Last night I went outside to feed the cats and called “NELLIE! NELLIE! POLLY! POLLY!” and both cats came running like circus cats from behind the barn. Later I took the dogs out to potty; Willie wheeled around in a microsecond when I called his name, and after I called “Tootsie, Come!,” she turned away from sniffing the ground and came running to me, ears flapping, eyes shining.
Full disclosure: I just love it when my animals come when I call. My heart swells up when I see them come running, as if there was nothing else in the world they would rather do. Of course, I know perfectly well that the cats come because it’s dinner time, and Tootsie comes because she knows that I often have a treat in my pocket, and Willie comes, well, because he’d come no matter what if I just asked him in a whisper. Don’t get me wrong: Each one of my pets do not come running instantly the microsecond that I call them every single time, no matter what. Polly comes if she is not busy hunting and she’d like her dinner. Nellie comes if she is not busyย hunting and she’d like petting and cooing and/or dinner along with it. Tootsie comes 95% of the time when I call her once, 4% of the time to a repeated “Tootsie, COME!” and 1% of the time after I say, in a low voice, “Tootsie! Whoa!” and then ask her to come again. Willie turns his body into a pretzel if I merely suggest he move toward me, even if a deer leaps up in front of his face. The only exception is if we are in a new environment and there is dog urine to smell. I’ve learned to give him a few minutes and let him sniff before asking him to respond to me. (More on this later.)
Whether the dogs and cats are coming simply because they hang on my every word and motion (Willie), because I probably have a treat in my pocket (Tootsie), or they know that I am about to pet or feed them (cats), I still adore it when I see them running to me. I can’t help it. I suppose it is egocentric of me, but no matter, that’s just what it is.
As I was watching, all wuzzy and affectionate as the dogs came when I called, I thought about what I have done to teach a really, really good recall. I thought it might be a good conversation to have among all of us: How do YOU teach a reliable recall? What are you expectations of your dog regarding a recall? We’ve discussed this some of this before on another blog, When is a Dog Safe Off Leash?, and I illustrate training methods in a DVD titled Lassie Come!, but I’d like to ask you how you train recalls so that we can all have a conversation about it. Here are some thoughts of my own, about what is important when thinking about training techniques and expectations:
1. KNOW THE INDIVIDUAL. Although it seems almost too obvious to mention, the fact is that most of my clients don’t seem to be aware of how much a dog’s personality and background affects its behavior and its need for training. Example: I’ve had Willie since he was a puppy, his genetics as a Border collie makes him more likely to come when called than dogs of some other breeds, and he is an especially responsive and people-oriented dog. That’s why I paid serious attention to his recall when he was young, but far less than I needed to with some other dogs. My expectations are also different: I don’t hesitate to take him into many situations off leash (not all of course, he’d never be off leash at a vet clinic for example). However, his concern about unfamiliar dogs, as I mentioned above, overwhelms him when we go to a new area in which there is the scent of a lot of other dogs. I those cases I simply leave the leash on until he begins to look relaxed, usually two to three minutes, and then he can be counting on to turn on a dime the second he hears my voice, bless him. However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t work hard when he was young on his recall. Recalls are hugely important to me, so I did indeed focus my on energy on ensuring that he would come when called. That included linking the cue (“Willie, Willie!”) with a variety of reinforcements (from chase and tug games to treats), and not asking him when it was over his head during early training sessions. But the sessions were short and easily accomplished because he loves so many things, from chasing (after me in this case) to playing with a toy or getting a treat. If I had to guess I’d say that he loved the chase most of all. I’ve never known dogs who seemed to love to run, just for the sake of running, as much as Wilie and his Uncle Cool Hand Luke. In short: easy breezy to train Willie’s recall.
Compare Willie to Tootsie: I got Tootsie when she was seven years old. She had no training until she was rescued, having lived for seven years in a tiny prison pumping out puppies. She is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a breed known for their sweet dispositions and love of laps, but not for being dogs who necessarily hang on your every word.ย When I got Tootsie I worked obsessively on two things: house training and coming when called. I also restricted (still do) her activity to areas as far away from the road as possible, even when on leash. I simply don’t want her to have any connection or interest in the world anywhere near the road. I linked “Tootsie Come!” with me running away from her, and lots of treats when she caught up. (You can see this method illustrated in the DVD Lassie Come!) Early on I learned that, to Tootsie, running itself is merely a way to get to the food sooner, and not inherently reinforcing to her as it is toย Willie. Neither does she have any interest in any kind of toy, no matter what kind. Luckily she adores food (if she could type, she’d write SHE ADORES FOOD! PLEASE SEND SOME). Thus, she was easy to motivate, but she also is a spaniel with seven years behind her of not responding to a human voice, so I worked really, really hard (and still do) to maintain her recall. I also am aware that she links the phrase “Tootsie, Come!” to running to me, but not just “Tootsie.” Drop the “Come!” and nothing happens.ย I have had to work to train others (of the two-legged variety) to be sure to say the full phrase to get her to come, because otherwise it doesn’t work.
Even though Tootsie’s response is impressive for a mill dog, it is context specific. With very few exceptions, I would simply never let her off leash anywhere off the farm. Late last winter I let her off leash in an isolated patch of woods (ie, away from a road) for a few minutes, but only after we had been on walks on those trails several times and I had tested her recall with a long line. Even then, I never took my eyes off of her, even for a second. Willie was off leash the entire time, and I thought little of it, because he never goes more than 20-30 yards away without stopping and checking in. “Are you coming?” (Okay, truth in blogging here: I did fuss a little; because on occasion Willie was out of sight because the woods were pretty thick. When that happened I’d call him back, and asked Jim if he’d keep his eye on Willie while I watched over Tootsie.)
In summary, both dogs received a lot of training, although Tootsie probably had ten times as many training repetitions than Willie did in the same amount of time. I was able to be much sloppier with Willie than Tootsie, in that he will come to “Willie, Willie,” or “That’ll Do” or a butterfly landing on a flower in China, whilst Tootsie comes to “Tootsie Come!” and nothing else. Willie’s reliability is stellar and truly brilliant in all but one predictable context, while Tootsie is only reliable in a certain context in a certain area, and so they are managed very, very differently.
2. NEVER STOP TRAINING. Not long ago someone expressed surprised that I still gave Tootsie a treat for coming when called after having had her for two years. Yup, and she’ll be getting them–not always, but often–until the day she dies. Willie gets reinforced for coming in a variety of ways, but I often don’t even think about it. His desire to be with me is so strong that I simply don’t need to use another kind of reinforcement very often, but… and here’s the important point: I still do. Not often, in that the “intermittent” has some pretty long periods between a conscious reinforcement, but I’ll still give him a treat or whip out a tug toy and turn and walk to the barn (the best!) to be sure that I am keeping him reliable. Because recalls are so important to me, I never, ever take them for granted.
3. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING. This is one of the hardest concepts to convey to regular dog owners while training recalls–that coming when called in the living room is not predictive of reliably coming when called anywhere else. At least, not until the cue has been proofed in a variety of contexts and levels of distraction. Once you understand the concept that behavior learned in one context doesn’t automatically translate to a different context, it is hard to imagine not understanding it. I suspect that is why so many training books and advice sites pay little attention to its importance, but if I was teaching classes now it is one of the first things I’d discuss and illustrate. I always compared it to forgetting your lines during dress rehearsal, when all that is different is the clothes you have on, or forgetting how to solve a math problem during an exam, because you are nervous. Once you can give people real life examples of how dogs are just like us in this regard, they seem to get it immediately.
4. TRAIN THROUGH DISTRACTIONS. I always assume that I’m going to lose the competition at some point with the environment, and have a dog who ignored my cue. It is essential, I would argue, to anticipate this and train through it. I use the same method that so many use: I’ll put something of interest down on the ground (starting with something of moderate interest, eventually working up to something truly great, at least to the dog), back away a few feet and call the dog to come. I’ll expect it not to, and assuming it doesn’t, walk toward it and show it something better (to the dog) that I’m holding my hand. Then I’ll back up, call again and give it the treat or other reinforcement if it takes a few steps toward me (or perhaps, in extremity, just turns its head). After many sessions of that, once the dog will reliably come away when it’s seen the treat or toy, I’ll call come when he or she is distracted. If I get no response, I’ll go closer but this time not give them the treat. This time I’ll make a big show of eating the treat, or even better, giving it to another dog. (That absolutely drove Tootsie crazy, and was a significant factor in her learning a reliable recall.) Then we’ll take a short break and try again. Most dogs respond beautifully; the next time you call come while they are sniffing the pigeon poop or the calling card left by the dog next door, your dog will come running. Of course, you notice I said “most dogs,” so you need to know your dog really well to set this up correctly.
5. TRAIN FOR TROUBLE. I would never let a dog loose anywhere without having both a reliable recall AND a great stop. In my experience it is much more effective to stop a dog from running away from you to “Whoa” or another signal than calling it to come to you as it is running in the other direction. After all, “Come” is one single cue for what is functionally 4 actions: 1) Switch focus and attention from whatever you were doing to the caller. This is not a small thing to ask. Ever said “Just a minute” to someone who called your name when you were about to finish an email, or maybe adding a comment to a blog? 2) Put on the brakes, which takes a lot of energy. 3) Turn around, and 4) Run to your human. That’s why I teach Stop once I’ve gotten the fundamentals of a recall well started. I teach Stop when I am close to the dog and it is beginning, just beginning, to move away from me. I’ll blurt out my cue (I usually say “Whoa!” but sometimes “No!” comes out of my mouth. They sound very much the same to dogs, so I don’t worry about it too much) and then instantly reinforce by moving backwards (chase) and/or giving a treat or throwing a toy. Gradually try it when the dog is farther away from you, or distracted by something, but only work on one of those at a time. If you want to work on distance, be sure the dog is not distracted. If you want to work on distractions, work with the dog closer to you than usual. Make sense?
I’d love to hear from you about all this: How do you train a recall? Any methods you especially like? (I learned so much from Leslie Nelson and her Really Reliable Recall.) How do your methods differ depending on what dog you are training? I could go on and on, but I’d like to hear from you from your perspective. . .
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Lots to do before we leave for Europe (three weeks? eeeps!). So much food to process for the winter, gardens to put to bed, preparations for the sitter so he doesn’t run out of food for dogs, cats and sheep. We’ll leave when it is relatively warm, and well could come back to the depth of winter. Last time we went to Germany around the same time we left when it was in the 40’s and 50’s (F) and came back to temperatures in the 10’s and 20’s and about 15 inches of snow on the ground. Hard to imagine that now, the weather is unseasonably warm and just gorgeous. We finally got some good rain so the sheep are happy to be back grazing on grass and foraging for wild apples. The kitties are happy too, and the cool evenings find them beginning to curl up again together. Here they are, posing for an Escher painting in an empty planter:
And Nellie posing in a chair, looking very Modern Arty…
Fernando Camacho says
Recall is so important and too many people think that after you first teach it your done for good. I love the fact that you reward your dogs most times they come for life and think that’s definitely one of the keys to getting a rock solid recall.
Aliesha says
I always make sure to tell everyone that the recall is one of (if not the) most important thing to teach your dog. I start off by teaching the name first. You have your dog look at you every time you call his name. Then because you are clicking for that and the dog is expecting that treat they will start to run to you from wherever they are. Then you can add the word come after their name so they start to understand what that is. I always recommend they use a high end reward whenever they can when they call their dog to them. I also use the running away trick if the dog is a bit distracted.
