dog won't come when called
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Recall In Dog Training

Do you feel like your dog won’t come when called?

Being able to successfully recall your dog from any situation is invaluable.

A “Recall” is what we dog trainers refer to as the “come” command

Many owners struggle with teaching their pup to come and often realize that their dog won’t come when called!

So what’s important about the come command?

Teaching your dog to come to you when you need it ensures that you have a pup that is paying attention to you, takes directions from you and understands what’s being asked!

Let’s face it we all want a dog that when push comes to shove is able to take direction from you.

Whether you want to give your dog the freedom of being off-leash or just want the peace of mind that if your dog was to ever get off-leash by accident he will listen to you when asked to come.

let’s tackle some reasons why your dog won’t come when called

Why Won’t My Dog Come When Called?

Now there can be a variety of different reasons as to why your dog won’t come when called from not having a clear understanding of what is being asked, to being distracted with something he perceives more valuable than you at the moment!

dog won't come when called

Teaching your dog a reliable recall is about showing your dog that coming to you is the best thing in the world and ultimately the best thing for him!

Though there are many different phases towards teaching a recall where your dog snaps around whenever you say the word “come” regardless of the distractions.

The main concept you need to understand is that if your dog won’t come when called you need to work on your relationship and creating a clear line of communication!

How Do I Start Teaching a Reliable Come Command?

Teaching a reliable recall is something that takes time, effort and consistency with training.

With the right steps, you can start teaching your dog the beginning of a solid recall!

To start teaching the beginning of the come command here’s what you’ll need:

  • Distraction-free environment
  • dog food/ treats
  • leash
  • your pup

In the beginning, you want to focus on teaching your dog to pay attention to you first, before introducing distractions your dog may be interested in!

as a rule of thumb, in the beginning, the less distractions the better you don’t want your dog’s attention to be diverted somewhere else while you are teaching him something new.

Once you have your dog’s eyes you can start teaching your dog the beginning of the recall.

Beginning of the Recall:

The beginning of the recall can be taught in a variety of different ways the method I’m going to show you is going to be the simplified version.

Essentially you want your dog wanting to come to you, you want to make the act of coming to you exciting and rewarding for your dog.

To begin teaching the recall what you want to do is start rewarding your dog with his food or favorite treats for looking at you.

This is where the leash comes in, we are only using the leash to prevent your dog from “bailing” or going away.

We are not using the leash to “reel” your dog in. You want your dog to enjoy coming on his own accord, not drag him to you.

Now with enough repetitions, you will see that your dog will start following you because he has been repeatedly rewarded for giving you his attention

This is exactly what you want!

At this point, once your dog is following and attentive to you, you want to walk away from your dog stand up straight and say come.

Once you say come, you want to be aware of the moment your dog takes any direction towards you.

When your dog starts coming to you, Reward him allot giving him a “jackpot” and make it a game!

The Fine Points

Some fine points that you should keep in mind in order to build a solid recall:

  1. In the beginning, you don’t want to tell your dog to come, if you feel like he won’t listen. (ex. he’s focused on something else)

2. When you do tell your dog to come have something on you to reward your dog with (ex. treats, his food, toys)

3. Don’t call your dog to just end something he enjoys

(if you take him to the park, call him to you then let him continue playing)

4. When you do want to end the fun use a word that signifies that you’re done

(ex. when you’re done with playing say “that’s it” and end the game)

Your dog will come to associate the word”that’s it” with being done with whatever activity you’re doing

Conclusion

Teaching your dog a reliable recall can be the best experience for both you and your pup!

There are many different stages to teaching your dog to come when called, this is the beginning of a rock-solid recall command!

To awaken your dog’s true potential contact us here or Give us a call!

Receive your free dog training consultation and set your pup up for success!

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