Welcoming a new puppy into the home is an exciting time. Bringing your cute new furry family member home is a wonderful feeling, watching them explore their new surrounding and all of the toys, beds and other treats you have likely prepared for them. It marks the beginning of a time of responsibility as well, however. You have brought a new little life into your world, and you are now responsible for them. High on the list of things to get right is teaching them the things they need to know properly.
One of the highest priority things that all guardians need to be sure their puppy learns is to come when called. Being able to recall your dog and see them zoom straight back to you full of enthusiasm to be with you is a great feeling, and a vital part of being a responsible dog guardian. There are many situations where you may need to summon your dog quickly, if approaching a road, or to be considerate to others when out walking who may not wish to interact with a dog that they do not know, or have dogs that are on lead for a multitude of reasons. A rock solid recall means you are safeguarding your dog against a number of potential dangers, and being a considerate user of our public spaces.
Coaching towards your rocket recall is something that can begin as soon as you bring your new puppy home. To begin the process, enlist somebody else to help and begin inside the house, in a nice quiet room. Have your helper hold the puppy in one spot while you move away. Only go a few steps to begin with. Show your puppy that you have a nice tasty treat that they will really enjoy in your hand can call them to you as your helper lets them go. The puppy should come straight over in an attempt to get the treat. If they are wearing a collar or harness take a gentle hold of it before handing the treat over as a reward. This means that the puppy will not have the chance to develop the habit of snatching the treat and running away as some may learn to do. When the puppy is happily coming to call inside the house, move out to the garden and practice again.
Once your puppy has finished their course of vaccinations and you can begin to take those much anticipated walks, the work continues to make sure your puppy’s recall is as good as it should be. Use high value treats, the kind they really cannot wait to get, to ensure they are really keen to come back. Always remember to increase the value of reward you offer to account for the level of distraction you are asking your dog to ignore. Make sure that, as far as your puppy is concerned, you are the most exciting thing in their vicinity, and coming back to you is fun!
For safety those first few times letting them run in the wider world, it may be an idea to consider using a long line attached to a well-fitted harness. That way your puppy can enjoy the feeling of running free, but you have the security of knowing that you can reel them back in if necessary. Once you are confident that your puppy will come back to you straight away when called, even in busy places, you can think about foregoing the long line.
The most important thing to remember when coaching your puppy to come when called is to begin by setting both of you up for success. Only call your puppy in the early stages when you are sure they will come to you, not when they are off wanting to explore something else. Getting it right to begin with makes continuing coaching later on much easier. With greater difficulty and more distraction, remember to increase the reward level to match. Give them the nice tasty treats, not bits of kibble or dry dog biscuits (although the dog will let you know what they really like!) Higher value treats can also help in adolescence; yes, dogs go through ‘teenage’ stages as well, and extra tasty treats can help when they may feel like testing boundaries with recall.
Finally - and most importantly - never punish a dog that has not recalled promptly when you do get hold of them. The dog will not associate the punishment with the failed recall. Instead it would seem to the dog that coming back is in fact a bad idea. If your recall has failed, go back a few steps, use a long line on a harness and work on getting your dog to come racing back with enthusiasm.
Get recall coaching right from the beginning, and your dog will be sprinting back when called to see what interesting thing you will be doing next, and you can enjoy a long and happy life together having fun adventures!
Recall and emergency stop are the two cues no dog should be without. I blush to admit it by my beloved Ranger had a better emergency stop than recall. I could stop him a pretty long distance away and he would wait for me to catch up and attach his leash. I could tell whether he was likely to blow off a recall cue and would use stop instead. Like the time he was playing off leash with a couple of Border Collie pals and a family with young children showed up at the park. Ranger, who adored children, took off at a gallop to go greet the children. Knowing that as a parent I wouldn't have been very happy to have a very large off leash dog charging at my children and knowing that he was likely to ignore a recall I yelled for Ranger to stop. He stopped immediately and waited for me to come and attach his leash. The parents of the family having just seen a well trained dog immediately respond to a cue were happy to let him come and meet the children. The children were delighted, Ranger was thrilled. And everyone had a good time. All of which is a long winded way of saying having both cues is valuable.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I'll write another article soon listing the most desirable and must haves in the way of cues everybody should instil in their dogs :-)
DeleteStop is actually something I have failed miserably with. Recall is a success. Funny how we all have skills. Teaching a stop in a simple and memorable and motivational way is my nemesis!
ReplyDelete