For my dog now because I have been able to stop her from chasing squirrels and recall, I use a lot of praise, sometimes treats, and a game of ball when I can. Being an Aussie, she is like Willie, in that she wants to be with me…most of the time. She too has a bit of anxiety when it comes to other dogs that she can’t see, so I let her check places out more than I would other dogs.
Have fun in Germany!
Robin Jackson says
Recall and Leave it have always been the two highest priority behaviours in our house, even before I became ill. From the time a dog or cat first entered our family, we work on it. A few thoughts to add to what you’ve mentioned…
I try to never call an animal for something they won’t like, even if it’s just going home, unless it’s a real emergency. If I need a dog for bath time or nail clipping or going home from a play date, I go to the dog and put on the leash. And I always praise the animal for the recall, no matter what they were doing before that.
I do a lot of “catch and release” where I call the dog to me, give the dog a treat or a pat, then send the dog back to whatever they were doing before. So if the dog was playing outside, I open the back door, call them over, reward, then wave them back outside. If the dog is playing in the house, I call them over, reward, then send them back.
I do this with the cats as well, except that I have found with cats that many individuals ignore human voices. So I condition them to a little bell instead.
I’ve never used the running away method, but I do use something from your book, THE OTHER END OF THE LEASH, which is that I don’t face the animal head on, but turn at least sideways and try to angle my feet a bit towards the direction I want the pet to run to.
With the dogs, I also stick out my hand for a nose target.
We also practice before every meal. I use the regular recall cue to call the dogs to me. (Another tip from your book–we added a group name for our dogs, in our house “Doggos.”) Their reward for coming for that recall is that I ask Dilly to bring me the empty food bowls. This really adds to the reward history for the Group recall.
I do Catch and release 2 or 3 times a day, just randomly. Even when the rewards are pretty small, just a pat on the shoulder, the pets simply to really enjoy this as a game. I think they like the predictability of it.
The end result is that all of our pets have a very reliable recall–for me. However, they mostly ignore the kids! Tulip will go to my son Michael, her owner, when he’s holding the leash, but that’s about it. but I’m the only one who does the Catch and Release game, so that may be the difference.
p.s. Your cats are so cute!
Neilee says
All of my dogs are food motivated so the reward is easy, a handy treat pouch full of “cookies”. Two of my dogs have recalls that I trust during hikes in the woods. My younger male is a dog that I’m not sure I’ll ever trust off leash outside a fenced area. During our hikes I practice their “HERE” command and they all get a treat. When we’re back home we play a fun recall game. I throw a treat out into the yard and the dog chases after it. Once they get it I give the “HERE” command and run away from the dog. The dog then gets a treat once they catch me. All my dogs love it and it’s also a great way to make them use their noses!
Jackie Horan says
I fully agree that getting the solid recall (or any reliable behavior) is in knowing the individual dog. Many clients don’t seem to realize how much their dog’s personalities have to do with effective training. I’ve always spent a lot of time explaining to people about finding out what the best reward is in their dogs opinions before starting the training and then gradually building up their recalls starting from so simple they can’t fail. As for the stop behavior, I’ve always used the Wait cue. I start it stationary and build them up to running away from the handler before being cued. I suppose the Drop command could work in that situation too?
Beth with the Corgis says
We got Jack as a puppy. Recall and “sit” were the first things we worked on. Per the advice of the breeder of my parents’ Chessie, we started recall when he was still a little puppy (10 weeks old) by taking advantage of young puppies’ natural tendency to run up to you when you crouch down and clap or wiggle your fingers. It’s actually a capture training method. Crouch down and clap your hands. If the puppy ignores you, don’t say anything. If pup runs toward you, wait til he’s a couple yards away and moving toward you at a good clip and start saying “come come come!” in a very happy voice. Reward heavily when puppy arrives (this means walking around with part of the day’s portion of kibble in your pocket at all times). Using this method, you can easily practice recall 5 to 10 times a day with pup not realizing you are “training” at all. You can train sit in the same way, by taking advantage of pup’s tendency to put his butt on the ground when he is in front of you, so he can look up at your face more easily.
Once puppy has the idea and is coming, you can then call pup’s name and say “come come” before he is coming towards you. At this point, bribe with treats if necessary. The secret is to do all this before puppy is 4 months old and starting to get independent.
Then you move onto the recall game. This takes two people and a safe, empty space with no distractions. Both people have bags of treats. One person holds pup by the collar, the other walks about 15 paces away (you need to be far enough for pup to work up to a full speed run). The person without the pup shakes the treat bag and calls “Pup, come come come!” while the other person is still holding the collar. After puppy starts pulling or whining, the holder releases the caller and pup runs towards the other person. I find it helpful to repeat “come come come!” the whole time, to reinforce the word. When puppy arrives, he gets 10 or 15 tiny treats, then that person holds the collar and the other person calls pup back for more treats. After a couple repetitions, you can phase out the lure and give the request before the puppy sees the treats. Since you are working with a young puppy, treats are given every time.
This alone gives probably a 90% reliable recall if you are working with a food-motivated dog. The key is that it’s not training, it’s treated like a game and repeated often enough that the word “come” gets so deeply associated with running full speed for treats that the word alone triggers the action.
I sharpened Jack up with a 30-foot lead, dropped treats, and a clicker. At this point he will do a full-speed recall over the top of an open bait bag filled with cheese and dried fish. If we are out and he smells something he wants to eat (usually cat poop) and is heading towards it, I use Trisha’s method of yelling “wait” first to stop him, before calling him back to me.
We got Maddie as an adult. She had a decent recall. To sharpen her up, I took advantage of her “monkey see, monkey do” personality. I put Jack in a sit-stay, gave Maddie’s leash to my husband (since her stay is not so solid), walked across a field (about 30 paces or so), and called “Jack, Maddie, come come come!” Jack already had a reliable recall and came running, which brought Maddie right along in his wake. Her recall is pretty good, but she is one of those dogs whose ears turn off if she puts a critter to ground or follows her nose. I have not done the work with the long line that I did with Jack, and it shows. She does have high prey drive and so I don’t think she’ll ever be 100% reliable if there is the possibility that something might run across her path. However, it’s also an example of that maxim that the easy dog (Maddie) does not get as much training time as the bossy dog who tests you (Jack), and so ironically the easier dog ends up not as well-trained as the tougher one.
Ben says
Another awesome post, as usual ๐
I definitely agree having a reliable come is suuper duper important.
1. Know the individual: Makes total sense to me. Also, I think a lot of people under appreciate the effect of time. How many people would have put in the time Trisha did with Tootsie every day? What solvable things in life are not solved by putting in serious work and being patient?
2. Never stop training: It makes sense to me now to continue rewarding intermittently.
3. Context is everything: Again, totally makes sense to me.
4. Train through distractions: Yeah, cool stuff. Hey what do you guys thing about the method of having a long leash and “forcing” the dog to come (obv NOT roughly) if they fail to act on cue? It seems to me that its easier to find out what works to motivate your dog then what works to “correct” your dog, when they decide that they would rather not come this time. This to me is the most interesting part. When you take into account things that bad ideas for corrections (doing nothing, punishment, etc) you are not left with that many options. At least that it seems like to me.
5. Train for trouble: Yeah, the stop command seems like an excellent idea.
Beth with the Corgis says
Oh yes, I forgot to mention the importance of what Robin says above: catch and release. When we go hiking (assuming there are not likely to be bears) I carry treats and call the dogs to me to get one a half-dozen times or so. If you only call the dog when it’s time to leash them up, they will soon learn to ignore you.
I have a food-motivated hearing-impaired cat (white with blue eyes, but a tiny patch of amber in one eye; she seems to hear very high and very low frequencies and nothing in between). A very high, yodeling “Kitty kitty Boo-Boo!” (her name is Boo) at feeding time over a period of weeks now means that we can get her to come running at any time with that phrase.
Chris from Boise says
We’ve worked with a dog like Kat’s Finna (the hurricane in need of a bottle) for five years now. Habi is now able to go off-leash hiking with my husband up in the foothills outside of town, and handles dog/people meet-and greets, mountain bikes, and wildlife with amazing equanimity. This was not always so (as a matter of fact, it’s still unbelievable to us). Her recall really sharpened up with Robin’s ‘catch and release’, game which we call ‘tag’. Her reward for coming is getting to go again, so she’s reached the stop-on-a-dime turn-and come-stage. She is proof that miracles (plus Prozac and years of behavioral modification) really do happen. Do I trust her to have a perfect recall in all situations, though? Nope. On the rare occasion she’s been at a beach, we literally have to block and grab her before she keels over from exhaustion from chasing waves, and is a situation where I wouldn’t even try a recall. That’s an obsessive-compulsive border collie for you. I work very hard to put her in situations with a high likelihood of success.
Aussie Bandit, our Zen Master, is like Willie. His greatest joy is to be with us, so he’ll come at any excuse…not that he’ll spurn a treat or two (he’s a dog who was never asked to think before he was given to us at age five to mentor wild Habi. It has been so much fun to watch his brain wake up. Clicker-training worked wonders with both of them).
Leda Van Stedum says
I know that I am very fortunate to have dogs that can eat within inches of each other and not fight over food. I have done this method with up to 5 dogs. The dogs have a pack name, “Knuckleheads.” So I go to the door and say in a happy voice, “Knuckleheads, come.” When they arrive at the door and come into the kitchen, I throw kibble on the floor. Anyone who is lagging or refuses to come in, is too late for the “Puppy Party.” I say, “Too bad” and make a big deal over the other dogs as they scavenge for the kibble. I let the erring dog watch through the door. When the food is gone, I let him/her come in. Usually the erring dog is not late for the Puppy Party again.
We share 6 foot fences with three of our neighbors and each has multiple dogs. My Tibetan Spaniel likes to attack the fence with the three Italian Greyhounds next door and one sounds like a German Sheperd responding. Most of the time she will Leave It, but not always. My Italian Greyhound was a stud in a puppy mill for three years. Today I could not even get him with Tripe at the Puppy Party. I waited 10 minutes, called him again and gave him some kibble. I also have a Mini Aussie and he never refuses to come. He checks in with me like your Willie. So yes, every dog is an individual. I try to reward 98% of the time. You never know when a recall will be life threatening if they fail to come when called.
Again I would not have Puppy Parties without knowing the pack can eat closely together without incident.
Ann says
I have two standard poodles, mother and daughter. The puppy is not quite seven months old and hasn’t been to an off-leash park yet and I’m in no hurry to take her to one. However, she seems to believe that I am a goddess among mortals, one to whom it is always wonderful to come when called and under whose feet she ought to be the rest of the time. Her mother, though, much as she adores me, is also powerfully attracted to squirrels, some other dogs, young children and anyone with a ball or a Frisbee. I have worked on her recall for many, many hours and continue to do so, but never feel totally secure about it. I’ve been feeling more confident lately, though and I think that’s because I decided to give her a top-value treat any time I call her to me when we’re walking in the off-leash area of forest near where we live. She never gets a large piece of dried liver or a third of a hot dog, all at once, any other time. Being a standard poodle, she figured out that recall ==> excellent food reward the second time out. I would hate to deal with her disdain if for some reason I wasn’t able to produce the reward when she came to me. ๐
Sharon Yildiz says
I’ve found that the best way to get a good recall is to get a dog bred to be a biddable sports dog. (Or mix of this type of dog).
