Dog Training “Recall” – The most important command of all!
Recall – “Come”. This command can save your dog’s life!
The five basic dog training commands are Sit, Stay, Come, Heel and Down. Of these “Come” or recall is the most important! Why — if you see your dog running into a dangerous situation, you should be able to save your dog by calling him back.
How do you get your dog to always happily and excitedly come to you when called? Make it fun!
- Start with a 30′ leash (A MUST)
- You need to learn happy voice
- Reward – Have treats to start
- LOTS OF PRAISE!
First, Set yourself up for success! Make sure you can get your dog to come to you by always using a leash. If you call your dog and you don’t have a leash to follow through, you’re going to fail. You do not want to fail at this command, or any for that matter.
Use a very excited, happy voice to encourage your dog to come. This is the most important part of recall. Your voice tones means the most to your dog. Because I struggle sometimes with my students on how important voice tones are, I came up with a scenario. “Pretend you see a flying saucer and you want your friend to see it before it disappears – that’s the voice tone to use” – HURRY!!!
Reward. When you first start with the recall command, make sure you have treats, a very high reward treat. I love Life’s Abundance “Tasty Rewards”. Dog love them and they’re healthy! When your dog comes to you, praise first and give him a treat. Eventually you should just use praise as they learn to believe that they want your leadership. The second they start to move towards you PRAISE, when they come all the way to you – Throw a Party! Never scold your dog because you didn’t say “come” and they did it anyway, or they don’t come straight towards you. Always PRAISE when they come to you!!
For more information, please call Wendy Blanch, Master Dog Trainer and Dog Behaviorist at 951-339-1040.
