Recall may seem like an easy thing tot rain and most people start off with the best intentions. All the dog needs to do is come back, right? How difficult can it be. Some dogs may learn this easily but some won’t, or it can deteriorate over time.
There’s a few reasons why….
Incomplete training: Most young puppies are good at coming back when called, they naturally want to be with us and we produce good things. But when they get a little older (especially during the pesky adolescent stage which can begin as early as 5 months and continue for over 2 years!) they can become more reluctant. Sometimes this is because their owners became a little complacent and took advantage of their puppy’s naturally good recall when young, then just expected this to continue. They may have done some recall training, calling the puppy often and giving a treat when they cameback. This isn’t usually enough though; puppies need to learn how to do this around a wide variety of distractions, at different distances and maybe even against their natural instincts
When training is not “proofed” with various locations, distances, distractions and temptations and other variables; it is likely to fail at some point. You can't train only in your garden and expect this training to transferover to woodland, for example.
Diluted recall cue: Did you consistently teach your puppy that a certain cue (such as their name) means come to you and something nice will happen? Did you ensure your puppy only heard that cue during training? Did you always reward and did you use high value rewards? Did you vary the type of rewards you used? Did you do enough repetition? If not, yourr ecall cue may have been diluted during the learning process and not mean much to your dog.
A recall cue can become a bit like background noise. Think of it like noises in your home. At first you noticed and responded to all of the little sounds, but over time you learned to ignore them because they are not relevant. The same can happen with a recall cue; using a dog’s name too much is a classic example of this, if you keep saying your dogs name multiple times each day when they are too distracted and not responding to you, it’ll become like back groundnoise.
Accidental (or intentional) punishment: What does punishment mean? Most people see punishment as something harsh and most people would never punish their dog for coming back.
But punishment is more complex as a theory. Punishment includes anything that makes the behaviour less likely to happen again. So this can include anything your dog dislikes:
🐾 If your dog does not want their fun to end; calling them back to finish the walk can punish the recall.
🐾 If your dog does not like having their collar or harness touched; calling them back to reach for this and attach the lead can punish the recall.
🐾 If your dog does not like car travel; calling them back to put them in the car can punish the recall.
🐾 If your dog is doing something enjoyable such as playing or chasing; calling them back to end their fun can punish the recall.
Do you see how it’s so easy to accidentally use punishment?
How often do you call your dog when there are only positive consequences and no negatives?
The other mistake people make is to reprimand (either physically or verbally) their dog for slow recall. The problem with this, is that dogs learn in the moment. So even if your dog has ignored you for half hour when they finally come back if you reprimand them they will actually learn that coming back is unpleasant. They will not understand that the punishment was aimed at the ‘not coming back’ part.
Lack of motivation to recall: What REALLY motivates your dog? This is what you need to use to reinforce your dog for coming back.
What is reinforcement (often referred to as a reward)? This is another theory that is commonly misunderstood by humans. Reinforcement by definition must make the behaviour more likely to happen again. So you call your dog, they return to you, and you give a treat. But will this make the behaviour of coming back more likely to happen again? Well that depends on whether or not the treat was of value to your dog in that moment.
We don’t get to decide what is reinforcing for our dogs, only they can. But we can learn about them and think outside the box when it comes to reward types.
There’s different types of food which will have different levels of value to your dog, there’s different ways of delivering the food, there’s play, interaction with you or the opportunity to do something they love.
The value of your reward will also vary depending on how your dog feels and what’s going on around them. So your food loving Labrador may go crazy for a piece of kibble when the park is empty but may not care about it if there is another dog friend to play with.
A reward can be anything that you are able to produce for your dog in that moment. Just make sure they actually value it, or it won’t reinforce their call behaviour making it more likely to happen again and again!
Instincts taking over: What job was your dog bred to do? Track wildlife, flush or carry game, control livestock movement? Dogs are ‘hard wired’ to do certain things. Some dogs have a high prey drive meaning they have a strong instinct to hunt, chase or even kill wildlife or other animals. This is is a behaviour driven by genetics and cannot be removed. Prey drive is also made stronger with practise, so if you have a puppy or a young dog that seems to have some preydrive; it’s very important to ensure they are not given the opportunity to practise this skill and become better at it. Once they’ve had the adrenaline and dopamine rush from predating it won’t be forgotten! There are ways for your dog to safely practise predation in contexts that do not involve wildlife or other animals, to ensure this need is met and to ensure they do not become frustrated and difficult to manage on walks.