The dogs that I’ve had from 2002 to the present (2 personal Border Collies–one working lines and one conformation lines; 2 foster BCs from working lines, 1 Papillon from agility/obed/conf. lines) have all come instantly, 99.5% of the time on the first command, with no particular training. I used to do round-robin recalls, etc. for months with my puppies prior to 2002, but none of my more recent dogs were ever formally trained in an informal recall other than to get an occasional treat for fast compliance. I think they’re probably all pretty much Willy clones.
My Pap is total velcro except when doing agility and playing Frisbee. Every time I think he’s gone off out of sight, he’s actually an inch from my ankle, looking up adoringly.
What a nice change from my last small dog, a Parson Russell Terrier out of hunting lines. That dog–who was the most titled PRT of his time in the world–would come “almost” instantly. First, he’d run 50 yards away from me and kill some innocent wild creature, then he’d race back and do a perfect recall.
After spending years trying advanced recall training with him–including a consultation with John Rogerson in the UK–I finally decided to get a non-hunting breed for my next small dog. Just love my Pap. Zero recall training, but turns on a dime to race to me. And nobody dies along the way.
Brandy says
I’m a newbie at this “dog-training” thing (in our house, there is a lot of “people-training”, too :-). We are fortunate that our terrier-shih-tzu mix really loves us, and we always reward her for coming (sometimes there’s a party, sometimes just a pat, but always a reward). But if a rabbit took off in front of her, she wouldn’t hear a nuclear explosion, much less me calling her. So she is like Tootsie-always on leash unless we’ve been there before, have “proofed” come in that environment, and I know there aren’t any rabbits about :-). We have your book, Trisha, and I’m going to start working on Whoa-I think we might have more success with the “stop, then come” system-although with her prey drive, I’m not sure. This is the part where knowing your dog comes in, and she turns into a single-minded rocket when something runs from her. Maybe someday she’ll have “perfect recall”, but then again, maybe not.
Kaz Augustin says
Like Neilee, our dogs were/are also highly food-motivated. They also love attention, which can work almost as well. Mini bull terriers, doncha know? ๐ We trained recall with and without treats, but the trial came when, one night, we let Cookie out for her 10pm toilet stop. She was fascinated by something in the corner of the front yard. Think black and white dog in the dark. We didn’t know what was going on, until she began snapping and tumbling…with a cobra!
Oh my. Black dog, black snake, black night. Sausage has always had the more reliable recall but we tried our best with Cookie and, wouldn’t you know it, she came running back to us!! So even with bull terriers, it CAN work, but you’ve got to put the training in. (We examined her all over and she emerged from the fracas without a scratch. Unfortunately, we had to dispatch the snake…it was a 6-footer. Occasional hazard in these parts.)
Deanna in OR says
Your “Lassie Come!” DVD was valuable help with training my older dogs (10 yo) to come more reliably, when they were younger. I have called my older Collie off of chasing a deer, but I don’t consider our BC to be quite as reliable, at least not with me (more so with my husband). One thing I learned with our Border Collie when she was young, and we would take her to the park for some Frisbee or agility practice–she quickly learned that to “Come!” as we walked toward the car meant “The fun is over!” and she would play keep-away then. This took a while to figure out how to train around that! Both of the older dogs still get intermittent rewards for coming when called.
Now with my younger Collie, Bree, (2 yo), I worked very hard to ensure a reliable recall. We are lucky to have a couple acres, all fenced, to safely practice in. One thing I do a lot of is to call Come!, get a reward, and quickly release to go play again. I do this with her (and the older dogs, too!) whether it is from 400′ away, playing with dog-friends, or just to come in the back door….collar-touch, be rewarded, and then be released to go play some more. So they never know when this is the time when we will go in the house, and playtime (outside, at least) is done.
I know what you mean about that heartwarming feeling, when Bree comes pounding at me from far away, even from playing with a bunch of other dogs, when friends are over.
Other things I’ve found to work well for getting to a good recall (things I teach my students)–
*Use the recall word when they are coming to you anyway–“Come!” as they hear their dinner going into their food bowl.
*Practice “one-step comes” frequently–very short recalls, with rewards, easy to do lots of repetitions. This is especially good to help the HUMAN practice a consistent sound for their recall word, as well as the dog. It supposedly takes at least 1000 repetitions to establish a habit, and 20 of these a day, with a handful of kibble, on or off leash, in different places…in only a few weeks, both dog and human have a habit established–human gives a consistent cue, and dog responds now by habit to that cue. It’s good to have a habit of saying “Come!” in a consistent way, when you are panicked about your dog heading away into danger.
*A dog that comes when called is ALWAYS a good dog–even if they just killed a squirrel or rolled in something disgusting. It might only take one scolding when a dog comes to ruin a recall. We have such a tendency to scold our dogs who have done something we don’t like, even though they came to us afterwards, and it really contaminates the recall.
* “Come!”, reward and release (as much as possible)–why would they want to come to us if the fun always ends when they do? I usually put a collar-touch in just before the reward, just so my dogs don’t view my reaching toward their collar as a signal that the fun is definitely going to end this time.
*Move away from the dog as she comes to you, especially when training. It really speeds up the dog and keeps them focused on catching you rather than checking out other distractions. We do restrained-recalls in class, and it is always amazing to see how a dog may just trot toward their human if the person is just standing there, but even a little motion away from the dog as they come, and the dog really starts running. A trainer I once had said “Dogs don’t chase parked cars”.
It was very gratifying just tonight in my Proofing and Distractions class–one of my students with a rescue Dachshund did a restrained recall, moving away from her dog before calling him and then continuing her motion away, and he came running to her. She said it is the first time he has ever come to her when she called, and she was almost in tears. She did it once more and he came running even faster. This was running past several distractions, including food (in mesh cages), toys, and several other dogs.
Susan McKeon says
I work a lot with retired racing greyhounds (+ my own 3 ex-racers); a breed that supposedly doesn’t ‘do’ recall! Like your blog, in my opinion, it’s all about understanding the individual dog and their prime motivators/reinforcers.
One of the first things I tend to teach to greys and their handlers is ‘nose to hand’ targeting. To me, it’s the perfect way to introduce the fundamentals of using a reward marker and as it’s often the first thing an ex-racer encounters in training, it has a very powerful ‘pull’ due to the high reinforcement schedule initially used. The added bonus is that with enough repetition, you get a mini-recall built in! I teach the recall separately to the ‘touch’ and I always reward at the end of it (for sighthounds, anyway). My ‘not so secret weapon’ in sighthound recall is a bunny ball (tennis ball covered in cured rabbit skin) – handlers can keep it in their pocket and whip it out at exactly the right moment and encourage their grey to come back to them.
Personally, I love using ‘touch’ with my own hounds – it really helps build confidence and I use it lots every single day. I tend to incorporate it into a chase game – with the hounds chasing my flat palm to touch. I do think the biggest thing though, is understanding your own dog – when practising recall, I want to set my dog up for success – if he’s too busy sniffing pee-mail or eating fresh grass, I won’t call and I’ll wait it out until I can see he’s finished.
Frances says
I also use Wait! It gets used and reinforced many times a day, often because the reward is simply getting to do what the dogs are waiting for (get out of the car, hunt the treats, go through the door), and so it is probably the most reliable behaviour that I have taught my dogs. Most of our walks are off leash, bar a few yards from the car to the gate, and both dogs are very good about staying reasonably close and checking up on me frequently, but I take care to fill a pocket with treats and practice recalls regularly. Like you, I love to see them bounding joyfully across the field to me, mouths smiling, eyes gleaming, ears flying!
Sophy needs a reason to come – either because I sensibly wait till she has finished the important business of checking for rabbits under every bush and is ready to move on anyway, or because an almost certain treat is worth the whiff of two rabbits in a hole. One of our walks includes a sewage works much loved by the dogs for its many foolish rabbits, and dreaded by owners because of the risk of drowning – a good recall is essential there, and they get a big fuss and jackpot for coming away. Poppy is like Willie – there are few things in the world better than her human – but I still reward her intermittently, even when the distance she has to come is only a yard or two. Making a huge, loud business of how good dogs who come get treats encourages the others no end! Jilly, my neighbour’s Border Terrier, is the biggest challenge, largely because her owner cannot grasp the simple principles of being consistent with the cue, and never scolding the dog when she does eventually come! Jill is getting better though, as she is VERY food motivated – the expression on her face when she had the eureka moment “I run to her, and she gives me treats. I can make a human give me treats!” is one I will never forget.
Michelle Fuller says
Hi I have a 6yr old Standard Schnauzer, Morgan, who doesn’t respond to treats AT ALL when out and isn’t enthusiastic about toys when training either. Unfortunately I have so far not found any way to teach him recall as I can’t offer a better reward than the smell of other dogs or chasing things! As a result I no longer let him off lead, which I find very unfair. I have 2 mini schnauzers that are great at recall but are influenced by Morgan, and am concerned that if he runs away they will follow. I live in rural Ireland and would love to let him run around but I am concerned about livestock and also he has a habit of lunging/chasing cars!! ANY advise would be very welcome… Thanks….
Nic1 says
This is such an important behaviour to establish and having a high drive reactive dog, off lead is restricted to familiar environments where there are limited distractions and areas that are flat, wide open spaces so that I have good line of vision. Woodland areas can really amp her over threshold so I choose to avoid walks in the woods. Sometimes, management is the best option all round so the dog just isn’t set up to fail. Any new environment, I prefer to keep her on a lead. But I have found that in general, beaches tend to be great places for her off lead. No wildlife to chase and lots of space to avoid any interactions with other dogs and people if necessary and she just seems to want to enjoy a nice, relaxed walk pottering about..
I have really tried to help my dog to learn to love running back to me and as Trisha described, watching a dog run back grinning with soft squinty eyes is quite possibly one of the best feelings in the world. I seem to fill up with joy when I see her doing this and it has got to the point where on most occasions, the reward seems to be for both of us to enjoy a nice cuddle! ๐ But I found her recall pretty easy to establish in environments that are low in distractions, as do most people right? ๐ Simply saying her name followed by ‘Come!’ and running in the direction I want her to come seems to have done the trick. It is genuinely fun for us. Therefore, there is a big internal source of reinforcement – dopamine.
In environments with distractions, the rewards have to be Kong squeaky balls thrown for her – food doesn’t cut it for her, nor is she interested in a cuddle if there is a big, strange dog approaching or a herd of sheep.
When teaching any behaviour, raising criteria is a tricky area to get right I have found and I have had some epic failures where I realise that my dog is suddenly way over threshold on the scent of a hot trail or on sight of a trigger for reactivity. I have therefore had to add in some counter conditioning – prey = a game of chase or a great game of ball. However, this is a constant work in progress. I have days where she clocks a rabbit or a squirrel and she will instantly turn and run towards me, which indicates to me that she has a good association of prey with a game of ball chasing. I also have had days where I can lose her in a second to the hot trail of a pheasant or the sight of something in the distance I can’t see…..my quick to arouse, high drive dog will always find the thrill of chase the most reinforcing behaviour of all. Avoiding this has therefore been the key to establishing effective recall when off lead. Redirecting it has only been possible thanks to Kong! I need to buy shares in that company…!
Environmental rewards are incredibly motivating for her I have found. The ‘Premack Principle’ – by calling your dog and simply releasing her immediately as she returns as a reward – has been really effective in getting her to automatically check in regularly and I still throw in an additional reward occasionally with a toy or a ball toss too.
‘Recall’ is always something I am working on, along with everything else really. Behaviour is constantly adapting with the environment and as we know, it gets better the more your practice it, both good and bad. It’s always the case of trying to set the dog up to practice the good stuff and limit the stuff you don’t want. Challenging, but rewarding.
