Recall (Coming When Called)

Recall is arguably the most important skill for a dog to learn. If you can get your dog to happily come to you — under any circumstance – you can manage just about anything.

Tools Needed

• High-value training treats
• Optional: long line

Focus

Before we get to the specifics, here are four basic principles to apply to any skill you’d like to teach your puppy:

Set your puppy up for success.
Meet your basic needs and your puppy’s basic needs before you begin training. Make sure both you and your puppy are feeling safe, comfortable, and secure in your surroundings. Work in a place where both of you can focus and at a time of day that works for the two of you. Make sure you have all of the tools you need.

Remember that your dog is a very good dog.
Dogs are an entirely different species from humans, with a different set of social rules, environmental affordances, developmental milestones, and genetic mandates. It is imperative to remember that most human rules are not inherently reinforcing for our canine companions.

Teach your puppy to love the behavior you want to see.
The fastest way to teach a puppy what is acceptable in our human world is to teach them to genuinely love our rules. Help your puppy love goal behaviors by rewarding those behaviors with things your puppy already loves.

Start at the beginning.Start easy, and gradually work through challenging but achievable goals. When training is easy and fun, your puppy will love to learn and to build on their skills.

When to Train

If your dog is thirsty, hyper, distracted, or needs to pee, do not work on recall. Only practice recall when you are sure all of your dog ’s needs have been met, and ideally when they are demonstrating engagement behaviors. Skills must be learned before they can be used.

Where to Train

As with all skills, start in a very easy and familiar place, like your living room. Gradually add more challenging locations as your dog is successful, always starting the process from the beginning when you change locations. If your dog gets confused or distracted, chances are you have made the location too difficult for her. Go back to a successful location and increase the difficulty in a more gradual way. 

How to Train Recall

Note: It’s easiest to do the exercises below with a marker word or a click before delivering the reward (likely a high-value treat). For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use the shorthand “C/T” for “click and then treat,” but feel free to substitute a marker word if that works better for you!

• Make your hand into a fist. 
• C/T the moment your dog touches their nose to your hand. 
• Start very easy (close to your dog ) and get gradually harder (further away from your dog ).
• When your dog is reliably touching their nose to your hand when you make a fist — even at a distance of about ten feet — say "your dog! Come!" before they start coming toward you (but when you are sure they are going to do so!). This will pair the cue with the behavior. If you are not successful two times in a row (i.e. you say "your dog!
• Come!" and they don't come to you), stop saying their name and go back to just capturing the behavior until you are ready to move forward again. (It's important that you don't "wear out" the cue by saying it if the behavior is not attached.)
• Remember, you can always make the exercise easier by decreasing the distance between you and your dog by limiting the environmental distractions.
• Get a partner and play "Puppy Ping-Pong." 

Puppy Ping Pong

1. Make your hand into a fist and put your hand close to your dog 's nose. C/T the precise moment they touch their nose to your fist.
2. Repeat Step 1 about ten times. Gradually increase the distance between your fist and your dog 's nose. 
3. Take turns doing Step 1 with your partner, with each of you doing about five trials in a row.
4. Stand a few feet away from your partner. Take turns getting your dog 's attention by making silly sounds and then put out your fist.. your dog will begin to “ping pong” between you. C/T every time they boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
5. Gradually move farther and farther apart from your partner. If your dog gets distracted or confused, you are making the game too hard too fast. Move closer together. The goal is to gradually increase difficulty while still allowing your dog to be largely successful. C/T every time your dog boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
6. When your dog is ricocheting back and forth between you and your partner, having the time of their life, start changing your location more frequently. While your dog is dashing toward your partner, run to a different spot! And while they are dashing toward you, have your partner run to a different spot! Have fun! your dog will mirror your enthusiasm. C/T every time your dog boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
7. Start saying your dog 's name followed by “come!” while your dog is already on their way to boop your fist. You are now working on pairing the word “come” with the actual behavior. Do not say the word “come” unless you are willing to bet $50 that your dog will actually come to you. Do not say “come” more than once. If your dog gets distracted or confused, you’re making the game too hard too fast. Move closer together. The goal is to gradually increase difficulty while still allowing your dog to be largely successful. C/T every time your dog boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
8. Level up! Start hiding while your dog is dashing to the other person. Hide in trickier and trickier spots. Continue saying “come” when you feel pretty sure your dog is going to do the behavior. C/T every time your dog boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
9. Level up! Play this game in different parts of your house. Move to the backyard. Now maybe move to a park, but one with limited distractions. Slowly but surely, build up the level of distance between you and the other person, and the level of distraction in your dog 's environment. If your dog gets distracted or confused, you are making the game too hard too fast. Move closer together. Provide a less-distracting environment. The goal is to gradually increase difficulty while still allowing your dog to be largely successful. Only say your dog ’s name and the word “come!” when you are willing to bet $50 that they will be successful. Otherwise, you threaten to lose the word/behavior pairing! C/T every time your dog boops their nose to your first or your partner’s fist.
10. Play for as long as it’s fun for your dog , and always end the game on a high note. Leave your dog wanting more.
11. Play versions of this game daily, and do sneak-attack training by randomly calling your dog to boop their nose to your fist, surprising them with something delicious. “Oh!” she'll think, “I didn’t know we were playing now! I LOVE THIS GAME.”

Remember that in order for your dog to come when called, they need to be conditioned to LOVE coming when called. The more rewarding and FUN you can make "come," the better. After many (many!) positive repetitions, your dog will even choose to come to you instead of bolting out of an open door. Think of it like a bank account — every time your dog comes to you and it is super fun (he gets a treat and verbal praise and pets and then freedom), you put a dollar in the "recall bank account." Whenever you call your dog to you amid distractions, it will cost you money. Always be sure that you have enough money in the bank account to cover your expenses.