Effective Dog Recall Training Tips with Chloe Fuller

Teach Your Dog a reliable return, with Chloe Fuller 

If there’s one thing your dog absolutely needs to know, it’s recall. There’s nothing better than seeing your dog enjoying a little freedom to run around the local park or even woodland pathways, enjoying their own social life - but that’s simply not safe if your dog doesn’t have a reliable recall.

We’ve teamed up with dog training expert and TV personality Chloe Fuller to ensure you and your four-legged friends stay safe with reliable recall. 

You might need to recall a dog for many reasons: seeing another dog on a lead, preventing them from chasing a squirrel, or stopping them from heading towards a road. 

If you’ve watched my recent reel for Wilsons, you’ll know my top three tips are: don’t use their name, use high-value treats, and don’t let recall be the end of the walk.

In this blog, I’ll explain why those tips matter and break down how to teach a solid recall. 

Recall Tips 

Don’t use their name! 

Your dog’s name gets used so much daily that its meaning becomes fuzzy. Instead, choose a unique word that’s only for asking your dog to return to you. For my boys, I use “here” to return to me and “this way” to change direction and follow me. You might not need a ‘this way’ cue but think about how you’re currently using your dog’s recall cue. Your recall cue must mean one thing: come directly to you. It should be crystal clear, leaving your dog no doubt about what you’re asking. 

Extra Tempting Treats!

Recall is one behaviour where you can’t go overkill! You should pull out all the stops with your rewards - meaning high-value foods. Wilsons is amazing for this; their huge range of treats means you can build a treat ‘bag of dreams’ for your dog!

I would suggest a variety of treats and ones that your dog will also love the smell of. We opt for a mix such 

as Wilsons Cold Pressed dog food, Wilsons Baltic Sprats, the Pheasant Bites and Wilsons Beef Liver Treats. All incredibly tempting rewards and really healthy too.  You can even include a few of Wilsons supplements too, for extra health benefits, we love the Joints and Skin & Coat supplements for Cinna and Ted.

Recall shouldn’t signal the end of the fun... 

The biggest mistake people make is only recalling their dog at the end of a walk. Your dog isn’t daft they’ve figured your game out! They know as soon as they get to the end of that loop of the park, or that trail, that you’re going to ask them to come back to you, whip on the lead and head home; fun, games and freedom over! You might have other things to do with your day, but your dog doesn’t. From their point of view, a very easy way of extending their own playtime is to brush off your recall and continue the walk on their terms. Recall shouldn’t be the end of the fun, it should be an invitation to a better type of fun with you. Some fuss, affection and a treat.

How To Teach Recall 

Start Small 

Once you’ve chosen what your verbal cue will be and prepared a selection of delicious treats, start training at home. Sounds funny, right? You don’t need to recall at home, surely? While recall might seem unnecessary indoors, the controlled environment reduces distractions and sets your dog up for success. 

Stand a short distance from your dog, say your recall cue, and scatter treats at your feet. As your dog races to you and eats the treats, move 6 feet away and repeat the process. Do a few repetitions of this, and leave it for another day. Keep sessions short, a few minutes at most, to leave your dog wanting more. 

After a few days, your dog will associate the cue with racing toward you for rewards. At this stage, switch to offering treats from your hand and introduce a gentle collar grab to prevent “dine and dash” behaviour. Once your dog is comfortable, practice attaching their lead briefly. 

Increase your 3 D’s - one at a time! 

What are the 3 D’s, you might be asking? Distance, Duration, Distraction. To build a reliable recall, you need to proof the behaviour by gradually increasing these. We must tackle one at a time to set our dog up for success. You might start by moving further away from your dog in the house; that’s distance and duration! Then you might try it out in your garden - that’s a distraction.

Progress slowly to ensure success at each step. If your dog doesn’t respond the first time, you’ve moved too quickly and need to backtrack. Meanwhile, use a long line during walks to allow freedom while avoiding failures. 

Keeping it Reliable! 

Once you’ve successfully built up your recall cue to various distractions, distances and durations, you must test it in the real world! For this, pop your dog on a harness and long line to ensure they don’t develop bad habits. Once you’re reliably getting success, you can take the long line off and practice without your safety net! Remember to praise your dog heavily, rewarding from the treat bag of dreams. I throw my dogs a ‘’praise party’ when they get something like this right for the first time in real-world settings. 

 

Troubleshooting

There are various reasons that your recall may fail; let's take a look at some of them. 

Poisoned Cues 

This is where you’ve either overused your cue or it’s become associated with a negative emotion. Perhaps there have been too many occasions where your dog has blown off your first recall, so you’ve called again, or maybe you’ve called again....and again. Your dog has now learnt they don’t need to come the first - or fifth time!

Or it could be that you’ve scolded your dog once they’ve returned to you. Unfortunately, all your dog has learnt is that coming back means they get shouted at. No matter how frustrated you might be, you must reward your dog. Next time, take a long line on your walk so that it doesn’t happen again while you do some recall refresher training. 

Getting Distracted 

If you’re starting to see recall failures, note why that might be. Is it that they’re scavenging for food? Have they found something to destroy? Are they too busy playing with another dog or mobbing someone for treats? Have they chased after a cyclist or a jogger? All of these problems would require different solutions and would be beyond the scope of this blog to delve into. However, as an example, scavenging for food is more of a scavenging issue than a recall issue. To prevent your dog from developing poor habits, pop them back on a long line while you consult with a professional trainer to tackle the problem. 

Lack of Motivation 

If you’re noticing hesitation in your dog’s recall, or they return to you reluctantly, we have a lack of motivation. It could be that you’ve been slacking on your rewards, forgetting treats one too many times. Remember to recall throughout your walk, changing whether you reward them with praise and treats or releasing them again to return to freedom. This is known as Intermittent Reward Schedules - a proven method for improving motivation in dogs! One time, we may give a small reward, and next time, we’ll give a much greater reward. Your dog will become more motivated to return as it’s a gamble for them what they’ll receive. 

Returning, but stopping a short distance away! 

This is the one that infuriates most pet owners. They came back, but they’re evading your capture, diving away as you go to put them on the lead. They think it’s a game. And it is, to them. This is why we train the collar grab as part of recall. First, stop giving the treat from your hand or throwing it in front of you. Instead, throw the treat behind you in a bowling motion. Your dog will zoom past you, breaking them of their habit of stopping 10ft in front of you. 

It’s time to put them back on the long line so you can reel them in slowly while you revisit the earlier steps of building in a collar grab. Remember, don’t just put your dog back on lead at the end of the walk. Pop them back on lead multiple times during the walk, releasing them again after. Lead on, should never mean the end of the walk. 

Remember! 

With any dog training, consistency is key. Make sure everyone who is involved in your dog’s care is on the same page about the cue selected, using a long line while in training, the training methods and the appropriate high value rewards, like Wilsons treats, you’re using. If one family member is doing things differently, it will make it significantly harder to get a reliable recall! Recall is a lifelong training process, it is just as important for older dogs as it is for pup and should always be encouraged and rewarded. Set your dog up for success and remember that training is a journey. Celebrate their progress and nurture your bond along the way.