Some Thoughts on Training the "Come" Command
 

This exercise is referred to as the "recall".

It's simply THE most important exercise to teach your dog.

It's also THE hardest exercise to teach and get 100% accuracy from your dog.

To train the recall you need:

 

         a sound training 'plan'

         a good understanding of your dog's temperament

         a strong desire to be successful 

         and a ton of patience

This can be a challenging exercise !!

If you have the luxury of training a puppy, it's much easier than training an adult dog.

Why?.....the puppy has very limited life experience. They tend to stay close-by because they need the security of being close to you.

In contrast, most adult dogs have lots of experience leaving you in their dust. Sprinting away to play with other dogs, chasing cats or wild-life or just satisfying their hunting instincts.They plough across the field with their nose glued to the grass totally ignoring you!

The Recall
The recall involves teaching your dog that what you have to offer the dog is of HIGHER VALUE than the object the dog is about to pursue. No easy task if you own a breed of dog genetically engineered to hunt, retrieve or defend.

Still miracles do happen, so stock-up on personal discipline, persistence, consistency and patience and we can begin.............

Training Tip: 

A dog will always offer behaviour that gets it the best outcome. 

So, your job is to convince your dog that this new 'recall' behaviour is worth doing !
Training the recall never involves threatening or physically punishing your dog. Punishment will teach your dog that you can't be trusted and your dog will never come back when he's called. Keep your cool.

 

Puppies and the Recall......
Food is the highest value item to a puppy at this stage of life, so I use food to teach the recall.

As the pup is performing the recall more consistently I can think about introducing a toy as a shared reward along with food.

But initially it's all about food.

 

Training Tip:  

Get Mother Nature working in your favour....make sure the puppy is hungry before you start.

You'll get tons more effort, concentration and a lot faster learning.

 

Technique:
Get your partner or friend to gently restrain the puppy by interlocking their fingers around the pup's chest to form a 'hand-harness'. Approach the pup with 5 or 6 pieces of his favourite food in your hands and slowly wave your hand under the pup's nose until his sense of smell kicks in and his eyes start to bulge with strong expectations of being fed.

Run away about 3 or 4 metres, kneel on the ground, say the pup's name then say your command word "COME" or "HERE". It doesn't matter what word you select as long as you consistently use the same word every single time and everybody in your household uses the same word every single time.

As you say your recall command, your training partner releases the pup and the little scud missile should come bolting across the ground to get to the food.

Notice I have said "the pup comes to get the food", not "the puppy comes to get to you"!

Sorry, at this age and at this early stage of training, it's all about the food - you don't really rate (not yet, anyway!)

So, what do you do when the pup arrives?

You have a highly excited, very hungry 4-legged piranha who just wants to satisfy his survival instincts.

So you become a very calm, softly spoken vending machine that measures-out the food one piece at a time from one hand.

With your other hand, you slowly stroke and massage the little beast and gently praise him for coming.

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I repeat this recall exercise 3 times, each time moving a slightly greater distance away.

After these 3 repetitions I say 'FREE' and start playing a fun game with the pup for about 5 minutes.

 

Then I do another 3 'recalls' followed by more play time with the pup.

Later in the day I will repeat this exercise pattern.

So, lots of short, fun repetitions rather than attempting 20 recalls in one session.

Training Fact:

We know that to get a dog to repeat a training exercise multiple times, there has to be something "in it" for the dog, or why would he bother? So we use:

                             food rewards

                             slow hand praise

                             calm voice praise

                             facial praise (smiling)

                             play with a toy

to show the pup what "outcome" is on offer every single time he hears the "come" command.
 

​

Adult Dogs and the Recall.......
This is more challenging because your dog has probably had many enjoyable experiences pleasing himself and not listening to you.

So we have to override prior learning with multiple new, high value experiences.

You know your dog, so use rewards that really "turns his lights on" !

Food, balls, tugs or combinations of all of these - whatever it takes to set him alight with happy enthusiasm.

 

But the rewards must be of extremely high value to convince your dog that coming to you yields a better outcome than chasing a cat or playing with another dog.

 

Step 1:

Change your voice command. If your dog has ignored your "come" command then change it to "here".

Train this exercise in an area where there are no distractions and the dog can't 'escape'.

Have a second person hold your dog on a lead attached to a flat collar or better still a harness.

Show your hungry dog you have a high value reward in your hands and run away a short distance.

Call your dog...

Repeat exactly the steps described for puppy recall training.

The exception with an adult dog is that I play a tug game immediately after food rewarding each recall.

This is called "loading". The adult dog receives multiple high value rewards (food & tug play) rather than just food.

To prove your dog is ready to advance to Step 2 with recall training we now need LOW levels of distraction.

The test is to see if he will come directly to you if someone else attempts to get his attention when you give your recall command.

 

With a second person standing nearby, firmly call your dog.

As the dog moves towards you, the second person calls the dog's name and acts in a friendly manner towards your dog.

Will your dog obey the recall command or be distracted by the stranger?