Unmet needs: If your dog does not get enough free time to express normal canine behaviour, their recall may suffer. If there is an unmet need your dog will seek to fulfil it. This happens frequently with working line dogs that were bred to do a job. They tend to need more mental and physical stimulation and if these needs are unmet they can go a little ‘self employed’. Each time they have a great time fulfilling their instinctive needs while simultaneously ignoring your recall; they are simply learning that it’s more valuable to not come back. There are other needs, such as social needs. Dogs are a social species and if they do not have enough social opportunities they can struggle to comeback when they are off the lead because their motivation to seek contact is so high. If your dog does not get enough of something it can become much more interesting than you.
Hearing loss, ear problems, health problems and pain: It might seem like an obvious one but if your dog is experiencing hearing loss they won’t be able to hear you as well and therefore their recall will deteriorate. If your dog is experiencing ear pain it may actually hurt to hear loud noises such as a whistle. This could accidentally cause a negative association towards the recall cue. Dogs that have pain elsewhere could also have issues with recall. If it’s painful or tiring to come back then this could easily poison your recallcue.
Do you recall first time? I often get people to think about how quickly they respond when a family member talks to them. What if you are scrolling on your phone (maybe reading one of myarticles!) and a family member says your name. What if you are concentrating on something that is important to you in that moment? Do you instantly stop whatyou are doing and pay full attention to that person? It’s important to remember that our dogs are not robots and sometimes they may just be a little engrossed in something. This doesn’t mean your dog is “defiant” or “stubborn” just that their brain is otherwise occupied. Give them a little slack and call them once they’ve finished sniffing the tree!
Adolescence: Adolescence is a tricky time for our young dogs. They have all sorts of urges to go off and explore, doing anything they consider fun; they become thrill seekers! The reward centrein the brain of an adolescent dog is particularly sensitive at this age meaninganything enjoyable….will be REALLY enjoyable. Combined with this, adolescent dogs have less control of their impulses and their social needs are changing too.This is all perfectly normal and adolescence can begin as early as 5 months and go on beyond 2-3 years of age! Many people will do lots of recall training with their young puppies but as the puppy gets older the novelty of training has worn off and it’s reduced. This is a perfect storm for recall problems! Dogs at this age need to learn that you are more fun, not less. They also need careful management to help prevent them making potentially dangerous decisions such as rushing up to other dogs or chasing wildlife which would be enjoyable to them and the opposite of what you want them to learn.
Scaredy dog: A dog that is scared may struggle to come back. If something startles them the fear response kicks in (fight, flight, fool around, freeze) and if the dog chooses to flight they can end up covering larger distances than they can cope with. Once the fear response has been triggered they struggle to remember things they have learned. Some dogs such as rescue dogs with a traumatic past can be suspicious of people or hands coming towards them, meaning they can be fearful of having the lead clipped back on, or maybe they are scared of the lead itself and the sensation it leads to. It can also be difficult for dogs to come away from things that worry them, that might sound strange but if something is scary dogs usually want to keep an eye on it, so turning their back is not always easy. If the scary thing is another dog, the fear could be that the other dog will chase or attack them if they turn away.
Tips for teaching a reliable recall:
🐾 It must be rewarding and fun foryour dog to come back to you, every time.
🐾 Think outside the box in terms of rewards. Make a list of all the things your dog loves to do, can you recreate these somehow to use as a reward for recall?
🐾 Don’t be a nag! Imagine if everytime you got stuck into something, you were disturbed.
🐾 Call your dog when you don’t need them to come back, so you can reward and release.
🐾 Practise holding the collar (or harness) and attaching the lead, ensure this leads to something pleasant.
🐾 If your dog is fearful or has highprey drive, it’s important to only let them run free in safe areas. The fields at Martham Paw Ground are ideal for this, as you can safely let them burn off some energy and you can practise recall without the worry of where they might end up.
🐾 Consider using a long line in other locations where you want to allow more freedom. This means you can prevent your dog from indulging in all of the temptations around them rather than ignoring you. Ensure you learn how to use a long line safely first, as they can cause burns and jolts.
🐾 Start easy; your house and garden are ideal. Then build up to gradually more distracting places.
🐾 Although it’s frustrating, pretend to be pleased when your dog comes back, even if they ignored you to begin with and were slow.
🐾 If your dog’s recall is already poor, it’s best to teach a brand new recall cue and start afresh, see this month’s training tip in our monthy newsletter!
Blog written by Claire Mcknespiey of Educating Paws
