IN last week's column I discussed the importance of a reliable recall for your dog.
A recall is the training term used when teaching a dog to come on command.
Last week I mentioned that in order to have a truly reliable recall, you have to have a strong, trusting bond based on benevolent leadership, fairness and fun.
Finding an activity that you and your dog can participate in together and enjoy is one of the best ways to solidify a long-lasting canine-human relationship. Your dog certainly has fun participating in activities with other people or with other dogs, but it actually gets more enjoyment from any pleasurable activity it participates in with its enthusiastic owner. When your dog sees you having fun, it enjoys the activity that much more. That is why going to a dog park and allowing your dog to run amok while you meander at a distance does very little for your canine-human relationship but does a whole lot for your dog's relationship with other dogs.
Once you begin to participate enthusiastically in activities with your dog the training of the recall becomes almost effortless with quick and long-lasting results.
As I mentioned last week, my preferred method of training a recall is with the use of an extendible leash.
To start, bring a bag full of the best treats ever for your dog. Attach the extendible leash to your dog's collar, then ask your dog to sit in front of you. If your dog can't sit for a treat, then you need to begin teaching that exercise and save the recall for another day.
Find a place to practise with no distractions - so no parks unless there is nothing around to distract your dog. You must be able to keep 100 per cent of your dog's attention.
With five treats say your dog's name and the word you will be using for your recall. For example, my dog Raider's recall is "Raider this way." So I start with him sitting in front of me and I say his recall five times, giving him one treat each time I say it.
It looks like this: Raider sits in front of me and I say, "Raider this way." Then he gets one treat. With Raider still sitting, I do the same thing. I say, "Raider this way" and he gets another treat. I will repeat this exercise exactly for the remaining three treats.
Practise this three or four times for an entire day. The next day the training changes a bit. For example, I will start with Raider sitting in front of me and say, "Raider this way" and give him one treat. For the next treat I will start with Raider sitting in front of me, say, "Raider this way," then begin to quickly walk backwards away from him while allowing the leash to extend, but I will not turn my back to him. I will continue to face him while I shuffle my steps quickly backward. Raider then gets up and enthusiastically runs to me. Once he reaches me I wait (without telling him) for him to sit, and then he gets the treat with a whole bunch of fun praise. I will do this running backward exercise three more times.
After another day or two of this training in a distraction-free area, you can take the training outside to an area with minimal distractions and practise this last sequence for another day or so.
Then the fun begins. You begin shaping the exercise to resemble a more natural recall rather than a contrived one.
Take your dog for a walk with the extendible leash along a quiet trail. While your dog is at a distance and is sniffing or generally distracted, watch its behaviour. When it stops sniffing or stops its interest in something other than you, you have about a three-second window of opportunity to recall your dog before it gets distracted again. When you see this window, immediately call your dog and when Fido comes, immediately give him a treat and a ton of fun praise. The extendible leash gives you the ability to monitor your dog's behaviour and watch for that perfect moment when it is away from you but not so far that you can't engage with it.
After about a week of this you can begin to try it off leash. And remember to make it fun! Joan has been working with dogs for over 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her at k9kinship.com.
