1) A safe, enclosed area is ideal to begin improving your dog’s recall. Start engaging with your dog and make them aware of any treats or toys you are carrying (rewards are powerful). Sit them down and use the command ‘stay’ and move back a few steps then call their name and reward them with lots of fuss and attention when they come to you. Continually repeat this, each time move a bit further away and reinforce their behaviour.

 

2) Most animals have a short attention span and your four legged friend is no exception. This means they will usually want to run around and play in open spaces and this can make improving your dog’s recall difficult. To mitigate this, you should keep training sessions short and engaging. If they are getting distracted or bored leave it for another day and don’t force them.

 

3) If your dog is struggling to stay and not follow you, ask a friend to hold them until you call. You can reinforce their behaviour with food rewards, fuss or their favourite toys. Remember, consistently applying positive reinforcement is the most effective strategy in improving your dog’s recall. 

 

4) If your dog does not stay and follows you, simply don’t acknowledge them. Walk back with their toy or treat to the original position and keep persisting!

 

5) Practice the recall command throughout walks, it is important that your dog will return when faced with different distractions so call them back and reward them multiple times and at different locations. Practicing the stay command is a great foundation but you will need to be able to retrieve your dog when there are other dogs and distractions around.

 

6) Reward your dog every-time he or she returns (even if they run off and you have been chasing them for miles) Positive reinforcement is a must every time they perform a desired behaviour.

 

7) Improving your dog’s recall will be difficult unless you are able to keep your them engaged when walking. Regularly calling your dog back to you is a great way to engage them and keep them responsive. 

 

8) Practice recall with different rewards to keep them interested and always carry reserve tools for positive reinforcement. There may be times when you run out of treats or forget their favorite toy and if this does happen it’s good to have a back up (otherwise your dog will have no intensive to return).

 

Eventually, you will be able to practice improving your dog’s recall recall without the use of toy or treat rewards.