Mastering Recall: Training Your Dog to Come When Called',

When I start seeing a new client and they want their dog to have a better recall we always start with proximity games.

What are proximity games? These are games that make it FUN for your dog to be around you. Most people call their dog and they yell at them for not coming sooner or they yank them around on their collar. The party stops. Why would your dog come to you? You are a party pooper. BUT if you are reading this it means you want your dog close and you want to know a different way.

Each of these games can be played for a few seconds to a few minutes. If your dog looses interest you played too long. You want to stop play while they still love it. Tell them 'all done'. Then play again later.

In a quiet room of the house, start by having treats in both hands. Lure your dog around the room with the treats. Let them lick and release the food as you go.

Now start luring your dog around you. You need treats in both hands to pull this off. Don't worry if you feel awkward. It IS awkward to try to get your dog to walk around you. If they aren't comfortable, drop food around you and tell them what an awesome dog they are.

Another game you can play is to throw a treat to the left of you and tell your dog to get it. When they whip their head around to look at you, send another treat the opposite direction. These is a great start to a recall and makes it fun.

I also like to teach my dogs a nose touch. They LOVE recalling to a nose touch. To teach this, I put my hand out-they touch it-I put a treat to my hand and release it to them.

After we have a few proximity games in the house we start playing outside. If you are having trouble with your dog on a recall you are going to want to have them on a leash when you go outside. Play the games for proximity. Let your dog wander off a bit, make an attention noise and see if they come running and then reward them with a fun game.

Once you see they are coming to you with an attention noise and love playing the games, then you can add "Fido, come" or whatever word you want to say. When they come running to you-play the games!

Dogs love food, but they love experiences more than that. Tell me how these proximity games are going! Which one was your favorite?