It's no secret that as a dog lover I will listen to anyone talk about their dog. And people love to tell me how cute their dog is, how they first got their dog and so forth. I love to hear it all! But sometimes, well actually too often, I hear people say they dog doesn't listen. This is usually in the context of the dog running after something or someone and not responding to the person yelling the dog's name in a futile effort to get the dog to return to them.

Getting a dog to recall to you is not something you can teach in a few minutes, there are many layers that need to be in place for a recall to be solid and reliable. In fact, World Champion Agility Trainer Susan Garrett has an entire program dedicated just to recall...it's even called "recallers".

But today I am going to focus on one tiny but important element of getting your dog to return to you when you ask. Notice I wrote "ASK" not command. And that's kinda it in a nut shell....

Well, OK, there is more to it... When I see people calling their dog, often I hear the call being very harsh, "TOBY COME!!!!!!!! GET OVER HERE NOW!!!" And quite frankly, it sounds mean.

And the dog keeps running or playing or doing everything except return to the person...And the person says "why don't you listen?" But guess what? Dogs love fun. They gravitate toward fun. If its sounds like, and if there is a history of, running back to their person could result in fun, like yummy treats, a play session, or a praise party then the chances or that dog running full speed to their person just increased tremendously.

But if there is a history of all the fun ending, and even worse some type of punishment, when the dog gets to you,  why in the world would the dog to come to you?

If you give your dog a  fun reason to return to you, you will get a dog that wants to recall to you no matter what.

So practice at home, call your dog in a fun excited tone, when they get to you play a quick game of tug, give lots of praise and a yummy treat. Practice in your living room in your yard, on leash walks...

If you need a super exciting tug toy to help your dog understand that coming to you means fun click here: Bond Building Tug Toys.

Now, go have some fun!

 

 

That magical moment when training pays off! by Lisa Peer