Lets Learn 'Recall' Game 1 !'

How to be the main focus of your dog when out and about and make recall fun !

The aim of this game is to make coming back to you fun ! No one can force a recall, your dog has to want to come back to you !

1. For this game you will need your dog, a long line and some high value treats

2. Simply throw a treat out for your dog to chase, when he has found it call him back to you..make sure you are enthusiastic, happy and fun ! and when he comes back to you reward him before throwing out another treat for him to chase

3. Repeat these steps a few times, always making sure you reward him for coming back to you

4. Once he is reliably racing back to you add your cue word , whatever trips of your tongue most naturally 'Come!' and 'Here!' are great followed by his name

5. The aim is for him to become almost a boomerang, once he is really good you can practice calling him back when he is halfway over to the thrown treat

5. If you have a family member who can help then even better, you can call him to each of you in turn rather like a relay race , always using the same cue and always high energy and rewarding when he returns to you

6.Practice, practice, practice is the key !

7.Once he is reliably returning on cue then slowly add more distractions eg other people, dogs starting from a great distance then gradually lessening it as he progresses, if he gets too distracted rewind your training to a level he's great at and try again

8.The most important factor is you have to be more fun than the dog/squirrel/person he wants to go and say hello to :)

This is just one of a few games that can help with recall, keep an eye out for more posts to follow !