We have all been there chasing after our dog red faced and embarrassed as they are bolting away from us. We try yelling and flailing our arms in the air. When that doesn’t work and in our frustrated state we yell instead at the people around us “they’re friendly!”
What happens after this stressful event is what always shocks me as it is a critical part of what the dog learns.
When we finally catch our dog we grab at them quickly and abruptly as we try to get a hold of their collar. Then it’s a scolding, “no”, “bad dog for running away”, and sometimes this scolding turns into full on lashing for the dog's poor choice.
What did this experience teach the dog?
I will give you a hint: it wasn’t that coming back to you is a better choice. In many of these cases the dog learns 2 things. (1) Getting away, running, being chased, or chasing is super fun. 10 out of 10, highly recommended, and likely will do it again. (2) My pet-parents are kind of scary sometimes. Note to self I should be sure to avoid them better next time so that I don’t get into that situation again.
Did your dog learn to “come” to you? Nope, they sure didn’t.
Learning is happening all the time and a mistake that can really catch people up when trying to train their dog is that they think they can use human logic and talk their way through the dog's lesson. Dog’s don’t speak human language.
How do you form this relationship that fosters communication?
You start first by listening. Listen closely to your dog's wants, needs, and desires. While you're listening, respect their choices. If they show fear, move away so they don’t have to be afraid any more. Doing little things like this will help your dog learn they can trust you and you are listening.
Observe your dog and find out what their favorite things are. This is critical because if you are using a low value item, say a leaf in your hand, your dog has no reason to listen to you. I’m sorry if this is new to you and you were hoping that your dog would follow your commands because of your status as their “owner” or because you are a human. Your dog needs more than that to begin developing a deeper bond with you.
Next, give it a little time. Don’t be the person who lets their newly adopted dog off leash even at the dog park. Letting them have too much freedom early on in the relationship could easily drive a wedge between you. Your dog doesn’t see you setting them free as a sign of love, yet.
While in this observation and get-to-know-you phase, keep things calm and close. Don’t assume what your dog likes or dislikes. They are individuals after all.
If you have been living with your dog for a long time but you now want to start recall training then I recommend you step back and pretend you are meeting your dog for the first time. We often get complacent in our long term relationships but our relationships with our dogs evolve over time. So even if you have had your dog for many years, take a step back for a few weeks and see what new traits have developed since the last time you truly got to know your dog. I say this from experience because when I do this with my dog I learn of her new ailments or new stressors. Like she needs to be with me all the time now when she couldn’t wait to get away from me when she was young.
While you're getting to know your dog you want to make sure there is no opportunity for them to get away from you or for you to ACTUALLY call them in a real world scenario. This is usually made pretty easy with the use of leashes or safely fenced and productive environments.
This can be a tough rule to follow for some people but there is no gain without grit. Remember you are bonding. You can think of the leash as a way of physically connecting to your dog until you have a strong enough bond and training is in place that the leash is no longer needed.
This is one reason why KAS doesn’t recommend or take dogs off leash for hiking or enrichment activities, because our pet professionals are not you and don’t have enough time to get to know your dog to be able to let them off leash safely. With that being said we do have some very regular clients that we can take off leash.
Start taking your bonding on the road. A dog with lots of positive experiences and one that is well socialized is going to feel more comfortable and in the end be more in tune with you when away from home. This happens because for most, not all dogs, they become oh-hummm about the chaos of the outside world. They have seen it all. This helps them focus their attention on things that matter.
Have you ever seen that kid that doesn’t have a TV at home go to a friend's house and become fixated on the tv? This is kind of what happens to your dog if you don’t get them out and expose them to a variety of experiences.
Shameless plug: This type of experience and socialization training is exactly what Dog School is good for.
Alright, now that you have spent some deliberate time with your dog, getting to know them as an individual, and building trust - You can begin the more formal part of your recall training program.
Hopefully, up till now you have avoided any situation where your dog has escaped from you and you would have needed a recall. If not that’s okay maybe take another week in the bonding phase before you move on.
List out your dog's favorite things. For my one dog chasing squirrels trumped everything, for my other dog it was children.
Be as specific as you can. Below is a little table that might help you brainstorm. If all you can think of is food and praise then you need to go back to observing and getting to know your dog.
Detailed description of what they enjoy. | When is this thing they enjoy most likely to be available? | Where/what’s the environment that this joy holds value? |
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Great, our following step is going to be to name our top reinforcers.
Again, my dog chasing squirrels was huge! I named that ‘chase the squirrel behavior’–“Get It!”
So go through each of these and come up with different words and hand signals (or environmental cues) that will let your dog know that that reinforcer is now available. This may sound silly but even if you don’t do anything else this tip alone could improve your relationship with your dog.
Next we want to teach our dog what the end of the “come” behavior is. I like to teach my dogs that when I call them they are expected to touch my hand or even better put their own collar in my hand. This is a useful skill that can help you get a hold of them which is most likely why you are calling them to you in the first place.
What does that look like?
It looks like teaching, what you will probably hear called, a nose touch or a hand target. This is the process of teaching your dog to touch their nose to the palm of your hand. Once this is an established behavior you can shape it into putting their chin or collar in your hand later on.
To do this, reach into your treats and pull your hand out empty (your hand smells like treats) and show the palm of your hand to the dog at their nose/head level, so they don’t have to reach up or look down to see your hand. As soon as the dog sniffs your hand you will say “yes” and using that same hand, get a treat and feed them.
Wait till they are done eating to repeat for another rep.
Over time you want to ask for a little more pressure on the palm of your hand. Only attempting to raise the criteria when your dog is successful at the behavior level you are currently working on.
