Recall Tip – Does your dog ignore you when called?

Whether you use a word, or whistle, has it ever been

ignored? Or ignored sometimes / often?

Recall is safety for your dog or puppy, even if they never go off lead. Because if one day that lead slips it could save your dog’s life if they understand what a recall word means.

Being ignored by your dog or puppy can feel frustrating and scary, and that may be despite having the best treats or even steak.

That is because recall training is more complex than simply rewards ( which are still great by the way, when trained in the right way )

With recall training we need to first check that dog’s needs are being met, also including their breed needs, their history, experiences, their reinforcements, relationships, emotions and more.

The good news is that Recall Ninjas – our expert partners go over this with you and provide a simple, easy to implement training play which can be achieved in just minutes per day! When the best recall professionals are coaching you, safety and recall success for your dog are just around the corner.

I’m sure you can just imagine how great freedom would feel to your dog, and how much better you will feel having a much more reliable recall for your dog or puppy, changing worry to calm.

What is a Poisoned Recall Cue

If you have used your recall cue, for example ‘Come’ and it has been ignore regular basis, in the dog training world we call this a poisoned cue.

When a recall word has been poisoned, you need to train a new recall word, or whistle pips.

There are some crucial rules to follow:

Only ever use it when you are sure it’ll work, from now on.

If you are not sure it will work, it’s best not to use it until it is fully trained. Our experts at Recall Ninjas run the best recall training programme for puppies and dogs of all breeds and ages.

Here’s how you can train this first stage of your recall training:

HOW TO:

Grab some treats and place them in your pocket or a treat bag

HAVE YOUR dog in same room as you and start with them close by to you.

Say your recall word then immediately deliver a treat

RULES

DO NOT ASK YOUR DOG TO SIT OR DO ANYTHING – all we would like is for you to say the word then within 2 seconds, have your dog or puppy eating the treat – nice and simple to start creating that brain connection.

This is super important not to ask for a sit because here we a using a scientific method called classical conditioning. This method relies on pairing things.

This is because we are pairing the word with something good happening

We are essentially creating a new pathway in your dog’s brain, and this requires repitiion so that new neural pathways can be created.

Once this happens, it signals to your dog instantly that as soon as they hear that word or noise, something great happens. This can even lead to salivation – much like when the ice cream van comes and you hear the noise, you my start to salivate. This is because you have heard it so many times that your brain created an instant connection, without you even thinking about it.

3 times a day would be a good idea, for a couple or a few weeks.

Practice this training 2-3 times per day, with around ten pieces of your dog’s food, or some treats. Just be sure to balance what you are using to avoid weight gain. See our guide for more tips on treats and food rewards.

Visit our recommended partner Recall Ninjas for expert Recall Training based on years of canine training and behaviour education and a proven system that works without the use of harmful tools.

Recall gives dogs safety and freedom, and dog owners peace of mind over worry. It is the only life skill in dog training that is needed in their lives.