The recall is an essential command that teaches your dog to come to you whenever you call. It is much easier to teach this to a puppy than an adult and there are certain breeds that can be more difficult to teach than others.
From the moment I brought Archie home I started teaching him the recall by calling him whenever something good was going to happen such as dinner, games or treats. He quickly learnt that responding to his name was a good thing.
To teach your pup/dog to come to you when you are out of the house takes time, persistance and patience and it is important to never trust a young dog at all and assume there is always a possibility that they will run from you, not to you. For this reason i do not recommend letting a dog under 12months off leash in any area that is not fully fenced. Practise the recall until you are confident your pooch will cooperate.
WHAT YOU NEED A long leash
A very long rope
Some treats
A squeaky toy
STEPS
· The key to this command is teaching your pup/dog that coming to you is a pleasant experience. Of course he will want to come to you if he gets his favourite toy, some food and verbal praise from you when he does.
· Start calling ‘COME’ around meals and play times always telling him what a good boy he is, even though he was going to come anyway.
· Practice moving backwards and squeaking a toy, so pup follows. Always including the command ‘COME’ as you move.
· With pup on a leash, tell him to SIT facing you. Step back and then call him to you. You can apply gentle pressure on the lead and move backwards so he will come towards you. Encourage with squeaky toy and verbal praise.
· Progress to longer rope, so he starts to recall from distances. Take this with you to the park and keep practising. Perfect the recall on the rope before considering letting us run free and when you do, be sure to do so in an enclosure.
· Start to include a handsignal of open arms with each command
· Always give lashings of praise, make a fuss, let him have his toy etc when he does come to you. You have to make yourself more exciting than the other dogs, trees, people etc in the park or why would your dog bother returning all?
. Never punish or scream at a dog or pup if it doesn't come back now matter how frustrating or embarrassing the situation has been.You dont want to create a dog who is scared to come to you altogether.