Does your dog have a fabulous recall – until they see another dog or person in the distance?

If this is your dog, then I can assure you there are so many other owners who have this struggle. You may have even experienced your dog (or you) being the distraction to another dog who is struggling with a recall.

Looking at this scenario from your dogs point of view when they are struggling to hear your recall, what do you see?

Someone new (who may have treats in their pocket), there may be a four legged friend with them that we can play with and then we have our owner, standing there, lead in hand, wanting to ruin our fun.

In a flash we have made our decision, we are off to say hello to our new friend – who may have treats in their pocket and will definitely want to play and give us a fuss.

So as their owner, how can you turn this around and help your dog see coming back to you as their best choice?

Remember one of my ‘Pearls of Wisdom for Dog Training’ –

Train for the situation rather than in the situation.

Training for the situation in this scenario would look like your dog exploring off lead with no tempting distractions around and you recall them.

Training in the situation would be only recalling them when they see a tempting distraction and hoping for the best.

By focusing on and rehearsing fun and consistency when training for the situation, you and your dog will have a far more relaxed experience when in the situation.

So a few tips for you to have some fun with –

Recall them back to you and as soon as they get near you throw a piece of their favourite food away from you in the opposite direction, so they run straight past you – this may be quite novel to your dog. Your intention is to have them come close and send them straight off again.

Recall them, have a fun play with a favourite toy like a tug and then send them off again for more sniffs and explores.

Recall them, have the lead visible, maybe in your hand and ask them to do one of their favourite party tricks – maybe a spin, then reward with a piece of their favourite food and send them off again.

Recall them and scatter some of their favourite food around your feet and allow them to have some fun hunting out all the food in the grass.

You can then start building in some lead time when you recall them – short bursts of their lead going on and instantly coming off with some of their favourite food and then you guessed it – they can go off exploring again.

Over time your dog is going to start to understand that a recall means even more fun rather than their party is over. So when you you find yourself ‘in the situation’, your dog is going to choose you over another person or dog.

You will still be your dogs hero, even when recalling them.

If this is an area you would love to help your dog with, give these a try and let me know how you get on. If you are also in a heat wave, like us, then next week is looking a lot cooler – just right for trying these tips out.

If you want any further advice I am always here to help.