How do you train excellent recall?

To train excellent recall, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Practice this back and forth a few times, over a few short sessions, 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.

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. 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. You can eventually leave the garden and venture out into the world. Let them move away from you before using your recall cue, and use a long line attached to a harness, and only let them off-lead in secure areas.