Teaching the Puppy recall response

The Puppy Recall

by Pippa Mattinson

There are few thing more annoying than a dog which won’t come when you call it. It is a very common and frustrating problem. It is however a problem that people create for themselves. A seven or eight week old puppy wants nothing more than to be next to you. At some point over the next few weeks there is great potential for this to go wrong, happily there is equal scope for strengthening that bond and creating the beginnings of a lifetime of co-operation between you. It is within every puppy owner’s power to thoroughly condition an enthusiastic recall response from a very early age, if a few simple rules are followed.

Teaching the puppy recall is a lot of fun. For best results there are three golden rules which you should not break. They are as follows:

1. Never call your puppy unless he is already coming towards you
2. Never chase your puppy
3. Do not test your puppy

You may feel that not calling a puppy until he is already on his way towards you is hardly an obedient recall, and indeed it is not. We are not looking for 'obedience' in a small puppy, what we are doing is 'conditioning' him to believe that running towards you is the best thing ever, and to thoroughly associate this act with the sound of your recall command. Eventually, in time, the sound of the recall will be so ingrained that his automatic response on hearing it is to run towards you. You are laying the foundations for future training when he is ready.

How to establish the foundations of a reliable ‘puppy recall’

Here is how you can get your puppy rushing towards you to begin this exercise. You can start as soon as your puppy has settled in to his new home. Put your puppy down in a large and preferably enclosed space where he safe, and where there are no other dogs. Other people are ok so long as they all understand and follow the three golden rules above. Your yard or garden or ( vaccinations permitting ) a safe field or meadow are fine.

When the pup takes his attention from you and starts investigating a leaf or interesting smell - run away from the pup. Keep glancing over your shoulder. In a moment or two he will look up and see you disappearing. He will come flying after you. Turn to face him and get down low, and call your puppy’s name. ‘Here Fido’ If he hesitates, stop calling, avert your face ( remember that to a dog, a stare or direct look can be threatening ) get right down on the ground and let him give you a good licking. Repeat the recall command softly as he clambers over you. Mind you do not trip over him, or tread on him - new puppies often get right under your feet. Repeat this several times a day. Don’t run far - just a few feet or yards, you are not trying to scare him, or exhaust him, just to trigger his natural instinct to chase you. You are conditioning him to associate the recall (here) with the act of running towards you. Trust that he will make this association. Do not be tempted to test him.

Leave testing for later

If you test your puppy by calling his name when he is not in the act of coming towards you, and he does not come, you will damage all your good work by teaching the pup that it is possible for the recall command to be ignored. This early play learning should not include any testing, it is about conditioning. You are laying the foundations for a perfect recall in the weeks to come. Meanwhile if you need your pup to come to you, attract his attention with a hand clap, and make off in the opposite direction. He will soon come trotting after you.

Involving children

Children can be very good at this game. Most want to play with a pup, and if you teach them to get the pup to chase after them, instead of the other way around, you are building excellent habits in your dog ( and kids!). Just tell them that they must take it in turns, and that just before the puppy reaches them they must give the 'recall' then fall to the ground and let the pup jump all over them Children especially like the part where they let the puppy 'catch' them. If you don’t have children, now is your chance for a second childhood. Get that pup running after you, let him think he has caught you and let him give you a good licking.

Many puppies also love being chased. Never ever let children or anyone else chase your puppy. He will quickly learn how what he should never be allowed to discover - that he can run faster than you. You will regret it for the next ten years or more.

After a few weeks of this game, you can exchange the verbal recall ‘here’ for the recall whistle (pip-pip-pip-pip ). Again only use it when the pup is already on his way to you and running fast. You are building some great pathways in his brain. This pathway says ‘recall whistle' = fast running towards handler’. This is the perfect conditioning and worth a thousand lessons later on. For the first few months of his young life, make sure that every recall signal ever given is inextricably linked in your puppies mind with the pleasure of running towards you and arriving happily at your side.