Week 2: Basic Recall

Once Fido has that strong connection with the new cue, then we start the basic recall. Have your treats ready to go. The type of treats you use and how you present them is important. I suggest a variety of 2-3 types, cut into pieces appropriate for your dog, and mix them up in a bowl. If you are training inside, you can just set the bowl on the kitchen counter and take as needed. Or what works really well is a carpenter’s apron that can be purchased for a few dollars at most hardware stores. You can keep treats in one pouch, keys in another, etc., and it provides easy and fast access to the treats and doesn’t grease up your pockets!

So with that all taken care of, get your dog and take a few steps away from him and enthusiastically say “Fido, here.”  Say it only once and when he comes, reward with 1 treat at a time for a total of 10 seconds in what I term the Ritz-Carlton Method! I don’t count treats, but I do give one treat slowly and then the next, all the time saying “Fido, good here, good boy.” Use lots of praise incorporating the recall word for reinforcement. Do this 3-4 times a day for a few days. It should be clear that your dog understands that if he comes to you when you say your new cue, he will get lots of treats. It is helpful if you have another person to hold the dog’s leash as you are moving away. Remember we are building a conditioned response to the cue.

When you have the above going well, then you are going to add movement to the recall. So repeat the above but take 3-4 steps moving away from your dog, stop and say “Fido here.” Reward with the Ritz-Carlton Method. You will use 8-10 treats each time you practice this. And practice 3-4 times a day. Your goal is for Fido to run to you excitedly every time. Here now means run to my human to get petted, praised and good food!

When this is going well, add some distance, but ping-pong your distance: for instance, move only 4 feet, then the next time 2 feet, then 5 feet, etc. You don’t want to just keep increasing the distance as this becomes boring. You want the dog to anticipate hearing the cue and the best way to do this is to vary the distance so the dog never knows if it is going to be 3 feet or 10 feet. Build distance slowly, as again you are building the foundation so don’t rush it. Spend a week following this protocol and don’t add too much distance right now. There is plenty of time to do so later. And I would be doing this in the house or a place with few distractions. If your dog is doing really well, then move to the backyard or a porch or the front yard.  If you are not getting a good, consistent response then you are: 1) not using high enough value treats, 2) not treating for the full 10 seconds, 3) not practicing enough, or 4) working in a place with too many distractions.

I hope you found this article useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at cogoldens@gmail.com

Making training fun!

Chris O’Connor

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