Any more thoughts on reinforcement rates for establishing solid recall? Trisha mentions that even though Willie is internally reinforced by recall, he still gets some additional motivation through a game of tug, for example. I read (I think in ‘The Culture Clash’) that some marine biologists tend to follow continual rates of reinforcement even after behaviour has been established. Leslie McDevitt mentions this in ‘Control Unleashed’ too, when trying to establish a ‘default behaviours’.
Pharaoh says
My boy has a magnificent recall. In certain contexts! I can whistle and he’ll come streaking over from 200ft away even when he wants to meet a new dog, but if he sees a cat or a rabbit all bets are off. He’s from field lines, and I’ve accepted that nothing I can offer him (not even the squeaky tennis ball!) comes anywhere close to the thrill of the chase. After whatever he’s crashed through the bush after eludes him, he’ll bound back to me with shining eyes, but during the chase I could set off a cannon behind him with no reaction. For that reason, he is never off-leash in wildlife (or cat) heavy areas.
By far, Mick’s favourite recall game is catch and release, of sorts. If I spy a potential distraction and he’s ahead of me, I whistle for him. He comes running towards me, and instead of stopping at my feet he bolts past me while I throw his squeaky ball. Gotta engage that desire to chase!
Rose C says
Five years ago before I had my own dogs, I dogsat for a 2-yr old cockapoo, Sophie, whose leash accidentally slipped off my hand and immediately she just took off. I kept running after her, calling out her name frantically, while she kept running away. Luckily, this happened on a weekend in a vacant office parking lot. I was in severe panic, first, for the dog’s safety, and second, I felt accountable because it wasn’t even my dog! I was shaking inside, I felt so helpless like a mother witnessing her children trapped inside a burning house (never been in that situation but yes, that was just about how it actually felt). The dog started heading towards the main road and though my knees were weak as jell-o and my inside felt like it is being drained out of me, I tried to run faster. My will was going faster than my legs that I actually stumbled down hard onto my knees and couldn’t get up. The dog was about 25-30 feet away from me and happened to stop and turn around and saw me standing on my four and just like that, she started trotting towards me. She must have thought I was doing a play bow or something. I was so relieved when she came within my reach and at that time, I still managed to keep my better sense and not speak in an excited nor frustrated voice nor move fast that can set her going again. Later, I found out that Sophie had done the same to her owner who chased after her for a full 15 minutes going round and round a building. When I got my first dog, I read ‘The Other End of the Leash’ and so I learned that everything that I did with Sophie was wrong. No wonder she kept running away!
For my own dogs, I use one, though often a combination, of these methods:
Always starts with: ‘(Name), come!’ – I have a particular tone that I use when I say this.
I may follow with a ‘Pup, pup!’ or ‘Here!’ or a distinctive clap if I can see that they are not budging from what they are sniffing or interested in. I combine this with a start-stop move then a lure or invitation that I am about to run the other way.
If I cannot see them, or if they are really far away from me, I use the distinctive clap which I use only for ‘Come’ (cupped hands, steady intervals and consistent in sound). The clap when used alone, works 80% on Ludy and 100% on Dani. Often, I’d go for the clap right right away but I still want to
Rose C says
Ooppps, sorry, hit an enter button by accident.
. . . . The clap when used alone, works 80% on Ludy and 100% on Dani. Often, Iโd go for the clap right away but I still want them to respond to a verbal ‘Come’ cue. I always treat them for coming because it is one command that I want them to always respond to, no matter what.
Coming towards me after being called, Ludy usually trots while looking at me with anticipation of the reward. Dani always comes running enthusiastically, ears flapping in all directions, and as I watch her run towards me at full speed, I always play it as a slow motion in my head. If I’d put words in Dani’s mouth, it was like her saying, “Here I am! I’mmm commminggg!!!!” also in slow motion (sort of like those beach movie scenes with long lost lovers being reunited). ๐
KT says
Sheesh…I’m always SOOOO jealous when I hear others talking about a reliable recall. I’ve tried with Tucker since he was a puppy. His problem(or MY problem) is that there is nothing I can find that motivates him consistently. He’s not a foodie, doesn’t like toys or chase. If anyone has ANY ideas on how to motivate him, please, send me some tips! Luckily he doesn’t run off and has a pretty reliable Wait. He makes sure he knows where I am when hiking but I’d never trust him off leash near a road. How would you go about training a dog like that? He’s a shar pei, Husky, Aussie, terrier mix.
Neil Bell says
You were the one that first taught me to modify the pitch and tone of my voice for various commands. I know that if a playful ‘Oscar, here boy!’ doesn’t work due to an overly interesting squirrel outside, repeating the same dropped an octave in a level tone does almost without fail (if perhaps a little sullenly!).
The voice is a wonderfully versatile tool, and experimenting with its subtleties, alongside building up context for commands through training, is very important.
Frances says
This morning it all got used for real. We were walking along the cycle path, dogs off leash but close to me as we were just coming up to the bit where I take extra care because a lane crosses the path to join a busy road just a few yards away, when something long, live and grey shot along the lane and across the path, heading for the road. I belted out the dogs names, Wait! and Come! before they had time to react to whatever it was, and we turned and walked away, with profuse praise for both of them. The training has worked both ways – I got the words out without having to consciously think about them, and the dogs responded in the same way. It took a while for my heart rate to come down, though!
Jackie D says
LOL at the idea there’s no wildlife on a beach… you have never met a really bird obsessed working bred spaniel like mine, who has dodgy recall anywhere there are birds. Which of course is anywhere at all on the planet, even in cities, tennis courts etc. I’ve had trouble with training sessions indoors if she spots one out of the window!
My policy at the moment is I simply don’t try to recall her if I don’t think she’ll come, and I try to find places were there aren’t many game birds – her true nemesis.
I’ve tried not letting her off at all, and I’ve tried long lining her; weeks and weeks of misery for her, me, and even my other dog, plus I put my back out. So I went back to being a Bad Owner for my own sanity :-/
What I have managed to teach her is firstly to check in with me every minute or so – she gets praise or a treat but not as much as for an actual recall, plus a ‘this way’ command (distinct from her recall command) which means “where are you?” or “We’re changing direction.” She actually doesn’t want to lose us, so the combo works pretty well. At least her recall from humans and dogs is good!
My current tactic is to retrain recall with a whistle (so other family members can’t poison my cue), and work on attention training on lead out of the house. If she can’t LLW when she sees a bird, she will never recall from one.
HFR says
Both of my dogs have terrible to no recall at all. And I walk with them off-leash all the time in areas where there are no roads around. I am very embarrassed about this as among my friends I’m considered the dog expert (not a lot of dog experts around here). I’m not sure how I get away with it, but I do. Both of them have a very good “leave it” command so when either takes off running after something I’d rather them not run after, I use that and it works 90% of the time. Mostly I just let them run after things in the woods because they always come back and I find screaming after them to come back is counter-productive. Plus, nothing makes them happier than the chase. I can’t call my hunting-breed dog off of a squirrel for nothing, but fortunately they run up trees so he only goes as far as the tree and then proceeds to bark up the tree for a few minutes. This is clearly his joy in life. My older dog will only come to me (slowly) if I have a treat, but she never goes far from me anyway nowadays. My “hunter” has a very good wait command so when I need to put the leash on him I use that. I can’t even get them to come to me in the house. It’s really kind of pathetic. I just keep telling myself that my next dog will have a great recall…
Kat says
Ranger will always come when called 100% of the time; just as soon as he’s finished with whatever he’s doing however long that takes. I don’t consider this an acceptable recall but while his recall isn’t what I’d like his “stop” and ‘wait’ are excellent. When he’s flying across the park at a family with young children I can yell ‘stop’ and he stops dead in his tracks, I call ‘wait’ and he remains in place until I leash him up then we can go meet the family. If I yelled “Ranger, Come” in those circumstances he’d come, just as soon as he finished saying hello to the family. Meeting people an other dogs is the most valuable thing in Ranger’s world and I know he’ll never come back to me because that is moving away from such a valuable thing. Stopping and waiting for me to catch up he can do. Meanwhile, at home or in the fenced dog park I can speak his name softly and literally call him by glancing from him to the space next to my side. He comes to me because interesting things happen in my vicinity; maybe we’ll go for a car ride, or there will be a new person to meet, or treats or ??? something interesting is bound to happen. I know him and I know how to get what I want from him. It really is about knowing your dog. We practice stop and wait a lot. We also work on the recall but that’s a bit frustrating, in most circumstances I don’t even have to say a word to recall him, just a glance, a head gesture, or a crooked finger is all it takes and in the circumstances where it doesn’t work he knows there’s no way I can enforce it.
We train recall with a lot of catch and release and both dogs are trained to whistles as well. I’m not sure why but each dog has a different whistle recall Ranger long short long short (Morse code letter c) and Finna long short short (morse code letter d) this is their out of sight recall. I knew going into training that each of my dogs is super smart and that the only way I’m going to get the behaviors I want and need is to be smarter. I’m constantly amazed at the number of people I see fruitlessly chasing their dogs around the park because the dog doesn’t want to go yet and the dog knows the leash means leaving. I work really hard at not having a tell that the fun is over.
Ranger comes because he’s learned interesting things happen when he does. Finna comes because she knows I’ll abandon her if she doesn’t. She had huge separation anxiety when she first came to live with us–it made sense really, if you suddenly find all your dreams come true you wouldn’t want to let it out of your sight either. I didn’t set out to train her using abandonment but the first time she flew at the fence barking wildly at whatever it was and totally ignoring any recall I went in the house to get a leash. Rather than risk The Great Catsby escaping I closed the door behind me; our door only latches if closed firmly so there was a decided finallity to the sound. I grabbed the leash, opened the door to go get Finna and she came trotting inside. Once ever few months she may need to be abandoned again but she clearly gets the idea that she comes when she’s called or I’ll leave her and she really doesn’t want that. And most of the time when she comes it means getting to stay outside and play more or a treat or playing ball or something good. It’s pretty obvious to her that coming when called makes the good things happen and keeps the bad thing from happening. She never gets to be off leash outside our fenced yard so for now it works. Currently, I’m teaching her a flashy recall where she runs to me goes between my legs and around to a sit on the right side. She finds it a very fun game especially since the chances are high that the ball will appear when she does it right. She already knows ‘Finna, Front’ where she comes to me and sits in front of me facing me. I plan to teach her ‘here’ as well which will be coming between my legs from behind and sitting in front of me facing out. Flashy recall tricks like that suit Finna, they wouldn’t suit Ranger so again knowing the dog is key. What I find especially entertaining is that now that Ranger knows what I want Finna to do he’s helping, he’ll block her from going around me thus encouraging her to go through. They both seem to regard it as a herding dog game so most of the time I’m not training Finna alone and both dogs are having fun.
Nic1 says
Oh my Jackie! LOL indeed. ๐ It just goes to show that when your own dog doesn’t really show an interest in birds you can forget that a beach could be a living hell for you with your type of dog. There really aren’t that many birds on the beaches we go to at all. But if there were, I wonder if I would also have a problem? Because my dog will occasionally take offence at large pigeons in the trees in our rear garden. She also likes pheasants. Not really interested in small song birds though.
Have you tried ‘LAT!’? I imagine using stooge birds is pretty impossible though….darn things keep flying about.
Sharon Yildiz makes a very good point – hunting/terrier type dogs have their wiring and genetics generally primed for independence. Not recall.
