Lets be honest about some breeds are better than others at recalling, but no matter how good a dog is at recall, you probably wish it was better. Being able to recall your dog from anything has to be the goal that we are all working towards.

There’s a lot spoken about how dogs should be kept on a long lead until recall is 100%. I think thats nonsense. A long lead is a fantastic tool, but as with anything training related then I don’t believe it’s possible to achieve 100% results without fully exposing a dog to the chance to ignore us. That means no long lines as we start to reach our goals.

Any dog, regardless of breed views actions as rewarding or non rewarding. That doesn’t mean been sat with a handful of treats (but that may help) but you’ve got to make recall more attractive and rewarding than whatever is grabbing their attention.

I hate to start with a negative but the first thing never to do is to chase after your dog. Thats very easy for me to say, remember though if your chasing after your dog, maybe shouting their name, all they see is you running after them and maybe barking. Fun for them, but it doesn’t make them want to come back. Far better to walk away, assuming its safe to do so, and make them think theres something more interesting that way.

Equally, never tell your dog off for coming back. It’s a safe rewarding space remember. Break the recall down into parts. The behaviour you don’t want is your dog not coming back, but the behaviour you do is them coming back. Reward that behaviour & never be unhappy when they come back.

Remember make yourself as rewarding a space as possible, get down low, happy voice (or a whistle) and never, ever let yourself be anything besides happy to see them. Remember, like everything else you train to practice and give time.