How to teach a 6 month old puppy recall?

Start by teaching a ‘Watch Me’ in the house – effectively teaching your dog their name, and also that you are a great person to pay attention to. Teaching your dog to look at you when you want them to is the beginning of virtually everything else. It is a key part of training a reliable recall, and it is one of the best ways to ensure they are paying attention to you and ready to do whatever else you might want them to do. For this you will need lots of tiny tasty treats that your puppy loves. The cue for your dog to look at you is their name – and so you need to teach them that their name always means ‘good things for the dog’! Don't use their name for anything unpleasant, never call them to you for things they don’t like, and don’t use their name endlessly without meaning otherwise you are just teaching them to ignore it. Once your dog is reliable doing this, instead of throwing the treat, drop it on the floor, start by dropping it/throwing it halfway between you and slowly you can build it up to dropping it at your feet. Now your dog should be looking at you and moving towards you when they hear their name. You can have fun with this too – and sometimes as your dog is coming towards you, run backwards away from them so they have to follow you. Or if you have the space, run and duck behind a tree or a bush. Always be excited and reward them when they ‘find’ you.

Teach your dog to respond to their name before adding recall. Teaching your pooch their name makes it easy for you to grab their attention when you need it. After you’re confident you can get their attention, you can add in your chosen recall. Always reward your dog when they come back. Start indoors, in your garden, or in another enclosed space with some tasty treats to hand. Get your dog’s attention with their name, then use your recall cue and take a step away from them. Reward them with praise and a tasty treat when they come to you. Add in some distractions and increase the length of the recall distance. Gradually increase the distance between you and your dog and the level of distractions you call them away from. Let them move away from you before using your recall cue, and use a long line attached to. If your pooch keeps darting off when you call them, stick with training on a long lead attached to a harness, and only let them off-lead in secure areas. Only let your dog off their lead in open spaces when you’re confident they’ll come back when called.

Say your dog’s name to get their attention. Next, say the word you have chosen as your dog’s recall word for come here. Encourage your dog’s movement towards you by moving in the opposite direction. Encourage and praise as they move towards you. Get them to come in close by crouching down sideways as your dog approaches, pat your hip, and lean away. Praise and reward with love and kindness. For the first few months after mastering recall training at home, take your dog to a less stimulating environment, such as an empty field. Keeping your dog on a lead, practice recall, and gradually lengthen the lead as they improve. When your dog has mastered this, start to wander off at a 90-degree angle now and again and call your pup / dog for fun and games and love.

To teach a 6 month old puppy recall, start this training in a secure area in your house or garden, where your dog is comfortable and doesn't have too many distractions. First, you will need to work out what type of reward motivates your dog the most. For many dogs, it’s food, however, when they’re excited and running around, they may prefer to come back for a game with a particular toy. Begin by teaching your dog your chosen cue word for the recall, this could be, ‘Come’, ‘Here’, or you can even use a whistle, just make sure you choose your word and stick to it. To introduce the word, stand near your dog and call them to you with lots of enthusiasm, using your chosen cue word and their name. When they come to you, give them a treat, or play with a toy for just a few seconds before stopping and moving away. Keep practicing the recall as much as possible, at home and in your garden, if you have one, your dog needs be reliably coming back to you before you progress to adding distractions or trying this outside of your home. If you find your dog isn’t reliably coming back, it’s because they either don’t understand the cue yet, or the reward you are offering isn’t motivating enough. Once your dog is happy with the cue word and is responding to it from different distances, you can start to introduce distractions. We would recommend asking a friend or family member to help you out with this. Once your dog is confident with being recalled from one fun, engaging thing to another, you can start to practice during their walks. We’d recommend using a long-line lead and a harness whilst they’re still learning. When they come back, collect the long-line lead up, lure them into you and hold their collar or harness as you reward them. It’s essential that all dogs have a strong and reliable recall before being let off the lead in a public place. The key to this training is to stay positive and make sure that the prospect of returning to you is always appealing for your dog. If they associate the recall with their lead going back on and the fun ending, or if you become visibly frustrated at them for ignoring you, they understandably won’t want to come back. Make sure that the person calling your dog away is always more appealing than whatever they are currently doing, this will show them that recall doesn’t mean the end of fun.