Absolute Recall – How to Train a Dog to Come ALWAYS

How to Train a Dog to Come

Do you admire those dogs that come with lightning fast speed every single time when their owners calls? Have you ever wondered how to train a dog to come, no matter what the circumstances? Teaching a dog to come reliably is actually quite easy and can be done by even the most novice dog owner without any problems by following the steps outlined in this article. And best of all the method used is completely positive for both you and your dog. Here we go:

What You Need When Teaching a Dog to Come

• One Dog: If you have more than one dog, train them separately, at least in the beginning.

• Rewards: You need really high-value rewards for that one, this doesn’t necessarily mean food, it can also mean a special squeaky toy, a really long belly rub session or similar, but remember it is the dog that determines how high the value of a reward is for him, not you

• A Signal: I prefer to use a normal, audible whistle, not a ‘silent’ one, one like those used in gun dog training and handling. Using a whistle has many advantages over using your voice…for example it always sounds the same and can’t be used ‘by accident’! If you insist to use a voice command it needs to be distinguishable from all the others you use and unlikely to be used by accident. Alternatively you can just whistle yourself

• Patience: To really make this behavior ‘bombproof’ you need to train it frequently and increase its difficulty for the dog very slowly. This takes time, but the result is well worth investing all the patience you have.

Understanding the Underlaying Principle of Teaching Your Dog to Come

What you are teaching your dog with this method is that hearing the ‘magic signal’ to come to you is the best news ever, because glorious things are going to happen! By slowly increasing the criteria you will cement this behavior into your dog and in the end, your dog will come on your signal no matter what else is going on because he has learned that being called to you is the best thing to wish for and has become an irresistible reflex for him.

Setting Your Dog Up For Success

No matter how old your dog is, a puppy or a senior, training dogs to come has nothing to do with their age, but all to do with setting your dog up for success every single time! By doing so your dog will learn faster and retain what he learned better. When training absolute recall you need to start with baby steps and progress at your dog’s speed.

Training Steps

Start at home, with no distractions around. This means put all toys away and, if you have other dogs, crate them while you work with one dog at a time. Let your dog or puppy wander around freely, sooner or later he will move towards you, now whistle ONCE softly. Chances are good that your dog or puppy will come to you and wants to investigate what this funny new sound means. The moment your dog arrives at your feet absolutely lavish him with praise, treats and rewards. Let the dog wander off again and repeat. Very soon your dog will speed up coming to you when hearing the whistle, when this has happened a few times you can give the whistle signal even when the dog is not already moving towards you. In the beginning call or whistle softly until your dog knows that it means something good close to you is about to happen, but then increase the loudness to the point you plan to use in future. Some dogs are afraid/scared by sudden new sounds around them, but this can be overcome easily by connecting the sound with something good (in the dogs eyes!).

As soon as the dog knows what the whistle means, whistle only one single time per training session to make the whole event more memorable for him.

Adding Distraction and Distance

Train first in the house and increase the criteria (distance and distraction) slowly. Only call/whistle once and reward royally as soon as the dog arrives at your feet. Your dog is ready for the next step if you notice that he is really speeding up coming to you and/or interrupts whatever he is doing at that moment. It is really crucial to start very easy and increase the criteria in baby steps. You need to control the environment in such a manner that your dog is absolutely set-up for success and comes every single time you called. Below are some ideas and tips how to increase the criteria slowly and remember to only increase them if your dog shows the desired behavior (coming to you at full speed and instantly) perfectly and repeatedly with lower criteria.

• You want to practice this behavior under as many different circumstances as possible, with one exception: Never call your dog away when he is eating his meal.

• When taking the training outside, always attach a long trailing leash to his harness, this way, if things go wrong, you still can get your dog with the help of the leash.

Here some ideas on how to increase the criteria:

• At home, you and the dog in the same room, no distractions present.

• Both of you in the same room with distractions present (toys, calm kids or pets etc).

• At home with both of you being in different rooms, adding distance and distraction gradually.

• In the garden/backyard (fenced!), adding distance and distraction gradually.

