will set up distracting situations that will test the dog's ability to obey the command and reinforce the desirability of his doing so.

Transition to off-leash control

This is a gradual off-shoot of the proofing phase. Entering into it prematurely can result in disaster. Don't be in a rush to take your dog's leash off! I strongly urge you to exercise your dog on a 50 foot long line, or in a fenced yard, instead of taking your dog off leash before you have a reliable recall. If your dog disobeys a recall you will undo all your hard work. Worse, it could cost your dog's life.

Click here for Recall, Part 2

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