The Recall Game...Foolproof method for come when called....

This is my version of this popular game to teach puppies to come when they are called.

IT WORKS!!

The Recall Game
This version copyright 2005, all rights reserved, Rebekah Pless
Free for use by anyone as long as author info remains intact.

Having a dog who will reliably come when called is one of the best things in life. This means FREEDOM for your dog. Here is how to teach your dog to RUN to you each time you call it.

1) NEVER call your dog unless you are CERTAIN you can enforce the command. Each time you call your dog and he does not immediately come to you to receive a food reward, you take a step backwards in his learning to come when you call. It is important not to make mistakes when teaching the recall. DO NOT CALL YOUR DOG if there is ANY chance you cannot enforce the command. EVER.
2) NEVER call your dog to you for anything unpleasant. If you need to interrupt a play session, or you are going to trim nails, or if you are about to do anything to your dog that he does not enjoy, GO GET THE DOG. Do not call him to you.
3) FOOD REWARD every single recall. EVERY SINGLE ONE. This means keeping treats in your pockets at all times.
4) Smiles are required equipment when calling your dog. NEVER EVER call your dog in anything but a praise tone of voice. Correction will NEVER help a recall. Your dog must WANT to come when you call.

To play the game you need at least 2 people, and several is great. Each person is given a handful of very small soft treats. I prefer tiny pieces of hotdogs or string cheese. Pieces should be VERY small, even for a larger dog or puppy. I slice a hotdog in half and cut the pieces the size of a nickle. Once people have their treats, they should take a seat around the room with as much room between them as the room will allow.

One person takes the puppy or dog and points him towards the person who is going to begin the game. This person may do anything to get the puppy to come towards him except say the word COME. Clap hands, smile, laugh, show the treat, call PUPPPY PUPPPPY PUPPPPY, or the dog’s name. When it is CLEAR that the pup is committed to going to the person, and ONLY THEN, say the pup’s name, and come. For example, Bailey, COME! It does not matter if the puppy is almost to you, as long as the pup hears his name and the word COME while he is going TOWARDS the person calling.

Hold the hand with the food right up next to your body so that the puppy has to come all the way up to you and touch you to get the treat. Do not feed the treat until you are holding the puppy’s collar. This prevents the “snatch and run” game. Praise and pet the puppy cheerfully while he is getting his treat. Once the pup has had his little tiny treat, it’s time to point him towards another person who does the same thing.

It is extremely important that the participants understand they are NOT to say the word COME unless the puppy is already doing just that.

Play as long as the pup is interested. Main rules, Do not say COME unless the puppy IS coming, hold the treat up CLOSE to your body, and you must be holding the collar to feed the treat.

This simple game does more to build a reliable recall than any other training you can do. Your pup will quickly learn that his name and the word come means TREAT. Each time you call the pup and reward him for coming quickly to you, you build a more ingrained and reliable response. If you are consistent and train this game at least 2 to 3 times per week, you will have a dog who will ALWAYS come when you call it. Most owners list this as a top priority for their dogs. Here is a fun and simple way to attain this goal.

Practice often! Your pup will love this game, and so will your friends.

[thewhitewitchone]

Thank you! I love it! Going to start it tomorrow.

Pam

bumping this topic to the front page

[tintinabulation]

that sounds like such a cute idea! I've always been wondering how to teach Coco to come... this should really help thanks!

It really works, and most dogs and people enjoy it a lot.

[Hyper-Lab]

Just going to add to your topic about dogs/pups that are not food driven and this can be done by one person...

This recall game of tug of war is a play session;

Throw a toy (one that can be used for tug of wat etc) once the dog/pup has picked up the toy, recall him (come or whatever your word of command is), then once the dog/pup has come back to you, get your dog/pup to sit and then play tug of war as a reward, be very loud and excited about what the dog/pup has just achieved.
This works well especially if you have a dog that is only toy driven.

I havent expanded to much on this post, but i will if need be.

[lucille]

I would think that if you call him when he picks up the toy, he would associate the word 'come' with picking up a toy, not with coming to you?

[Hyper-Lab]

I didnt mean that you say it as soon as he picked up the toy (i havent stated it all in that post, its late here) But remember that praise and correction are to be given within 4 seconds of the desired behaviour/undesired behaviour, therefore just wait to recall after that, this is how i trained my dog to come when our training started on the day i got him. This game also teaches the formal retrieve, Mum throws my toy, i run and get it, mum calls for me to go to her, i sit, then PLAY TIME!
Remember the timing is everything, i found that when the commands were timed correctly, he didnt get confused at all.

Also one person can do recall training by:

First you must put yourself in a position of control by attaching a long line to the dogs collar (not a choke chain or harness), allow your dog to wander to the full length of the long line and then try to recall your dog by saying “Fido come”

If the dogs comes to you, encourage it by using a coaxing voice, take up the slack in the line but DO NOT pull the dog.
Once the dog arrives infront of you encourage the dog to “sit” facing you and reward your dog (no corrections at this stage of training).

If the dog does not come to you on the word of command, repeat the word of command and jerk the longline towards you (not to hard), this is a correction and must be given in less than 4 seconds after the command, this procedure is repeated untill the dog is coming freely and sitting directly infront of you.

Ok im going to try fix up my first post (although im sure to forget stuff due to it being 3:14 am and im falling asleep)

This recall game of tug of war is a play session;

Throw a toy (one that can be used for tug of war etc) once the dog/pup has picked up the toy, recall him (Fido come, use his name before the "come" command as his name is indeed a command which means "hey pay attention"), then once the dog/pup has come back to you, get your dog/pup to sit and then play tug of war as a reward, be very loud and excited about what the dog/pup has just achieved.
This works well especially if you have a dog that is only toy driven.

It works if you work it!

moving this one up