• In the dog park or any area where a dog can run off leash, adding distance and distraction gradually.

How often to train a dog to come

That depends partly on the dog, but the training sessions should be very frequent, around a dozen times each day normally works best . This is especially important in the beginning, until your dog really understands that the whistle means ‘Great things are about to happen near my owner’. It is also important to space training sessions well out over the day, one training session should only consist of one whistle/signal + praise and rewards + release. That is an exercise dogs learn better when not repeated shortly one after another, but at random intervals during the day.

Maintenance Training

Once you have trained this behavior and your dog performs it to perfection you still need to maintain this perfect performance. Simply give the ‘magic signal’ a couple of times a day, one time inside and one time outside to avoid it fading from your dog’s memory. If you notice that the response becomes ‘sluggish’ train more often, lower the criteria and up the rewards until you are back to a perfect turn around and coming full speed to you performance.

Solving Frequent Problems

My dog is afraid of the whistle/sound/signal I choose.

Either choose another sound, one your dog is more comfortable with, or start at a lower volume and drop treats every time. Similar to the clicker, the whistle needs to be connected, in the dog’s mind, with ‘good things’. As soon as it ‘clicks’ with the dog that the whistle means a really great reward is awaiting him, he will stop being afraid of it and eagerly anticipate it.

What do I do when my dog doesn’t come?

First of all, do nothing! This might seem counter-intuitive for those that have learned a more traditional style of dog training (reward good behavior + punish bad behavior = good dog) but it is really counterproductive as any ‘punishment’ will transmit the message to the dog that sometimes bad things come from you. Simply go and get your dog…he is wearing a long trailing leash on his harness when outside, isn’t he?…and calmly do something else with him. Not coming when the whistle sounds should mean simply ‘Oops, missed a great reward!’, nothing else! After a while you can go back to training this behavior, bearing in mind that most likely the dog not coming has happened because you have increased the criteria too fast and raised too high and/or your latest reward was not really great in your dog’s eyes. Go two steps back reducing distance and distractions and provide a really big prize for coming. Soon you will be back on track and can increase the criteria again, this time much more slowly please.

My dog did come beautifully at home, but will not come outside.

Same as above, plus make sure to do the first few training sessions outside in an area your dog finds boring and with only a short distance between you. Remember a dog is distracted by things we don’t notice, like smells etc, so make sure your first outside training is really in a boring environment.

What distinguishes this method from ‘normal recall training’?

Unless you are a very self-disciplined trainer, chances are that you yourself get ‘sluggish’ over time. This can happen with using a signal/command too often, mixing it up with other signals you give, not rewarding properly etc. Interestingly I have observed that dogs that have been trained an emergency recall signal/command will also come faster when called by name or ‘here’, the reason being that they have learned that good things happen when coming in general and that coming to you always results in a pleasant experience for them. Having a ‘bombproof’ emergency recall trained with your dog that…a part of maintenance training…you only use rarely, and reward heavily each single time, is an invaluable tool to have at hand.

And here for your convenience is a checklist of:

Do’s and Don’ts of How to Train a Dog to Come (Absolute Recall)

Do’s

• Only whistle once.

• Only use high value rewards.

• Space training session out and keep them very short.

• Train often.

• Vary your rewards from session to session.

Don’ts

• Don’t, ever, punish or tell your dog off for coming slowly or not at all.

• Don’t let the dog make a connection between whistle/signal with something unpleasant, like being put on the leash and going home/end of fun.

• Don’t whistle more than once.

It really takes some time to bombproof this behavior and cement the reflex into a dog’s brain, but it is well worth the effort! Imagine the following situation:

Your walking near a busy road with your dog on leash and suddenly a feral cat/squirrel appears and your dog bolts and you let the leash slip out of your hand and the dog is running free, chasing the squirrel/cat and is in danger of running onto a busy road. Then imagine that you now whistle and your dog turns around immediately and comes running up to you full speed.

Knowing how to train a dog to come, and doing it!, can mean the difference between life and death for your canine companion …