Golden Rules of Perfect Recall!
Recall is a difficult skill to master! How on Earth are humans supposed to be more important to our dogs than squirrels, birds, other dogs and overwhelming smells?!
Recall is one of those skills where repetition really does the trick but there are few things that can help significantly so you can achieve a perfect recall! These are the golden rules and some of them may not be so obvious.
Rule number 1
Don’t use your recall cue too often.
But I said repetition is key right?… Yes! But if you recall your dog every five minutes, they have to resign from sniffing and exploring. If you overuse your recall cue - your dog will finally ignore it. Imagine being focused on something very important and someone is asking you to pass them something every 5 minutes. Quite frustrating right? I know I would start ignoring that person and at some point I would get quite angry too!
Rule number 2
Set your dog up to succeed and use long leads.
Dogs don’t always make the best choices, but humans don’t either! Eliminate the possibility of your dog ignoring your recall and shooting off the horizon by using a long lead. There are 5m, 10m, 20m and even 50m leads which you can use in open spaces.
If your dog ignores your recall and you have no control of them, it is not only a potentially dangerous situation, but is also very likely to get reinforced by a huge zoomies session, rolling in poo or eating something found in bush…
Practice makes permanent and if your dog practices ignoring your recall - it will happen more and more often.
Rule number 3
Practice in easy environments first.
Ignoring distractions is difficult so start your recall practice in your living room! Pair your recall cue with something fun or delicious and when you master it indoors - take it to the garden. Don’t go from garden to a busy city centre. This huge jump in environment difficulty has very little chance to work best. Take your time and practice in more and more busy environments when your dog is able to recall in a lower distraction area.
Rule number 4
If you’re being ignored - run away and make some noise!
This one isn’t what we usually do, but when your dog doesn’t come back when recalled - you have much more chance to get them back by running away while waving your arms and making funny noises than you have by chasing them. Think about a group of dogs playing together. There are chasers and the chased. If you are the chaser… Your dog must be the chased one! They will run away thinking it is the best fun ever!
But if you run away and catch their attention - you will become the chased one and your dog will try to catch you.
Rule number 5
Choose a good recall cue.
Make sure your recall cue is something you only say in the recall scenario. Your dog’s name is very likely being used multiple times a day so they won’t associate it with coming over to you. You can say your dog’s name and then add an extra cue on top like “here” “come” etc. That way, you will catch your dog’s attention by saying their name and then recall them with a cue meaning they have to run to you.
Rule number 6
NEVER tell your dog off for coming back!
Yes! Even if they have been running away from you for the last 15 minutes, you feel sweaty and out of breath and now Susan from across the street is giving you a funny look. This can be frustrating and you have every right to be annoyed…
But if you tell your dog off for coming back, you have actually punished them listening to their recall. This will make the recall working next time less probable.
Rule number 7
Make it fun!
Dogs thrive on fun! If you’re standing with your hands in your pockets and shout “Fido Come” with a bored voice they will not feel like you are fun enough to come over to you. But if you shout excitedly, slap your legs and make a few excited steps backwards, you have just became the best party in the park! And if you’re waving a tug toy - you have won the most entertaining person’s award in your dog’s eyes! Heck yeah they want to come over and play!
Do You Feel Ignored?…
Is your dog ignoring you on the walks? Do you have to fight for every speck of attention even when you have a full treat pouch with you?
I bet you can relate if your dog is from 6 months to 2 years old!
Teenage phase is when your sweet, obedient puppy starts testing boundaries, much like a human teenager! They may seem to "forget" cues, act a bit more stubborn, or suddenly become more interested in distractions. It's a time of growth, both physically and mentally, as they gain confidence and independence. Patience and consistent training are key to helping them navigate this phase—and don't worry, they’ll come out the other side a well-mannered adult with your guidance and training!
Teenage phase is where I found a ping-pong game to be a lifesaver!
This game builds a habit in your dog to pay you attention and always bounce back to you. We reward them for being close. Engagement with your dog is a base of everything and it is very important to keep practising the games to build it!
Practice the ping-pong game during your walk but also before you leave the house and right in front of your door outside. With time, your dog will learn the pattern and pay you attention straight away after you leave the house.
Here is a video of ping-pong game I recorded for my clients!
Is your dog driven by a motor even if they have a big walk?
You are not the only one! Below are a few activities you can include in your daily routine to tire your dog’s brain!
When the brain is tired - the body will follow but our dogs are athletes! Well… Some of them! They can run for miles but taking them for longer walks to tire them out will only make them fitter and able to walk more without being tired.