 

If he comes directly to you with no hesitation - well done - you can move on with your training.

If he is distracted by the other person, you need more work at Step 1.

Don't attempt Step 2 work if the dog is not 100% solid on Step 1, it will only end badly !!

Training Fact:

Never give the recall command unless you can control the outcome!

Step 2:

Walking in the street/park with your dog on a long lead or Flexi-lead you allow the dog to move ahead of you.

Then call his name, give your recall command and praise as the dog comes flying back to you.

Repeat our reward system - food, slow hands, calm voice, facial praise, then tug play.

Use the FREE command to allow him to continue walking around.

Repeat this recall training multiple times during your walk.

Always control the outcome by keeping your dog on a lead.

Practice this controlled recall exercise every time you take your dog for a walk.

Use areas where you know that other dogs aren't going to rush up to you and create havoc.

Let the real world environment be the main distraction for your dog.

You're not ready to test your recall command in-front of other dogs, yet.

Step 3:

This involves using other dogs at a fair distance away from you as the distraction.

Always have your dog on a lead.

Practice your controlled recalls making sure you genuinely reward your dog for correct behaviour.

Be consistent with this behaviour, it really matters in this exercise.

Step 4:

Involves returning to your backyard to see if your dog values you and your rewards above those offered by other people.

The test:- have a friend or family member hold some low value dry food in their hands.

Get them to entice your hungry dog to follow them as they walk away.

As your dog follows them, you then recall your dog.

Will he choose you over the person who has just grabbed his attention with low-value food?

 

If yes, genuinely reward and play with your dog.

Give the FREE command and allow the dog to be distracted by the stranger.

Repeat this same exercise, but change the food the stranger carries to up the level of distraction for your dog.

If the dog obeys your "come" command, repeat the genuine reward system 

Give the FREE command 

 

If your dog fails to come when called, you need much more training at Steps 2 & 3 and definitely change the food/toy rewards you are currently offering your dog as a reward for coming.

This format for training the recall takes quite a long time to get the results we want. Be patient & stay determined.

 

Step 5:

Involves setting up a meet & greet session with another dog and the concept of "consequences".

Both dogs should be on leads and hungry.

Both dogs will be training the recall exercise, so they can not only gain individual success but also watch the other dog's behaviour.

Dogs learn a huge amount of information by observation.

 

The dogs should be reasonably close to each other & you now give your recall command without jerking the lead.

Can your dog give-up a socialising opportunity to come back to you without lead help?

Hopefully yes....if not, we come to the hurdle that is known as "consequences" (corrections).

Let's be honest, with all the success you've had to date, your dog clearly knows what the "COME" command means.

There is No question about this.

So, not coming-when-called is not a mistake, it's disobedience and in dog training disobedience can't be ignored.

If you have a sensitive dog, the consequence (correction) for disobedience may simply be a voice reprimand.

For the tough, nuggetty dogs it may mean a firmer level of correction.

Either way, if you're not sure about what is appropriate, get some advice from a professional trainer to help you at this level.

Don't just guess, it may destroy all your hard work achieved up to now.

Even if you've had to apply an appropriate reprimand for disobedience, you still reward your dog when it does make the correct choice and comes to you. Remember, there has to be something in it for the dog.

Be consistent with this.

Keep practising controlled recalls away from other dogs (who are on leads) until your dog will come bolting back to you without hesitation.

Remember:  NO PRACTICE - NO SUCCESS.  

Don't expect sensational performance from your dog if you haven't done the hard practice.

Step 6:

Up to now all this work has been done on-lead.

Our next hurdle is to set-up (nearly) off-lead situations to see if the dog is reliable.

 

I walk my dog in the park on a longish lead, allowing him to move ahead say 5 to 6 feet.

Then I drop the lead and do a recall.

I shuffle backwards to stimulate the dog to chase me and I lavishly reward the dog's effort for coming when called.

I pick up the lead and continue walking.

I do dozens of these 'off-lead' recalls during my walk, always in a safe area & always first checking that another dog is not coming towards us.

This training is really for the handler, not so much for the dog.

 

It gives you experience in calling your dog without having a lead in your hand and in a location that is the 'real world'.

Multiple repetitions are required before I allow the dog to move greater distances away from me before I give my recall command.

It's a slow, steady development process, always with a hungry dog.

No leaping ahead and hoping all will work out okay.

It's no great advancement to move to recalls totally off lead.

But that said, I never put my dog in a situation where my recall command may fail.

In other words if you haven't got to Step 6 with your training, don't go to an off-lead dog park, release the dog and hope that your limited recall training will work for you.....you will be bitterly disappointed with the outcome.

Be practical, be smart. Your dog is only as reliable as your training will allow.

 

In Summary: 

We have to learn to read and understand the dog's behaviour to become successful dog trainers.

Be patient, be consistent and be disciplined in your approach.

Select the most appropriate training system that suits your dog's temperament.

Most importantly, don't have any performance expectations when you train.

 

Let the dog's actual performance surprise and delight you.

 

Mark Murray