Thursday 6 February 2014

Why recall?

Hey guys! Today it's me, Dina Mom, to bring to you the issue of recall training. It's me because, well because I thought Dina would take the topic a bit too lightly. After a couple of incidents that I won't recall (pun not intended) on this blog because it would take way too long (but I might share them on my Dina Mom page) I realised that Dina's recall is fine with little distractions: just walking and sniffing, approaching another dog, sniffing butts with that dog. However, if that dog starts to chase Dina, she panics. She can usually out run most dogs but there are some individuals in the dog world who don't take no for an answer and then Dina's recall goes to pot as she usually doesn't know how to get to me with the other dog trying to play with her. This is a mix of my rubbish socialising (or lack thereof), not the best training and the other dog. I'm not going to tell you how to teach recall because that has been done before (as can be seen here,  here and here -just scroll down until you see the recall sub-heading) and would just be boring. So instead I'll say some of the reasons why I think you should train your dog to come when called.


  • It is just plain, darned useful.- I know I need the recall cue when I want to take a cool photo of Dina or something. Just say 'Dina!' and she magically appears.
  • Safety- Safety, safety and safety. Recall from a busy road. Recall from a dog that may not be the friendliest. Recall if your dog is not the friendliest. The list goes on...
  •  It is one of the basics in puppy classes for a reason not just because people feel like teaching it.
  • Teaches control



Hugs,
Dina Mom

7 comments:

  1. I do a great recall if there are NO distractions. But if there is something fun I don't do so good.

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  2. I have recall...but I just ignore mom sometimes!

    Mason

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  3. I never taught Beamer recall. He's just so attached to me that he doesn't let me out of his sight on our walks. I rarely leash him.

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  4. Us too we have recalll but selective hearing. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  5. I agree, it's one of the most important things you can teach your dog! Good on you for stressing how important it is!

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  6. Those are wonderful pictures. Recall is something we continuously work on. Our dogs have good recall, but we have to keep it that way since they are hunting dogs.

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  7. Do you have an emergency recall? Have you heard of this? This is separate from the “come” command. Truth is, even a well-trained dog may ignore “come” if he is tired, distracted or engaged in something more interesting than his owner. An emergency recall is designed to have a dog come without hesitation in a bona fide off-leash emergency (i.e. running loose on a busy street.)

    I chose a separate, not commonly used word for the emergency recall – DANGER! – and train it in a higher pitched, almost panicky tone. I intentionally grab Jedi's collar once he reaches me. The idea is that if/when there is a real emergency, he won’t be startled by my tone or rougher than usual handling (because in a real emergency, it’s going to happen that way!) I use special, extra-yummy canned food as a reward and give lots of praise. The goal is to teach Jedi that when I yell “Jedi, DANGER! DANGER!” he’ll come running straight to me every time. Ideally, Jedi will come because he thinks there’s good stuff waiting for him, remaining oblivious to my panic over a potential crisis.

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