I will certainly keep that in mind for my next dog. ๐
Margaret McLaughlin says
With puppies, a lot of informal catch & release, using a marker word & a pocketful of kibble. To train a formal obedience recall I first build duration into the sit, & then start clicking for the first step towards me, & treating in front when the dog arrives–it’s the classic example of getting double mileage with reward placement.
Full disclosure–I took my young Flat-Coat (not quite 2) to a UKC agility trial this weekend, to see where we were with a high-distraction environment, & what she needed in a trial setting, & it was, to put it nicely, a train wreck. Saturday I couldn’t keep her off the contact obstacles–strong reward history, anyone?–& she was totally deaf to her name & to clapping. Got t work n that:)
Problem is, under normal circumstances she’s made of Velcro, & it’s hard to practice a recall with a dog who’s sitting on your foot. She works with good focus in a class setting in 2 locations. I’m thinking I’m going to have to separate the elements, & take her to very noisy, distracting environments, like the First Friday events in my city’s downtown, & just c/t for name recognition & checking in. On leash, of course.
Thoughts, anyone?
Andreja says
I am confused about what is the criteria for “Whoa”. Turn towards me? From the way the training is described it doesn’t really seem to be a “wait” cue…
I have two whippets. I never plan to not reward them for recall. Never, ever, if I can help it. The environment is too enticing to have them thinking “maybe she will give me the reward – maybe she won’t”. I don’t know if this is a breed thing but especially my male seems very offended if he doesn’t receive a suitable reward. He has learned really quickly not to respond to other people’s calls, because when he comes they will praise & pat – and he hates that!
He also taught me the hard way that food is only a consolation prize for him. When I got a new puppy I started using food as reward for my male because it was difficult to properly reward him with play without puppy jumping in. For a while he was coming back as usual. And then he stopped. At first I didn’t make the connection since his recall didn’t deteriorate immediately (which actually shows what a great history of rewards he had). Then one day I ran out of treats on a walk and threw some pine cones for him. He was following me with a big hopeful smile for 15 minutes! When he got distracted I tested the recall – yep, fast & happy again. So now I know not to be lulled into complacency by his current behavior but to keep thinking of the future and putting value into that recall.
I have found a nice way to put some value into recall bank account while playing with both dogs: I throw a ball for Java while holding Ruby, then throw a ball for Ruby in the other direction. When Java is returning with her ball she sees Ruby running away – this is tempting! I call her name, she comes to me, I throw her ball as reward for recall. By now Ruby has almost reached me with his ball and sees Java sprinting away. He’s thinking her ball looks pretty nice. I call him, he gets to me, I throw his ball as reward. Repeat until tired ๐
Of course this works because to them nothing is as much fun as running after that ball and I like it because this way Java doesn’t end up getting every single ball I throw. It’s a win-win situation.
Margaret McLaughlin says
My first comment isn’t up yet, but I couldn’t resist an update. I’m still in shock. After I closed up the computer we went over to the parking lot where we work obedience & worked finishes, taking hold of a stick, & eye contact on the stand, since if she looks at me rather than at the judge she’s going to be less likely to kiss said judge in the ring. Then we came back home & went to the side yard to work agility. Nina was very distracted, sniffing the grass, so I started to say her name, & c/t for a head turn in my direction. maybe 10 reps, & she was engaged again. We did the teeter several times, then started weave poles. I decided she was ready for 6 poles, & put her on a down-stay & went to get 2 more. While I was rooting around in my shed a feral cat came blasting out, bounced off my leg (ouch) & shot past Nina, who broke her stayed & zoomed after the cat, towards the street. I shrieked, “Nina!!!!” AND SHE SPUN AROUND AND CAME BACK TO ME.
Really. The dog who couldn’t hear her name when she saw an A-frame on Saturday could abandon a hot pursuit. Granted, we had just been working on checking in with lower-level distractions, but no way did I expect that level of payoff–not nearly enough pennies in the bank. What’s going on?
Anne Robinson says
Luckily my puppies have been food motivatd. In the beginning, I will wait until my pup is some distance from me, then call his name.When he looks up, I call, “Good puppy, good puppy,” and as he start toward me I continue to call Good Puppy as I run in the opposite direction or simply back up. Only when he is directly in front of me do I call, “Come!”
And then I feed him 20 small treats, one right after another.
I want him to associate the word, Come, with all that great high value food AND also associate it with his position in relation to me – right within touching distance and not all the way across the yard.
This has worked very well for me, so well in fact that it’s sometimes hard to get much distance from the puppy when I want to repeat the lesson!
EmilyS says
I’m really fascinated by the numerous references to specific breeds and breed relationship to recall training. There’s a whole new trend in shelter advocacy to denigrate breed traits because 1) shelter workers can’t identify breeds (with a corollary that it’s impossible to identify purebred dogs without seeing a pedigree; 2) not all dogs of a breed exhibit the traits of that breed and 3) “all dogs are individuals.” I see this increasingly in literature produced by the Animal Farm Foundation, a prominent advocate for “pit bulls” (or as they call them “pit bull dogs” or “pit bull type dogs”… not necessarily the same as the breed “American pit bull terrier” but please don’t ask me to explain that! ) http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/pages/Multimedia-Infographics
Dr McConnell: I’d really love to read a blog about the issue of breeds/breed traits/behavior/training
Thanks
LisaH says
In addition to all the great things the others have mentioned – catch and release, frequent rewards over the years, having a wait and stop cue, using food/toys/play/treats and practice in all sorts of settings. etc. I would like to stress the value of the “happy voice”. My husband has a deep voice and when he would call the dogs and they did not instantly respond, in his frustration, he would get gruffer in tone, and then nobody was coming …. So I kept reinforcing with him the use of the happy voice no matter what and praise when they came, no matter what. He thought it was silly but saw how effective it was so it became part of the repertoire.
My two have great recalls – not much interest in wild life and they keep me in sight. We are in a more rural area in central WI so they are off-leash the majority of the time. They also are easily called away from approaching people and do not approach other dogs. Some of this I’m sure is due to Java’s natural reserve and Lola watches him for cues. Java will respond to “come” within a 3 second window (I count 1001, 1002, 1003 in my head) while Lola will virtually always burn back to me as fast as she can no matter where we are. Yesterday though, she had slipped into the edge of the woods, I called and she didn’t come on a dime, so I called again (and it has to be the phrase “Lola, come”) and she came to me, then ran right ino the woods next to me to finish doing her business!
Maureen Martinek says
I loved reading your story. I also believe our pets need “payment” for their deeds. We as humans wouldn’t go to work everyday if we didn’t get paid would we?
One of the problems I found was that my voice would sometimes reveal my lack of confidence in my self and them. I’m not sure if the panic in my voice was making them question me as a pack leader but non the less I wasn’t having success getting them to come.
One day while at a part event there was a fire department display that was giving away little whistles with their info on them. I picked one up and when I got home I gave it a little toot. Wow, dogs reacted to it giving me their utmost attention. Hmmmm, I thought, could this help me train them to come?
I started out while sitting on my couch at home and the pups were sitting right next to me. I gave a short whistle and then gave them a cookie. I did this over a period of a few days and then I started to use the whistle when they were in another part of the house. They would come running to get their treat. We graduated to my fenced in back yard. I tried to blow the whistle when I saw them involved in some sniffing or other activity and it worked!
My next step was to try it at the dog park. Again, in a secure area, I would what until they were involved with playing with other dogs or following a sent of interest. There were times when one or both of them hesitated or needed a second call but it worked very well.
My next trial was on the trail and they were off lead. It was very scary for me because I had never had a dog that I could trust off lead. I’m happy to report that the whistle worked 90% on first call. I love going on the tails with them and they also enjoy the freedom of roaming like their wild counter parts.
Laura says
ah… recall.
Because our dogs come to us handlers, the ones who get ours from a program anyway, at nearly 2 years old, they’ve already got some habbits about recall down. They could be excellent or terrible or somewhere in between and I’ve had all three. My first, Marlin, was reliable in the house. I just had to say Marlin come and he’d move right to me, happy as ever, but get him outside and off leash and I could forget it. He seemed deaf to any word I spoke to him and all he wanted to do was sniff and play. I was able to get his recall a little more consistant with food and clicker training, but he left us too soon from cancer, so I don’t know how good he could’ve been.
Torpedo, my second guide, was the most difficult with recall, and that’s putting it nicely. This dog, would sit a foot from me, stare right at me when I said Torpedo come, and not move. It was as if he were saying… “Uh… nope. I just don’t feel like doing that right now and frankly Lady, you can’t make me.” He was stubborn in that aspect and no amount of treats, prays or tug toys would work after a while. If he didn’t want to come to me, even in the house with absolutely no distractions, he wouldn’t. I don’t envy his puppy raisers, who are giving him a great retirement in California.
My seamus has the best recall out of all my dogs. It isn’t fool proof, but it’s reliable enough so that when he gets away from me, like, slipping out the door of my apartment to say hi to a neighbor in the hallway, I can call him back and I know he’ll come to me. It’s the same when he gets out if my mother is talking to a neighbor on the front steps of our house. My last two would’ve never come back.
It was a real crap-shoot regarding recall with my last two dogs and it was based on the assumption from trainers at our school that because we had the dogs on leash so much, we wouldn’t need a good, solid recall. Graduates stood up and said, that was B.S. If our dogs got away, going after a squirrel or a leaf or another dog, we couldn’t see where they went or how far away they were or if they were in any danger. We said, I’m sorry, they’re dogs and they can lose their control sometimes. Once we had made our feelings known, the recall from all the dogs in my last class has been absolutely improved, if not 100 percent reliable from each and every dog. This is where Tricia is absolutely right when she talks about knowing your individual dog. Seamus wants to come to me, because he likes to be close. Marlin wanted to do it because I was the most fun thing at the moment and Torpedo?… I still haven’t figured out that dog. ๐
Beth with the Corgis says
EmilyS, I am familiar with the push to say breed does not matter, which turns the entire idea of selective breeding on its head! I agree that in a shelter environment, where it’s impossible to determine the mix of the parents (or if the dog is a village dog descended from a long line of village dogs), that it is of questionable value.
But the fact is, placing the right dog in the right home is a huge part of reducing the number of dogs turned over to shelters. If a person is looking for a purebred puppy, they should first narrow their choice down to a breed (or handful of breeds) based on such things as size, activity level, likely behavior traits, grooming needs, etc. They should then work with responsible breeders to narrow down further to an individual puppy that best suits them.
The push towards saying breed does not matter alarms me greatly. I see so many people who get into very predictable trouble with dogs (the malamute who keeps busting out of the fence and wandering, the border collie who is too sound-sensitive and needs too much exercise for the urban home, the beagle who takes off into the woods whenever the family tries to go hiking) and end up frustrated or, worse, surrendering them when in fact chances were excellent that the dog would exhibit the behavior based on selective breeding.
The goals of rescue should be two-fold: one is to place more dogs, and do a good job of placing them to avoid boomerangs. But two should be reducing the number of dogs in rescue by educating the public on how to choose a puppy, if it’s a puppy they want.
Saying breed does not matter just totally upends goal #2, with the end result of more dogs failing out of homes.
