I hear this all the time and my first questions are; ‘has your dog learned this queue’ and ‘how often do you practice it’?
Every morning, I open my front door and Charlie waits for his queue to cross the threshold without being leashed. I step outside and survey the surrounding landscape for anything dangerous or enticing and when it’s all clear, I say, ‘okay’ and Charlie happily bounds out the door to greet a new day. For those that are anti off-leash, I will add here that our routine is; I walk to the end of the driveway and by routine, Charlie comes to heel on my left where I fasten his leash, signal a high-5 and then say ‘okay, let’s go’ and off we go on a sniff-fest.
Today, a neighbor with her miniature schnauzer (Charlie’s friend) suddenly appeared from around the corner on our sidewalk. Charlie immediately stood at attention, tail high, laser beam focus on the schnauzer. Before, Charlie moved, I said (in a normal voice), “Charlie, come”, and lo and behold, Charlie broke focus from the Schnauzer and happily trotted over to me where I lavished him with paise, pets, leash, high-5 and a “let’s go’ rewards. It was at that moment that I realized what just happened. The result of countless hours of practice rewarding him and creating joy every time Charlie comes to me.
Charlie happily breaking focus from a competing motivator was the result of countless repetitions and reinforcements that were learned prior to this moment. Every single day, 7 days per week, I practice recall at least 2 times. Whether it’s on a 6’ leash, a long line, off-leash, inside or outside, we practice, practice, practice. BUT, practice is not enough.
What has he learned? Simply to obey? Nope. Nothing like that. Sure, he first had to learn what the verbal cue meant, but beyond that, with no treats in sight, why would he come to me? Here’s a list of reasons:
- I never call him for anything negative or for anything he doesn’t like. i.e. nail trim, pills, etc.. (I never scold or punish any dog ever, so that’s not a consideration).
- I never yell the cue at him (I never yell at him at all, ever, regardless).
- Whether he comes because I call him or he comes on his own seeking connection, I always reward, praise and love on him.
- I reward him when he looks at me upon hearing his name.
- At the early stages, as he was coming towards me, I shuffled backwards to create a game of chase or catch-up. I still do this, occasionally.
- At the early stages of learning, I paid out generously every single time.
- I never took a step towards him when he chose to ignore me in the early stages. That merely teaches a dog that when I cue ‘come’, I will come to you and that is not the objective.
- I practiced early and often as a game from 2 feet away, 5 feet away, 3 feet away, short distances generously rewarding each time.
- I NEVER call him away from playing with his mates when I have nothing greater to offer.
- In the early practice stages, I NEVER call him when I know he’s fully engaged in something else. Doing this simply erodes the cue and teaches the dog that his response is optional.
- I ensured I was never over his threshold for learning and that that he ALWAYS won – every single time.
- I never recall him to end his fun. I will leash him away from the door give him a yummy treat once inside.
- He knows that something great will happen every single time he comes to me whether I’ve cued him or he’s self-elected to come to me.
How do I know my dog is enjoying the recall game?
- He runs to me with a giant wagging tail, mouth in a gaping smile and a body wiggle that tells me I am the happy place in his life.
- He is not coming to me in a cower with low or tucked tail, head down, licking his lips, head turned partially to the side. There was never fear or force installed during any of his training. Charlie is a fear free, force free, positive reinforcement work of art.
He trusts me, is secure and confident in our relationship. Knows I will never betray his loyalty or trust. Knows he is safe with me.
His name and his recall are 2 of the happiest sounds in his life – every single time.