Really reliable recall or Fido, PLEASE come home! by Pamela Dennison
As printed in the Blairstown Press, © 2000. May not be reprinted without written approval.

Question from Christina P.: What is the most important thing you can teach your dog?

Answer: Great question Christina!

The most important thing you can teach your dog is a reliable recall. It will save his life one day, so please do not scrimp on your training of this life saving behavior. I start teaching a recall by teaching the dog that their name is very valuable.

How often do you say your dog’s name and he doesn’t respond at all?! You might get an ear flick telling you, "yeah, I hear you and I’ll be there when I feel like it." Very serious when you need to get the dog’s attention in a potentially dangerous situation.

I start out teaching a recall by teaching the dog that his name is extremely significant. The most effective way to teach name recognition is to pair the dogs name with a primary reinforcer, such as food. Say your dog’s name, then feed him a cookie. Repeat for a few minutes per day for a few weeks. Do this in the house, yard, on walks, everywhere you take your dog. Since we want the dog to pay attention to you when you are out in the world, be sure to practice pairing the dog’s name with food everywhere you go and amidst many different distractions. Warning: do NOT use your dog’s name as a command or in a loud or threatening voice. After all, we are trying to teach the dog that his name means something wonderful is about to happen. In addition, NEVER punish your dog for coming to you - even if it took a few minutes (or hours!)

The next step to teaching a reliable recall is taught through associative learning. (Remember Pavlov’s dogs - the ringing of the bell at dinner time caused salivating?) Say your dog’s name, then "come," then click* and treat. Repeat 8 billion times! We are not expecting the dog to actually move out of position – just continually say "Fido, come," click and treat. Do this a few times per day, for a minute or two per session, for a few weeks.

The first step to a reliable come is to continue to build your relationship and be variable and unpredictable in how you reinforce. For this behavior alone, I do not faze out the food or other reinforcers – EVER – for the life of the dog. Reinforcers can be petting, praise, food, a rousing game of tug – whatever the dog loves – do them all!

a. Make your some signal distinct (not sometimes, "c'mere," sometimes "come," sometimes, "here," sometimes "let's go," etc.) In the beginning stages of the recall, do not say the word unless the dog is already on his way to you! We MUST pair the action with the behavior for the dog to learn exactly what "come" means.

b. Say "come" only when you are prepared to reinforce heavily – for at least 20 seconds! If you don’t have any reinforcers on you, you can RUN to them, all the while keeping your dog’s attention on you.

c. Make sure the dog comes within a few inches – do not reach out to feed the dog.

d. Make sure that when you say "come" it doesn’t sound like this "comecomecomecomecome." Dog’s may not speak English, but by God they can count! And "come" is a different word than "comecomecomecome!" Play hide-n-seek: Have someone hold your dog and run away and hide. Then you call the dog. The instant you say the dog’s name ("Fido, come") your helper drops the leash. When the dog finds you, have a huge party with all sorts of reinforcers.

Play wounded caribou: run around wildly and entice the dog to chase you. Click and treat him for following you and periodically throw in some sits and/or downs, then click and as a reward he gets to chase you again!

Walking in a field or trail: Bring your fanny pack and some toys and a long leash. Before the dog gets to the end of the line, say his name. If he responds by turning his head to you, say "come." When he comes to you, click once and treat heavily. Continue to practice this as you continue your walk. If your dog doesn’t respond, just stand still and wait…if needed, turn your back to the dog and wait. He will eventually come to you. When he does, click once and reward heavily with all types of reinforcers.

Three cookie game: The name of this game is a misnomer, but I couldn’t think of anything else to call it. This is a wonderful come game that both you and the dog will love. And you get to continue to build that positive relationship because all of these training exercises are FUN!

1. Throw a cookie a few feet away. (make sure the dog sees it!)
2. Tell your dog to "get it."
3. Run away fast!
4. As the dog is coming to you, say "come" (pairing the word with the behavior), then when he gets to you, you click and treat with a jackpot. Jackpots are given for every come and are fed one cookie at a time. To a dog, a wad of food is the same as one cookie, so spread them out and keep the dog with you longer! Be variable in the amount of the jackpots – 10-3-4-8-9-12-30-1-5-4-7-15-6-8-6 you get the idea. Add in some play and petting and praise. What a dog "knows" at home, he may not "know" anywhere else. This is because dogs as a species do not generalize the learning of a behavior to all locations unless you have practiced them in all locations. This does not make them stupid, it just makes them dogs.