Nic1 says
With regard to breeds and behaviour, one can ignore genetics at their peril. However, the environment is also a major influence on genetics and resulting behaviour too. The only thing I would share that may add to the discussion is that my mutt is managed as if she was a terrier. That is simply because she displays the full predatory motor pattern sequence, is high drive and reactive. Problems with recall would be inevitable if I allowed her to wander off leash in a wooded area packed with squirrells. The dopamine hit and state of flow when chasing squirrells would champion any reward I may have. A dog can’t repeat behaviour if it isn’t allowed to practice it in the first place and all mammals repeat what gets rewarded. There are always failures with management though so training that offers rewards that motivates and rewards with a similar behaviour pattern are extremely effective. Therefore, nature and nurture go hand in hand but understanding the breed is helpful here.
In a shelter, being specific about actual observed behavioural traits in the individual dog is essential, particularly if there is an inappropriate behaviour that is being maintained in the present and especially if a dog was surrendered to a shelter because of it. My dog was described as being ‘grumpy with other dogs’ at the shelter. I have learned that what that actually meant was she is reactive on a lead to some types of dogs who are approaching head on at a threshold of 20 metres. She can air snap at dogs who charge into her personal space uninvited. The latter information enables me to work out a behavioural rehabilitation treatment plan. ‘Grumpy’ is an inaccurate adjective and label that isn’t very helpful at all really. Neither for me in trying to teach her but particularly for the dog and for her future welfare. So to conclude, an awareness and an understanding of breed behavioural traits is both useful and appropriate in order to help manage, train and provide alternative appropriate predatory outlets for dogs. But each dog IS an individual and they should be accepted for who they are, irrespective of breed to refrain from labelling and applying any negative breed behavioural bias.
Ben says
@Margaret McLaughlin:
I think lots of stuff could be going on, including randomness. I would not think much of it. If she consistently comes in the midst of chasing a cat, but not when around A-frames, then the A-frame environment should be rated as more of a distraction to her. Otherwise, with a small sample size, its best to not analyze too much. Could just be a fluke.
That being said, yeah I think slowly making the environment more distracting while training the recall is an excellent idea. Glad that you are already going down that route. And more importantly than what I think, Tricia thinks this is a good idea (unless I have misinterpreted this blog post).
cheers
LisaW says
One of our dogs proved to be the hardest dog to teach a good (note I didn’t say reliable) recall of any dog I’ve ever had. Her first home kept her in a crate 24/7 for the first 4 months of her life and combined with a personality that is part space cadet, part party animal, and part nose driven, it was tough. We practiced in our big, fenced yard, first on lead and then on longer lead and then no lead and stepped up the distractions and rewards. I’d take her out to places far from roads and repeat. When I thought she could go the next step in a fairly safe place, we’d do a refresher on lead and as soon as I unclipped her lead, she would take off like a rocket. It was like the draft horses that are used for pulling competitions, as soon as they hear the metal clip onto the weight, they’re off. No matter how much we trained, the sense of freedom to her was more powerful than food or me or anything I could come up with. She ran just to run and run and run. I bought a whistle and we started working with that but then the diagnosis of severe hip dysplasia was made and the prospect of running and crashing was too dangerous. What finally worked as a compromise was a solid “here” off lead, staying by my side or just slightly ahead. She didn’t get to run but she did get some off lead time. She’s nine now and is slowing down and managing her joints and health has become more important than off lead time.
Our other dog is still a work in progress but when I see her come running to me in response to me calling her with her ears straight up in the air and a big grin and a wiggle of her docked tail, it makes my heart sing. Sometimes she’ll run to me and slide into a sit just at my feet. Sweet!
As far as breed identification in shelters, I am glad that many shelters are dispensing with the guesses at breeds. Many now say mixed breed and then spend more time listing the dog’s behavior and personality traits. A specific dog’s behavioral traits is much more informative than a generalization of a breed, which was at best a crap shoot and with more time spent getting to know that individual dog, more permanent homes can be found.
Jackie D says
It’s hard for a shelter to assess what the dogs precise behaviour will be in a home environment (or even a different home environment, for a foster) once they have settled down for a month or two. One based on ‘breed’ may actually be more accurate than that observed…
My little springer (with no prior history available) was described as ‘quiet and not very food oriented’ by the rescue. Turned out she was about to go down with KC. Once she recovered she was dead keen on food and (1) very very loud (2) mad as a box of a frogs (3) very prey oriented, particularly birds as previously mentioned (4) very friendly yet inclined to be somewhat ‘independant’ on walks (5) has boundless energy and (6) is always in and out of bogs.
Luckily I had been actively looking for a springer and was entirely aware that (2) (3) (4) (5) and (6) was what I was likely to end up with! The rescue did warn me about (4) and (5).
Our other dog is a border colliexspringer. The rescue’s initial assessment of him was also way off (different rescue), we think because his confidence was boosted by the very happy dog they’d kennelled him with.
HFR says
I realized this weekend while walking my dogs off leash, that what gives me the joy that Trish gets when her dogs fly to her when she calls them is when my dog turns around to check for me while he’s roaming off leash. It never fails to give me a warm feeling when I see him flip his head around to see if I’m still there and then go back to what he was doing, even if it was just walking way ahead of me. Not sure if he’s making sure he’s still with me or me with him, but it is just so sweet.
Beth with the Corgis says
One other thought about breed-based behavior: on the one hand, it is true that shelters/ rescues/ rehomers should be focusing on the traits the dog has. But the flip side to that is many dogs shut down when they are rehomed, and you don’t see their true personality for months. My guess is that Trisha’s Tootsie did not start following her nose a lot the first day or week she was taken out of the mill, but as her confidence grew that trait grew with it. And Trisha probably knew to expect it.
I’ve seen some border collies and their mixes in shelter listings listed as “calm” but many (most?) border collies shut down in a noisy or chaotic environment and six months after they go into a new home, their new owner wonders how they ended up with such a whirlwind of a dog.
My Madison came to us at four years old; a rehoming, not a rescue, she never went through the stress of a transition environment. Still, we hardly heard her bark at all for several months. But she is a Corgi and Corgis are usually barkers, and once she settled in we discovered her “motion-activated” bark; she barks whenever anything moves fast. We did not see this behavior for months.
So it is nice to look at the balance of both, breed trait and what you see right in front of you today. I have seen more than one person adopt a dog from a shelter and do fine for the first few months, but end up somewhat overwhelmed by unanticipated behaviors at some point after that as the dog settled in and discovered itself.
Nic1 says
Beth, your last paragraph summed up my experience exactly! You have to simply accept the dog for who she is. It also emphasises how important environment is in shaping behaviour and that nothing is set in stone. Hard wired behaviour patterns aside, behaviour can be modified and dogs amaze me in how they are continually learning from their environment.
LisaW says
Of course there is some variance between personality and behavior traits in a shelter vs a home environment. I would say that guessing at a breed or breeds and assigning certain traits is not a good way to assess what that dog will be like 6 months later in its home. There is such a wide spectrum of personalities and behaviors and likes and dislikes within a breed that it doesn’t seem prudent to go on those assumptions.
I’m primarily talking about dogs in shelters or rescues with no known lineage, not dogs that come from breed-specific rescue organizations.
I also think many dogs are surrendered to shelters because they didn’t live up to their owner’s expectations of what that breed is supposed to be like — whether they adopted or purchased the dog.
Nic1 says
How many shelters are undertaking thorough temperament testing? Is there an emphasis on training and behavioural rehabilitation before dogs are rehomed? My own experience has alerted me to the importance of predatory drive and fearfulness traits in determining how much management is required and what the dog is socially capable of. Although a lot of dogs may well shut down in a shelter, prey drive being hard wired should be relatively easy to assess? I think labelling a dog ‘calm’ in a shelter environment when it has actually shut down reflects a disturbing lack of understanding of body language and behaviour. For a lot of dogs, shutting down in that sort of environment would actually be a pretty ‘normal’ reaction to that sort of environmental stress I’d imagine.
Kat says
Nature vs Nurture, observed behavior and temperament testing in shelters vs breed/mix. For the love of all sanity can’t we just accept that breed is a clue and observed behavior and temperament tests in a shelter environment provides clues. Breed isn’t destiny and shelter behavior isn’t definitive. What on earth is wrong with using every clue we can to best find the right fit for dogs and people.
Ranger was labeled in the shelter as a Border Collie mix, unsafe around young children, and boundless energy. He had a lot to learn before he was safe around small children but today he is a registered therapy dog that I wouldn’t hesitate to take into a preschool. He’s also mellow, confident, and easy going. Finna, purportedly a GSD/Corgi was assessed at the shelter as somewhat timid and unlikely to display aggressive behavior and of moderate energy. Finna turns out to be unsafe with people outside the family and, as I’ve said many times, has enough drive/energy for a fleet of Lamborghinis, in addition she doesn’t have a timid bone in her body. She is, however, fearful and reactive. Timidity and fear often go hand in hand so the assessment isn’t surprising. Perverse person that I am I actually appreciate her willingness to confront the things that frighten her more than I would have appreciated a dog that shut down and refused to engage. My job now is to give her more and better tools for confronting the things that frighten her.
Sorry for the rant I’m just tired of everything having to be reduced to black or white, all or nothing. I like nuance and I appreciate that things can be complex. I do not understand, at all, the need so many people have for oversimplifying things. Lots of factors go into what makes a dog who they are and to say that the breed is the only relevant factor or that breed is irrelevant and only assessment matters is to oversimplify and is a disservice to all concerned. I’ll climb down off my soapbox now and go quietly about my business.
Kelly says
I think I would be hesitant to own any kind of hound or husky type breed, just because they seem to have notoriously bad recalls. I’m sure with training there are exceptions who listen well, but the ability for my dogs to be off-leash is very important to me.
Also, I went to a puppy kindergarten class when my Aussie was little, the trainer would not let us use the dog’s name when teaching recall. I had to say “come” not “Piper come”. Confused the heck out of my little girl, who had already begun to understood “Piper come”. Has anyone here made a point to train the “come” without the name?
Margaret McLaughlin says
@ Ben.
Thanks. I spend way too much good training time trying to figure out WHY my dog is doing something–at best just a guess–when I would be much better served by paying closer attention to WHAT & WHEN, & in general to what can be quantified.
Why she doesn’t want to retrieve, for example, isn’t really important, except for its influence on how I train the next dog. What does matter is whether she can be reinforced for: looking at the stick; opening her mouth for the stick; reaching for the stick; closing her mouth on the stick, etc., etc.
I do know that. I just need to be reminded a lot.
Emily says
I appreciate that you include that there are breed differences. I have a border collie cattle dog mix and her recall is impeccable she wants so badly to be with me.
I have a lot of friends who ask how they can get their dog to come when they call like my dog does. I have to explain to them that I am the most interesting and exciting thing in my dogs life and coming to me and being with me is reward enough in a lot of situations (not to say that I don’t use other rewards). But she is inherantly a person oriented dog and it is the ultimate to be with her mom!
Ben says
@Margaret McLaughlin:
Yeah I already kinda had the sense that you know more about this than I do, but with so much to know reminders can’t hurt. Very interesting regarding the scientific kinda black box testing methodology (forget about internals/the why, just test different stuff and note results). I think that this is huge in so many ways – you can learn so much by just forgetting theory, and honestly observe what works. That being said, understanding the WHY can help generate theories to be tested. The biggest thing for me is not getting attached to my theories – which are usually wrong. Its hard to not want to be right! But yeah I agree with you that most important is the quantifiable stuff.
cheers
Ben says
@Kelly:
That seems funny to me the trainer does not want you using the dogs name. I think with any command, dogs are more likely to respond if their name is called and then the command. I thought I had read this somewhere from Trisha, but I could definitely be wrong. I did read it somewhere though. Darn if only I could keep my sources straight :(. I would ask your trainer to elaborate.
