How do you practice off leash recall?
To begin changing this narrative, we start by building value for a new recall word. Practice calling Read More
How to fix a bad recall?
Dejah Aufderhar
2025-07-09 10:06:20
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Secure any fencing in the garden, use a barrier or stair gate to prevent them from escaping out of the front door, and make sure they’re on a secure lead and harness when out and about. Revisit your basic recall training with the steps below. When you’ve chosen a recall word, build an association with it. With your dog in the same room as you, say their name and the chosen word and as they come towards you give them verbal praise and a treat, so the word receives a positive and enthusiastic response. Repeat the word while moving a few feet away from your dog, and each time they respond and come to you, offer a tasty reward. Once you’ve cracked doing this in the house, move the training into your garden where there are more external distractions, and then it’s time to up the ante and try using the chosen word outdoors on a walk. Use a longline until your dog has a reliable recall, as attaching a longline to your dog’s body harness means you’re still in control but they have enough freedom to enjoy a run while learning to come back to you. Don’t repeat the recall word if your dog doesn’t listen to you, as this could affect the positive association of the cue. ALWAYS reward recall, even by just smiling at your dog and telling them how good they are and that you love them – teaching your dog to come when they’re called is one of the lessons that could save their life.
Sam Nitzsche
2025-07-01 00:55:48
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Don't try to eradicate your dog’s chase drive in any way. Instead, use your dog's prey drive to your advantage.
Choose a chaser tug toy that will tap in to (and fully satisfy) your dog's urge to chase - and make running to you for a game of tug far more appealing than the nearest squirrel.
With a Chaser toy in your recall training toolkit, you’ll have the ultimate reward - which means awesome results.
If your dog loves following its nose, it means they find strong smells very rewarding.
To compete with this, and make yourself more exciting than your environment (which is the key to reliable recall), you need a ‘smelly’ reward.
Our rabbit skin and sheepskin toys have a natural scent and texture that most dogs find incredibly motivating - they're great for both scentwork games and for recall.
Or you could try a food toy which you can stuff with strong-smelling treats that your dog can happily sniff out and return for.
Be sure to build value into your tuggy at home before using it on walks - and keep it as a high value recall reward (in other words, don’t let your dog play with it all the time).
A game of tug with a motivational interactive tuggy from our hand-picked recall range is even more fun for your dog than sniffing the bottoms of other dogs.
Read also
How do you fix a dog that ignores the recall?
To fix a dog that ignores the recall, you need to teach your dog that coming back to you is always a Read More
Margaretta Gutmann
2025-06-23 00:23:15
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To fix a bad recall, start by understanding that your dog’s recall is generally great as a puppy, but as you start going for walks in new places, busier places, other things become more interesting than you, your dog’s recall can regress. People you meet give them food treats, which can cause issues, as food needs to come from only you, or they will see anybody they meet as a food source. Pups are given the opportunity to free run in areas where there is the opportunity to chase or become distracted by wildlife etc, which can also lead to poor recall. If your dog has more interaction with other dogs than it does with you on a walk, then recall back to you will become a thing of the past. Pulling on the lead is another issue, as your dog is in their own world if they do this, but you can help them connect mentally by playing fun ‘follow me’, ‘be with me’ lead work. When your dog connects to you by learning to watch you, they look for you and stay close by. Ditch your mobile phone, making sure you give your dog company and companionship when out and about. Be consistent, keep being fun, walk them away from fears or anything they pull towards, and use a trailing line to give them more space in appropriate areas. When a dog has your attention on their terms 24/7 they will not come when called.
Pete Metz
2025-06-22 21:47:47
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Start Indoors: Begin training in a distraction-free environment like your home.
Use a happy, enthusiastic voice to call your dog’s name followed by a command like “come” or “here.”
The tone of your voice is so important – be exciting!
Use High-Value Rewards: Reward your dog with high-value treats or their favourite toy every time they come to you.
This creates a positive association with the recall command.
Gradually Increase Distractions: Once your dog reliably comes to you indoors, practice in the garden, then gradually move to more distracting environments like parks.
We want 90% efficacy in a low-stimulus environment before we make it trickier for our dog!
Consistency is Key: Be consistent with your commands and rewards.
Always make coming to you the best option for your dog.
Play Recall Games: Engage in fun games like hide and seek or tag to make recall training enjoyable for your dog.
And if the pup is ignoring you – no not ‘poison’ your recall cue by repeating it over and over.
Read also
How do I get my dog to come back when off leash?
Teach your dog to respond to their name before adding recall. Teaching your pooch their name makes i Read More
How to stop leash pulling in 5 minutes DIY?
To make sure you’re safe from being pulled over, it’s important to teach them to walk calmly. One of Read More
Brant Windler
2025-06-22 19:37:42
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: 19
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. If you aren’t seeing an improvement with your dog’s training, you may wish to contact a qualified trainer or behaviourist to help. If you find your dogs recall isn't quite where is should be, it might be worth enrolling in some dog training lessons. Contact our free Behaviour Support Line for tailored advice.