Once the dog is consistently and satisfactorily pushing into your hand you can name the behavior “come” or (my preference) “here”. You will do this by adding your cue prior to offering your hand where the dog already knows how to touch. So it looks like this:
Say your cue / “come”
Lower/offer your hand
“Yes” for the dog touching
Remove target-hand and get out a treat
Feed treat
Wait for them to finish eating before repeating
With a really strong history of reinforcement of touching your hand you can now begin the process of what we technically called back chaining. We are going to then start the dog from further and further away. It can be helpful to have a helper for this.
My favorite and most effective way to focus on distance and have lots of success up front is to have someone gently hold your dog starting at about 5 feet away from you. The Helper can engage with your dog if the dog enjoys that or can just wait neutral. However the former can be more helpful for the training. I highly recommend a harness and leash because there is a strong likelihood that your dog will be leaning to try and get to you the moment that you call. The pressure a collar causes to the neck could be damaging.
As soon as you call your dog’s recall cue (the same one you practiced earlier) the Helper should stop engaging and let go of the leash so the dog can choose what they want to do next. As your dog is approaching, cheer them the whole way. I frequently encourage my students to tell their dogs how wonderful they are for as long as it takes to get to them.
When your dog reaches you your hand should already be in position and they should bump your hand. When you feel them make contact you're now going to start implementing the ultimate reward system for coming to you.
If you have a ball crazy dog then your reps might look like this:
Leave your dog with a helper
Back away from your dog about 6 feet.
Call your dog (Helper is to drop the leash and disengage all contact with the dog the moment you call)
Put your hand out to give them a target
Dog will touch your hand, Say “Fetch” (we named the reinforcer above.)
Pull out the ball you had behind your back and give it a toss
Assuming the dog returns the ball you can keep repeating in this fashion.
Depending on what your dog absolutely loves then use that. When my Squirrel crazy dog came back I would immediately say “get it” after she touched me.
This training doubles as a great exercise game working both the mind and body. Note, that if your dog is really active and gets strung out on physical activity it would be advised to use it sparingly and take frequent breaks to let them calm down between reps.
In this way you can back up and call your dog from a variety of distances primarily in a low distraction environment but the more variety of low distraction environments the better. I.e. The park after hours, your neighbors or friends yard, or the middle of a quiet street can all work really well for practice. It can also be useful to have a long line or rope attached to them just in case they choose poorly during a training session.
What if my dog makes a mistake?
No big deal. We all make mistakes when we are learning something new. Be understanding but reset the exercise as swiftly as possible so that they don’t learn they can just leave the session. Notice if they need a break before they make a mistake. Sometimes our brains retain information better when we take breaks, it works for your dog also. So if they check out of the training session make note of how long or how many reps they were capable of staying focused for and try not to go over that number next time and end earlier.
Some games and exercise variations I like to play that involve recall and make practicing the skill fun. Most of these games can incorporate your dog’s meal so feel free to capitalize on using food for treats.
Treat Tosses
If you don’t have any other games your dog will play you can always use a treat to throw them away from you, wait for them to finish eating, then call them to you. Don’t forget your hand target.
Hide & Seek
With this game you will probably need a partner unless your dog has been taught a rock solid stationing behavior. Sometimes you can play at random throughout the day-If you are on a hike or in the backyard and your dog is slightly distracted, duck behind something like a tree or bush. Wait momentarily before calling to see if they will notice. Then call them and have them find you.
Place Training / Stationing
Where you send your dog to an active station and then call them to you.
This is the skill I’m talking about in the Hide & Seek solo game but it shouldn’t be taught as a stand alone skill just for recall. However, it makes for a great supplement game to play occasionally.
Retrieve Training
If your dog loves to fetch this is a great way to build in some recall because it’s naturally occurring when your dog returns the toy to you. If your dog does not bring you the toy you may have to teach them. This training process is easier than you think if you have a ball/toy motivated dog.
Emergency Recall / Value Charging
This is where you are going to spend say a week charging up your recall word or sound. Take an extra special food item your dog doesn’t normally get. Now there is only one rule when you say the magic recall word (cue) you will present immediately after the amazing and valuable item. I usually recommend real meat from your refrigerator. That’s it. For this game you are using Pavlov to the fullest to ring the bell to deliver food. THE DOG DOES NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING! This is only effective if the reinforcement you are delivering is not available any other time. You will need to block out the week or two you plan to implement the training and let the games begin. While you are playing don’t use your recall cue for other practice.
With all games be ready to pay out the winner for their efforts. Your dog plays for pay.
I hope this helps you get started teaching your dog to ‘come when called’. It is worth noting that recall is a complex skill that has many parts and the dog especially off leash has lots of options! This type of experience is a privilege that I don’t think puppies are fully capable of. I will usually recommend to go slow with your recall training and do it right. Don’t expect or rush a young dog to be perfect. The result when they are just a little older will be a dog that can stop mid squirrel chase and come back. Giving your dog choices and freedom is great but only if you are prepared to follow it up with worthwhile rewards when they make the right choice.
Punishing your dog or even adding uncomfortable stimuli to your dog and then releasing it when the dog makes the right choice (negative reinforcement) can be effective, it’s reinforcement after all but it doesn’t help your dog learn to use their own brain. It doesn’t make them excited to come back to you, it makes it the only option they have. If they don’t they will continue to feel the uncomfortable mild zapping or tapping until they comply.
It’s my recommendation that you put your relationship at the front of your recall training and with a healthy relationship your dog really won’t have a lot of reason to run away.
With any training method there is still inherent risk letting any animal be free and not fenced or tethered. They are still going to be a dog and sometimes that instinct will be more than you have prepared for. It’s not personal so no need to get mad at them. Do your best to recover them and love them harder.
If you're interested in learning more or getting guidance on teaching a recall founded on trust and relationship, Kind Animal Services is here to support you in your journey.
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