@Kat:
lol no that was a good rant ๐
Frances says
On a slightly different tack, when my neighbour first brought her terrier home, Jilly-dog’s recall was more or less non-existant. I don’t think it had much to do with the change of owner (the two of them bonded almost at first sight), but I do think it had a lot to do with being off leash in fields, possibly for the first time in months! And what seemed to work fastest to improve her eventual return (I wouldn’t say recall, as that has taken a lot more work) was her understanding that there would be another walk in the afternoon, and again tomorrow morning, and twice a day, every day, thereafter. Once proper walks were no longer a rare treat, to be spun out as long as possible, but a part of everyday routine it became a lot easier to persuade her back onto her lead and into the car!
LisaW says
@ Kat: Geez, I find it engaging and informative that people on this blog (and other forums) can express their opinions, experiences, and debate issues or subjects. For me, it is how I learn about ideas I might not have come to so quickly on my own or test an idea or opinion I hold. I also enjoy reading different perspectives. Who knows, I may even change my mind on occasion.
Beth with the Corgis says
LisaW, I think what shows up in rescue varies hugely from region to region, and even between different communities in the same part of the country. The most common purebreds are pitties, if one wants to label them as a breed (which is a bit debatable). Most are large mixed breeds at adolescence or young adulthood. Very rarely a litter of unplanned pups shows up. We have many private rescues that import hundreds of dogs (mostly from the South and Kentucky/Tennessee) a year to meet local demand. I personally know about a half-dozen people who have out-of-state rescue dogs. I’m not sure if the lack of purebreds in the shelter is because none show up, or if it’s because various breed rescues have them pulled. I think, though, that we can all find examples of dogs who were surrendered for not being what was expected (“I thought all labs were good with kids”) AND of dogs who were surrendered for being exactly what one would expect (“I’m surrendering this Corgi because he nips and sheds and needs more exercise than I can provide.”) I believe Trisha’s dog Lassie came to her because, basically, she was a typical Border Collie in a home not suited for such a dog, if memory serves.
Nic1, I’ve seen some odd descriptions of dogs on Petfinder (which I check periodically). Let’s just say that anyone can set themselves up as rescues, and some are more knowledgable than others, and leave it at that. ๐
Kelly, when we were deciding what kind of dog we wanted, my husband mentioned he likes beagles. I said I love beagles, but “you can’t keep a beagle.” I would not have them, not with what I like to do with dogs (I’m also not a huge fan of the houndy smell). When I was growing up, my grandfather had hunting beagles. On occasion, he came back sans beagles. They always showed up eventually, but sometimes it took a few days or even a week or two.
Emily, when Jack was something under a year old, we were out in the wee hours of a wintry morning. Jack was off-leash playing in the park with a young beagle pal of his. He loved to chase, and the beagle loved to run, so they were good playmates. The beagle (about the same age as Jack) suddenly took off and disappeared up and over a hill, with Jack in hot pursuit. Dismayed, I turned to the beagle’s owner to ask if she usually came back. He said “Oh yes…. eventually.” I asked what “eventually” meant and he said “Usually within a half hour or so.” I stood there for half a minute or so, pondering my options (none of them good— it was cold, I was alone except for the beagle’s owner, the park was empty, it was barely sunup), when Jack came barreling back down the hill, twice as fast as he went up it, his ears back, and ran to my feet so fast he almost ran into me. Apparently as soon as he realized I was out of sight, he panicked. Both of mine naturally check back with me at every intersection of every trail, which makes them great hiking buddies but would probably make them terrible bird dogs. Most herding dogs make their owners look like fabulous trainers without too much work, though sometimes they make us look incredibly stupid…..
Once I was standing with a different beagle owner, watching a lab bring back a ball endlessly. This beagle owner glumly asked me how he could teach his dog to fetch like that. I smiled and said “Get a retriever.”
Beth with the Corgis says
Ok, I somehow edited out a sentence which said “My own county shelter very rarely has purebred dogs” from the beginning of my post, and now the whole top paragraph makes no sense at all. I really need to read more carefully before I hit “submit.”
Robin Jackson says
Our dogs know their name as a “give me your attention” cue and Come as a distinct recall cue. But their name could just as easily be followed with a different cue. So if I have their attention, Come (no name attached) works fine. If they’re distracted by something, their name gets them to look at me, then I say Come, but with a distinct pause between the two.
Sue Ailsby believes that dogs who will cheerfully go to pretty much anyone who calls them have a survival skill useful to most pet dogs, who are only likely to be called by strangers if they’re lost. So she plays a game where the dog is encouraged to learn to go to pretty much anyone who claps, does a lip smack, taps their leg, whatever.
On the other hand, as Sue also mentions, if you’re training a dog for guard dog work, search and rescue, service dog work, or anything else where the dog may be working out among the public, you may well want the dog to only respond to a very specific cue.
If my service dog did a Sit every time some passing stranger said “Nice doggy, Sit” we’d never get where we were going!
So I think there are a lot of different reasons for why you might choose to attach your dog’s name to a cue or not. It just depends on the needs of your particular situation.
Nic1 says
@LisaW – I couldn’t agree more! ๐ It’s amazing that Trisha’s blog unites people around the world and that they are able to debate and share their opinions and experiences in such a respectful and polite manner.
What is the best way to teach a whistle recall?
Robin Jackson says
@Nic1,
There are many good ways to train a whistle recall. Pamela Dennison has a nice short DVD that comes with a good whistle and lays out a 5 week program that works for most dogs. She is also one of the few who covers training multiple dogs. It’s called TRAINING THE WHISTLE RECALL. Most dog training sites will carry it.
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB1100
I also like this DVD because she uses a “regular” whistle, not a shepherd’s whistle. That’s all most pet dog owners need, and it’s a lot easier to use.
Beth with the Corgis says
Nic1, my dogs are very food motivated and genetically selected to want to be by their people, so to teach a whistle recall I would get some cheese or something (lots of tiny pieces) and have them right in front of me. I’d blow the whistle, (or whistle myself if that was my cute), feed some cheese. Blow the whistle, feed some cheese.
I’d do this for about three days, once a day. Then I would have someone take them to another room in the house and hold them there while I got out my treats, then I’d blow the whistle and have the person holding them let them go.
I’d then repeat the process outside.
If your dog already knows a recall, you can alternately blow the whistle then immediately give the recall command. By pairing them closely, you should soon be able to phase out the command and just have them come on a whistle.
For my dogs, the first method would work better. It depends on the motivation of the dog, I would want my dogs to think that a whistle meant ‘Mom has cheese!”. It doesn’t matter whether or not they associate the whistle with the word “come” as long as they associate it with something rewarding enough that they want to get to me, fast, to get the reward no matter what else they might be doing. You can then fade to random rewards, or switch up your rewards.
em says
I’ve been reading all the comments with great interest, but after my computer shut down in the middle of the first comment that I tried to write, I have been too lazy to begin again :-). It’s partly that I don’t know that I have much practical to add to the discussion. Both my dogs were natural recallers and I honestly don’t remember what I did to train them. They have very different styles- Sandy hairpin turns and dashes to my side, Otis ambles in my general direction unless I am very sharp, but both are quite reliable, each in their own way. Otis won’t stop whatever he’s doing or watching to turn his focus to me, but he generally will heed a ‘Stop’ and ‘Wait’ and I usually can move him in a different direction afterwards, even if he never looks away from the object of his interest. He will grudgingly trot toward me, even if his eyes are locked elsewhere, and I figure that’s good enough.
Anyhoo, what motivated me to chime in at last was Kelly’s comment about her trainer not wanting to use the dog’s name as part of recall. While I’d love to hear the explanation, and I’m sure there is one, the first thing I thought was, “that would be awful!” For us, daily park hikers, the dog’s name is an important part of the cue. I don’t want ALL the dogs within earshot to come to me, just the one I’m calling. I sometimes do want to call just Otis or just Sandy. If I didn’t use a name, how would my dogs know who I meant? Their collective name isn’t really set in stone though I mostly call them ‘pumpkinheads’ when giving informal instructions. If I seriously want both to do a proper recall, I yell OTISSANDYRIGHTHERE! Most park regulars, including my own, learn to tune out people other than their owners most of the time, but people can still cue my dogs if they use their names.
Ok, sorry, for the derailment, I was just struck with curiosity about the nameless recall, and I’d love to hear more about why Kelly’s trainer might have thought it a good idea.
LisaW says
I’ve been thinking a lot about recall and my varying degrees of success over the years with my dogs. Trying to see what’s connected to what.
Then I remembered that recall can work both ways. One of my past dogs would start barking about 50 feet from the back door so that I would be there to open the door when she got there. No waiting for her. I can’t remember if she gave me a treat or a lick, but I was 100% reliable to open the door just as she was coming up to it ๐
Rebecca Rice says
The trainer I work with has us teach an emergency recall in addition to a regular one. The emergency recall is always reinforced, with really high value treats. It’s a unique word, and is the command that you use when you absolutely need the dog to return to you, such as when the dog is headed for a busy street. You use a different word, like Come, for all other cases, so that the dog doesn’t learn to ignore the emergency one. In the case of my two, I use “aqui” for the emergency recall. My fearful greyhound doesn’t have a more-normal recall, since I don’t let her off-leash (something about being a fearful dog that can hit 35 mph makes that sound like a real bad idea to me). Pixie, the rat terrier, will recall to her name most of the time. And with her, the times that she won’t is because there is something much more interesting under a bush, so I don’t have a lot of concern about her running off. But I try not to recall her when I know that she is likely to blow me off.
And she does have me well-trained. Recall games are one of her favorite things to do, so when I go to work her on a long-line, she will occasionally just stop and stand there while I walk off until I get to the end of the leash, and then she will look at me all quivery until I call her name and she comes flying over. I swear she does it on purpose… you can practically see her thinking “we’ve been out here how long without playing recall games???”
I am about to sign Pixie up for a Rocket Recall class, not because I really think she needs to get better, but because she has such fun doing recalls!
Nic1 says
Thanks for the whistle recall tips Robin and Beth. With regard to reinforcement rates and recall, to my mind it makes sense in a highly distracting environment to adapt a continuous rate of reinforcement. Would a whistle recall therefore be sensible to use as an ’emergency recall’ i.e. whistle = liver paste party (my dog’s fave food reward)? Dogs are so adept at reading our body language but also are sensitive to the tone and pitch of our voices. Sometimes I think that we can inject a bit of concern or anxiety into the tone and manner of our voices when calling our dogs when there may be trouble ahead. It’s almost as if my dog reads the tone of voice and thinks . ‘Ok. Now where the heck is that deer/dog/trigger etc.’
When teaching the emergency u turn, I was very tempted to use ‘Oh s*@1t!’ because that is exactly how I feel at those moments and it seems plausible for the tone to be as authentic as possible so the dog doesn’t get spooked?!
Robin Jackson says
For those who use two recall cues, reserving one for emergencies, I believe the usual advice is to make the emergency recall word something the dog won’t hear except in that situation. So in that case you wouldn’t use the dog’s name for the emergency recall. Perhaps that’s what the class is teaching?
Robin Jackson says
@Nic1,
I really like whistle recalls for everyday use. As I’ve mentioned, I have cousins with working dogs on working farms, and I did learn to use a shepherd’s whistle at one point. But unfortunately my disability no longer makes that possible. I can still use a regular whistle like Dennison’s much of the the time and it works really well.