- Sniffing -
1) Scatter treats on an old towel and wrap it (and even put a knot on if your dog is particularly savvy) to let your dog sniff the treats out. Use a towel you’re not attached to as there is a big possibility it will be shredded!
2) Scatter treats in grass in the garden or on a walk and let your dog sniff them out. They may not be interested in them initially in the areas they find more exciting so start this one in the garden. You can use both of those methods to feed your dog their breakfast or dinner. You can use trees outdoors to hide treats in tree bark as well. You can purchase a snuffle mat if you’d like an easy sniffing enrichment.
-Shredding -
1) Have a cardboard box and fill it with packing paper, smaller boxes, empty toilet rolls etc. Hide some treats inside. You are very welcome to get creative with those and make it as difficult as you’d like. They may be weary initially so start with easy ones and progressively make them more challenging. Use a mix of daily food and some high value treats like boiled turkey in the box to make it even more valuable.
-Chewing-
1) Use long lasting natural chews from websites like ancodogtreats.co.uk or jrpetproducts.com. Chewing is a great activity which helps to get rid of stress hormones in dog’s body. Chew can be a good idea for the evening to calm down and add calming enrichment.
-Licking-
1) It may be useful to invest in a Licki Mat or just spread something tasty on anything that is safe to lick. You can spread pate, yogurt, liver paste, wet food or baby food on it and even freeze it to last longer and cool them don on hot days. This will help your dog to calm down a lot.
What is a dog lead?
Why do we need it and what does it do?
What a ridiculous question... We all know what lead is right?!
But do we?…
We can use lead just as a link to our dog. Something that keeps us attached when we are being dragged after our dog sees a squirrel.
But what if we do it in a smart way?
✅ Lead is a safety measure
Leads come in multiple shapes and sizes. We have short walking leads, flexi leads, long leads and even super long leads! All of them serve the purpose of keeping your dog under control. You can have a long lead to train recall and help your dog make the right decisions. You can keep them out of trouble with it. Short walking leads can be used to train loose lead walking and a lead tracing on the ground behind the dog can be your safety net to test your dog and your training!
✅ Lead is a training tool
Lead is one of the most useful training tools! Not to train your dog with it, but to set your dog up for success! By keeping your dog on a lead, you can manage their behaviour and achieve success training them much faster. Lead is simply helping them to make a good decision and avoiding a bad decision to be practiced and self reinforced. How are you going to teach your dog to come back to you reliably when they know that there are always funky smelling things in the hedge? 💩
No lead ❎
You call your dog but they didn't react and got to sniff (if only!) a fox poo... Fox poo here is a reinforcement! Your dog got a reward from somewhere else for ignoring your recall!
Lead on ✅
You recall your dog but they are going towards the bush. You can control the situation and slowly manage them to come back to you (always avoid yanking). When they are next to you, you give them a treat and play for a bit! Can you see it? You provided the reinforcement, therefore coming back to you is being conditioned as a good thing! The more you repeat this, the better your recall will get!
Try to walk your dog and treat the lead more life a safety belt than a steering wheel.
Your Dog Plays Jenga Every Day!
How to help your dog to win at their Jenga game and set your training up to succeed?
Picture your dog’s well-being as a Jenga tower. Each block in that tower represents their ability to handle stress. When life is calm and everything is going smoothly, the tower is solid, balanced, and strong.
But life isn’t always calm. When stressors like loud noises, a visit to the vet, or an unexpected guest come into your dog’s life, it’s like pulling blocks out of that Jenga tower. At first, removing a block here or there might not seem like a big deal. But as more and more blocks get pulled out, the tower starts to wobble. Each missing block makes the tower less stable, and eventually, if too many blocks are removed, the whole thing can come crashing down. This is when your dog might start showing signs of stress, anxiety or just more problematic behaviours. Puppies may chew on furniture more and your teenage dog may completely ignore your recall.
But here’s the good news: those blocks can be put back in.
Every time your dog engages in calming behaviours like sleeping, chewing, licking, sniffing, or shredding, it’s like adding a block back to the tower. These activities help rebuild the tower, restoring balance and stability. The more your dog can engage in these soothing activities, the stronger their Jenga tower becomes, and the better they can handle life’s ups and downs.
As a dog guardian, your goal is to help keep that Jenga tower standing tall. Pay attention to how many blocks are being pulled out during stressful times and make sure your dog has plenty of opportunities to put blocks back in. Encourage those calming behaviours—whether it’s a quiet nap in their favourite spot, a good chew session, or time spent exploring the world through their nose.
By helping your dog maintain their Jenga tower, you’re not just preventing it from falling; you’re also ensuring they have a solid, resilient foundation to face whatever life throws their way!