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When I started writing this post I didn’t realize it was going to get so
long. The Recall is a complex exercise – there is a lot of psychology behind
it. Sorry that there seems to be a lot of babble before we even get to the
instructions but if you can understand what goes into the exercise you can get
better results. Also once again there are differences between the way I teach
obedience and I have seen other people do it. No way is right or wrong –
just what works and doesn’t work for your and your dog.
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The Recall is really about control. If you call a dog to come and you have no
control that they will obey, then you are teaching them to ignore you. When
teaching the recall you MUST be able to complete the exercise, otherwise
there’s really no point in doing it. If you know your dog isn’t going to
come, don’t even call – just walk to them and manually retrieve them. If
you call once and they don’t come, don’t keep calling – again walk and
get them. Don’t ask your dog to do
something unrealistic eg if you are at the dog park and they are playing and
you call “Come”, you are asking to be ignored. Don’t set yourself or
your dog up for failure – give yourselves every chance to do it right the
first time.
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If you are in a situation where your dog isn’t obeying the “come”
command and thinks that running away is a game because you will chase after
them, or if the dog is spooked and keeps moving away from you – don’t keep
chasing them (particularly if you are in an area where they might run onto a
road). Call them in a happy voice, pat your legs and walk away from
them and away from any danger areas and most dogs will follow you. Sit on the
ground and look unthreatening and show them it’s not a game, offer treats if
you have them or open the car door if they are used to getting in the car and
hopefully it will end well. Of course the best thing is not to get into that
situation in the first place if you can help it.
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“Come” must NEVER be used for punishment. If your dog is doing something
bad and you call them and then punish them, they will never come when called
again because they relate the punishment to the “Come” and not to what
they were otherwise doing. Regardless of what your dog just did, “Come”
must always be followed by lots of praise. (If you are going to punish them
for an action, then you go to them and punish them on the spot.) Also watch
your tone of voice … if you say “COME” in a booming deep voice, the dog
will think ‘holy hell’ and not come near you. Use a strong command that
will carry to them but make it non- threatening and in a lighter tone of voice
to help encourage the dog to come.
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In this exercise in particular, it’s especially important to praise, praise
and praise. And treat if your dog is food motivated or reward with toy or
whatever is fun and good and will encourage them to come to you next time.
Every time I call Rafe to “Come” (except in the trial ring where it’s
not allowed) I give him a treat. If I don’t have a treat then I don’t do
the exercise. If I am around the yard and use the “ComeHere” or just a
whistle, then he
doesn’t necessarily get a treat but always gets a pat and cuddle. I am lucky
that he is very food motivated and that has given him a very fast and reliable
recall because he wants the treat.
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The “Come” exercise depends a lot on the bond between handler and dog and
also the previous level of training. However, the recall is still taught on
lead until the dog understands what is required. As with every exercise, when
you try to work off lead, make sure you have a safe environment in case he
still tries to run away. And don’t try to progress too fast and if he’s
still iffy off lead then go back to basics and work on lead again. Remember
they only need to run away ONE time and it will put your training back a long
way. This is an exercise where you can use a long lead so that you can
practice longer distances but still have the control and the safety.
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The Recall is required in competition if you want to go that path but is also
an essential exercise for around the home. You might want to call the dog for
dinner or they could be near something that is dangerous and you want to get
them away from it. A reliable “Come” is a very important exercise
to have – with the emphasis on reliable!
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As an aside – I make a difference between commands “Wait” and
“Stay”. To me, “Stay” means Stay! The dog doesn’t move until I come
back to release him. “Wait” means the dog has another command it has to
carry out before the exercise is finished. I was taught this right from the
beginning - not all instructors make the difference between “Stay” and
“Wait” – but I have found that it makes stays more stable because the
dog learns that when they get “Stay” then they don’t have to anticipate
getting another command – they learn that “Stay” is the only command.
“Stay” is used for stays (obviously), stand for examination. “Wait” is
used for recalls, retrieving, distance exercises etc where you have to take up
position and then instruct the dog further. “Wait” is also handy if your
dog is too impatient for their food or to get through a gate – “Wait”
can get them to temporarily stay put until you are ready for them to move
forward.
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And now for the actual instructions ….
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The verbal command for this exercise should be “Come” or “Here” (one
word commands are best). I will say that if I want Rafe to do a proper Recall,
I use the word “Come” and that implies a nice sit in front as well. If
he’s down the yard and I just want him to come to me I use “ComeHere”
(as one word) which is not the structured recall but wanting him to come to me
nonetheless.
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The Hand signal for this exercise will depend on whether you want to go to
competition or just work around the yard. IMO they should be nice and clear
and large because your dog might be a long way away and has to be able to see
the signal clearly. The signal I have seen in North America is the hand coming
up from your side to across your chest – like you are going to put your hand
on your heart for the national anthem. I am not sure if this is the regulation
competition command over there but we use a very different one here. We also
train and compete outdoors and our rings are bigger so a bigger command is
necessary.
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If you don’t want to go into formal competition, then patting the legs, arms
open wide or come hither sort of arm movements are all acceptable. If you want
to go into competition, the hand signal has to be a single movement with the
arm(s) returning to the original position.
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At first while the dog is still on lead, our signal is only with one hand. The
straight arm movement goes from your beside your leg in a sweeping sideways
movement to above your head and down again.
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When the dog progresses to off lead then both hands/arms are used.
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The beginning of the Recall is a stable sit and stay in position. If your dog
can’t do this, then go back to basics and teach this before you try the
“Come”.
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Take up position in the Sit and tell your dog to “Wait”. Leave your dog to
the end of lead and take care not to pull the lead tight at this point as you
might pull the dog out of the sit before you give the command. Give the verbal
command and the hand signal at the same time and tug the lead to get
the dog up. Move a few steps backwards to give the dog the idea of distance
and speed and then guide the dog to come in straight and make him sit in front
– nice and close. As the dog gets better, you can progress to a long lead.
Either hold the lead so that you can draw in the dog or if they are coming in
straight and fast you can lay the lead on the ground and put your foot on it.
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The sit in front isn’t really necessary if your obedience is just for around
the yard but still a nice way to finish it and you will always know where your
dog is going to end up.
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If using treats, make sure you hold them down at about his head height – you
don’t want them jumping up at you to get the treat – by holding them down
it gives them something to ‘aim’ for as they are coming towards you. Give
the treat as soon as they have completed the Recall and sat in front.
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As with all lessons, practice makes perfect. You can do a couple of Recalls
one after another but I wouldn’t do too many repetitions at once. Please let
me stress again that if you are going to practice this off leash, make sure
you are in a safe environment. I kept Rafe on a long lead for his Recalls even
after he was doing them off lead in competition. Control and safety are the
priorities when learning the Recall. Good luck.