However, I myself never used a mechanical whistle as an emergency recall on the principle that an emergency could happen at any time and I might not have a whistle with me. Say there was a car accident and a dog was loose. Or a fire in our home at night and we were evacuating.
A lot of people use a pretty traditional shrill “Cooee” as an emergency recall. But since it’s a trained behaviour, you can use anything you like. In our house, the emergency recall for both teens and dogs is “Breakfast!” ๐
Judy Norton says
Something I always tell new puppy owners that seems obvious to experienced dog trainers, but that many new owners don’t think about is that the recall is always rewarded and never punished. You’d be surprised at how many people will call a dog to come so they can punish the dog for chewing up the shoes, pottying on the floor, etc. We also talk about what the dog finds “punishing”- bath time, ear drops or being put in his crate so the owner can go to work. Call the dog to you, give rewards, THEN do what the dog doesn’t like.
Rebecca Rice says
Got any advice on an issue that Pixie has with a whistle recall? She’ll come to the sound perfectly fine, but has an issue with the whistle dangling around my neck or in my hand, so she’ll stop about a foot away so it can’t “get” her. If I hold it in my teeth she is ok, but it makes it hard to verbally reinforce the recall, plus gets a bit uncomfortable on me.
EmilyS says
BethWithCorgis wrote, “The most common purebreds are pitties, if one wants to label them as a breed (which is a bit debatable).” This is a huge problem. “Pittie” isn’t a breed of course. But the American pit bull terrier (along with its AKC version, the American Staffordshire Terrier) certainly IS a purebred dog (one of the oldest American breeds, in fact). The term “pit bull” which used to only refer to those purebred dogs, now means ANYTHING with a square head and short hair…. but that doesn’t mean the “real thing” doesn’t exist. The situation has gotten so bad that we have the bizarre linguistic contortions in which even “advocates” are saying “there’s no such thing/breed as a pit bull” while they also hasten to say, “of course we don’t mean the American pit bull terrier, which IS a breed”.
Rather than get into the issue of the ineptitude of shelter personnel (or for that matter MOST people) not being able to identify purebred dogs (if the pit bull isn’t a breed because people can’t tell one from a mixed breed dog, why is a border collie a breed when most people can’t tell one from a sheltie, an Australian shepherd or an English shepherd???), what I would love Dr M to address is the issue of breed-related traits and training
Nic1 says
@Robin – thanks for your thoughts on recall. I think I need to train a whistle recall, regardless as it is much better when outside.
When it comes to breed-related traits and training, isn’t it more a matter of understanding the individual dog, environment, motivation and rewards? You teach and shape an operant behaviour, such as ‘sit’, the same way, regardless of whether the particular breed of dog is a BC or a Pittie. Where breed matters, IMO, is providing appropriate alternative outlets to channel particular drives.
‘Some breeds do not learn through kind methods’ was a statement I heard recently. (Kind being confused for positive reinforcement and negative punishment). However, the person who said it doesn’t know any better unfortunately.
All dogs learn, regardless of breed, via operant or classical conditioning. What that person didn’t understand was that her dog was set up to fail. He was in a distracting environment and she either wasn’t providing sufficient motivation for her dog to want to learn or her reinforcement rate was ineffective.
If you want to shape anything operant at all, you have to understand what motivates and rewards your individual dog, regardless of breed. But you do apply the same principles of animal learning, regardless of breed.
Robin Jackson says
@Nic1,
Definitely training principles are the same, but breed traits, physical and mental, can affect individual behaviours, even simple ones. Ask anyone who’s ever taught a greyhound to Sit! ๐
Great pyrs and other livestock guardian breeds can be taught with all positive methods–but those with typical breed traits resist a Down in a way that is startling to someone used to training most other breeds.
The classic example is Retrieve. From the beginning, I would approach this differently with a lab than with an Akita, assuming both had typical breed traits. A pug would be different yet again.
You definitely see this issue in Treibball as well. A typical border collie can be taught a Go Out in 2 or 3 sessions, with or without a mat Target. A typical terrier may need 30.
I would say that working cooperatively at a distance, interrupted prey drive, and natural Retrieve are all typical breed traits that commonly affect training specific skills.
But whatever the breed, there will be individuals with different temperaments and preferences. Typical is just a statistic, not a universal rule. A good trainer will assess each dog individually, but starting from the breed profile and seeing if it applies can save a lot of time, and may be much easier on the dog.
Beth with the Corgis says
Nic1, Robin gave an excellent explanation. I just wanted to add a thought to illustrate the way I look at it:
You can teach a beagle to retrieve by using positive reinforcement.
You can teach a lab obedience commands by using retrieving AS the positive reinforcement.
Robin’s last paragraph, of course, applies.
Nic1 says
@Robin and Beth – I agree! ‘When it comes to breed-related traits and training, isnโt it more a matter of understanding the individual dogs environment, motivation and rewards?’
If you want to teach an Irish wolfhound to lie down (something that he may find very difficult, physically), he’s going to require some serious motivation and external reward to offer that behaviour. The Terrier engaging in Treiball – why would you want to teach a terrier to herd a ball anyway? Heck, let him dig in a sandpit for a bone! ๐ If we are insisting on teaching dogs to do engage in behaviours or activities that they may not be naturally attributed to or motivated by, simply because WE want to do it, then that’s a whole other issue ๐ That was really my point about breed related predatory outlets as opposed to teaching behaviours. Work WITH the indivdual dog’s natural predatory behaviour pattern as opposed to against it.
What behaviours do we actually really need to teach a companion dog? Perhaps ‘Sit’, ‘stay’, ‘recall’ and to de-sensitise the dog to being left alone for any length of time. Those are perhaps the minimum behaviours we may want to teach a dog for manners, safety and well being. As long as your dog isn’t a menace to society then it’s up to you how much you want to train your dog. When it comes to working dogs, I know of plenty of trainers who insist on using +P to teach their dogs so I prefer to stay out of that one. ๐ However, I have never had to train a dog to work sheep or herd cattle so what the heck do I know? ๐
Nic1 says
Trisha, did you ever hear the ‘old wives tale’ about ‘left for love’ and ‘right for spite’? This referred to ear temperature – if your left ear is red and warm, it indicates love. Right ear, indicates spite. I was told this by my Grandma as a little girl and took it in good humour along with never putting your shoes on the table as it’s bad luck etc. However, I almost did a spit take when watching a fascinating programme about dogs the other evening – they actually had evidence for this in dogs that suggested they may be feeling similar emotions.
The programme was made with the University of Bristol, entitled ‘Dogs: Their Secret Lives’ and focused on research and the treatment of separation anxiety in companion dogs. 40 dogs were randomly selected as a pilot study and about 80% had cortisol levels and outward behaviour that confirmed their distress in this regard. One particular dog in a full blown panic and frustration attack had images from a thermal camera demonstrating that the right ear was clearly much hotter than the left. However, when he smelled and heard his owners returning home you could visibly see the colour change in real time – his right ear cooled and his left ear heated up as his tail wagged and he sniffed in happy anticipation.
A researcher explained that the right side of the brain deals with the emotiuons experienced in separation anxiety (panic, fear and frustration). The left deal with positive emotions. This is reflected in the temperature in the ears of the dog.
My Granny was right! ๐
Kelly says
If I remember correctly, the trainer had said to not use the dogs name because you might not have time. Saying “come” is faster than saying “Piper come”. But in my experience, if you say their name the dog is getting ready to turn around/look at you.
Beth with the Corgis says
Kelly, if I am explaining basic training to someone, I usually explain that the dog does not think of its name the way we think of our own names (meaning I don’t think the dog thinks of itself as Fluffy or Spot). The name is an attention getter, a way to say “Hey, you!” to the dog.
So yes, I agree that by saying the name, we are already getting the dog to turn and look at you.
Some dogs, like my Jack, will pick a word he knows out of a sentence spoken at normal volume and tone (I’ve mistakenly said “Fine, stay there then” when he’s balky and walked off to turn and find him in a lovely sit-stay, ears at full attention, waiting for his release word). But many, many dogs, like my Maddie, seem totally oblivious to most words unless you say their name, the attention word, first. She will pick food-related words out of a sentence, but otherwise if you don’t say her name, she has no idea you are talking to her.
Now for mine, I can say “Corgis” or “puppies” or “Jack” and get both of their attention (because Maddie responds to Jack’s name as well as her own, but the reverse is not true). But nine times out of ten, if I just say their name they will come find me if they are not nearby.
Trisha says
Nic1: So much interesting information regarding left side/right side of the brain, yes? I had never heard that old tale about ear temperature (now I’m curious!) but lots of talk about the different functions of the 2 sides of the brain. I have read that it has been greatly oversimplified, so I don’t feel competent to say too much about it, except that I would like to learn a lot more. I’ll put it on my list of THINGS I SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT.
(It’s a long list!)
Nic1 says
Agreed Trisha – it seems way over simplified. But it was aimed at prime time TV so hopefully when the study is published there will be more specific detail. It was really an interesting observation, particularly as it triggered my memory of that old wive’s tale/superstition. It’s probably pagan/medieval in origin. And my Grandma did try and kid us she could read tea leaves….:)
http://www.reference.com/motif/society/burning-ears-superstition
SA is a welfare issue that potentially has epidemic proportions if you extrapolate the pilot data results to the population of companion dogs in the UK. What’s desperately sad is that a lot of dogs are suffering in silence. A large proportion of the dogs also had the same shift upwards in cortisol levels but with not with the observed typical behaviour.
em says
Nic1- that is fascinating about the ears!
I tend to be of a somewhat minimalist view, myself, when it comes to the training I want from my companion dogs. I expect them to have good manners, but I have often reflected, on our off-leash hikes, that 90% of what I need from the dogs while outdoors can be accomplished with recall. Add in a strong ‘stop-stay’ and that figures climbs to about 98% (the other 2% made up mostly by the ability to get themselves into the truck without help ๐ They know more, and cues like ‘leave it’ and ‘go ahead’ are a nice way to gild the lily, but they really don’t need them. Even ‘sit’ is just icing for us, really, a trick.
Inside, 90% of what I need from the dogs can be accomplished with ‘go lie down’, which I consider absolutely necessary to harmonious living, but more than that is just gravy.
And @Beth- I agree, agree, agree that the individual, in-built drives and motivations of a dog make a huge difference in how that dog will respond to training. Otis has taught me very well that one size truly does not fit all. (Adolescent Great danes who have never done it before are hard to teach to sit, too. ‘Down’ was much easier. So was ‘fetch’, if I’m being honest.) ๐
Vicky in Boise says
The recall is almost the first thing I train in a new dog. All three of my border collies are rescues, so I had no idea of what they had ever learned. Their recalls are very reliable now, but I never take that for granted. There is, however, nothing as lovely as seeing all three wheel around and race back to me, arriving in a happy congregation of black, white, and red!
Robin says
I try my best to have a strong recall with my dogs, and the information in this post is golden with regard to building/keeping that response strong. What I liked the best, though, was that you share my feelings regarding one of my favorite “dog things.” I LOVE seeing my dogs come running full speed when I call them with doggie smiles on their faces.
CC says
My dog has excellent recall in 90% of situations (including off-leash dog park while in mid-chase). However, he’s found some dead squirrels he likes to play with and chew on and it takes a while to get him to come back. Recently, we went for a hike (we live in a city) and he went NUTS. This is usual for him as he loves the outdoors. However, his recall went out the window. Any suggestions on how to remedy this in a situation where I can’t simulate the outdoors?
Missy Skeeter says
Labs are pretty easy they typically love recalls