How to teach your dog to come when called

A reliable recall is the difference between a dog you have to manage and a dog you can actually live with. It is the command that gets your dog back when a gate is left open, when a coyote crosses the wash, or when a guest walks in the front door. It is also one of the hardest things to hold onto, because the moments you need it most are the moments your dog is most distracted.

Here is how we build recall that holds the first time, every time.

Breaking it down

Recall is built on motivation before it is built on obedience. When your dog turns and comes to you, pay him. Food, a toy, or genuine verbal praise all work, and the payment should feel worth the trip.

• Set a foundation. Use meal times. Most dogs are highly food motivated, so calling your dog to his bowl builds a routine where coming to you is always the right answer.
• Layer in obedience once he is consistent. After your dog reliably comes, ask for a sit or a down when he arrives. This adds control and turns a recall into a finished behavior instead of a drive-by.
• Do not reward a dog who did not work for you. Paying for a half effort teaches your dog that half efforts are enough.
• Do not build recall on fear. A dog who thinks coming back means the fun stops, or that something unpleasant is waiting, will get slower every week. Recall has to be the best decision available to him.

Dogs who will not come at all

If your dog simply leaves, go back to routine, reward, and motivation, then add a long line.

A long line lets you create gentle drag when your dog moves away. Stepping on the line slows him and encourages him to turn and make eye contact. Step lightly, because stopping a dog abruptly at speed risks injury. The moment he looks at you, praise him and encourage him in. The more energy you show, the faster the response.

Two safety rules that are not optional. Long lines should not have handles, because handles catch on everything. And never wrap a long line, or any leash, around your neck, hand, or arm.

Do not wait until your dog hits the end of the line to call him. By then he has built up too much speed and drive to turn cleanly.

When your dog runs off to do something you do not want

Sometimes a dog is not ignoring you so much as heading toward something. Reacting to another dog, patrolling a boundary, or chasing whatever moved. In those cases recall is not really the problem. The problem is that your dog does not believe staying near you is the rule.

Work basic control first, especially holding a heel position. That teaches your dog that staying by your side is the default, which is far more useful than teaching him that leaving is wrong. If your dog's recall keeps breaking down around specific triggers, our guide to getting your dog back reliably when he stops listening covers what is going on underneath.

Recalling more than one dog

Dogs feed off each other. Your tone and your energy matter more with two dogs than with one.

1. Train each dog individually before you train them together.
2. Remember that dogs know when you are not paying attention. Focusing on one dog opens the door for the other to test you.
3. Go back to basic obedience whenever things fall apart.
4. Tell one dog to stay, then calmly call the other. An excited voice will break the stay on the wrong dog. A calm voice keeps both of them listening.

Door dashing

Put your dog in a sit or a down, open the door, close it again, and reward him for holding position. Build from there. With two dogs, put both in a down stay and call them out one at a time. This is genuinely difficult and worth every session you put into it.

One thing that will set you back every time: yelling. Shouting at a dog who is already unsure drives him further away.

Deaf dogs

Any disability calls for an adjustment, not an exception. General obedience and recall are both very achievable with a deaf dog. Hand signals work well, and the vibration feature on an electronic collar can replace the verbal cue for getting attention. Lean heavily on reward based work so your dog learns to check in with you often for direction.

When your dog will not come because he sees the leash

This dog has learned that recall predicts the end of his freedom. Fix the association.

• Practice recalls with rewards and no leash at all.
• Call him in, go through the motions of clipping the leash, then reward him and release him without actually attaching it.
• Use the sound of the clip on its own until it stops meaning anything, then reward him for holding position even while he hears it.

The short version

Recall training is slow and then it is suddenly reliable. Consistency, patience, and payment your dog actually values will get you there. A dog who comes when called is a dog you can take places, and a dog you stop worrying about every time a door opens.

For help building a recall that holds under real distraction, call us at 480-595-6700. We have trained dogs in Scottsdale and Cave Creek since 1997.