“My dog has good recall …. Unless he sees something more interesting than me.”
It’s fair to say I have heard this more than once!
Let’s start with the positives – a dog that comes back when there are no distractions at least has a grasp of the principles of recall. A bit like how we can understand the principles of how to lose weight but can only show good food discipline as long as there are no biscuits or chocolate in the cupboards.
Why is off-lead exercise is important for your dog?
Before we get into some of the reasons of how recall fails and what to do about it, it’s worth spending a little time thinking about why good, nailed on, 100% recall is important and what the dangers are when it’s not in place.
Off-lead exercise is a really important component of a dog’s life, providing you can manage this safely. It gives them time to stop and sniff, or run and bark, whilst you are walking at your own pace, and that can help them to let off steam.
Poor recall: what are the dangers to your dog?
However, off-lead exercise without good recall can be dangerous for your dog. Here are some reasons why:
- If your dog takes off after another dog there’s a chance it could be attacked, most dogs don’t like other dogs charging at them.
- Your dog could run over a road, leaving you braced for the sound of screeching brakes – and hoping for the best.
- Running through fences – a particular hazard for fast sighthounds that get on the trail of something. Barbed wire can do a lot of damage to your dog.
Poor recall: reasons your dog might be dangerous
- It’s estimated that about 15,000 sheep are killed by dog attacks each year in the UK, that’s a hideous statistic.
- Last week, at one of the lovely dog friendly rural cafes near me, someone was walking their two dogs off-lead near three swans. One of the dogs ran off, ignoring his owner’s calls and killed one of the swans. Poor swan, and not something that anyone watching wanted to witness.
- Remember, when your large, super-sociable labrador gallops over the field to greet a passer-by, you shouting, “don’t worry, he’s friendly” is not the comfort that it’s meant to be.
How did it all go wrong?
If we have a dog from a puppy and we are diligent owners, we train our puppies to come when we call. And most puppies are really good at doing this. We think, “that’s the recall sorted”, and it is, for a while.
Then, puppy becomes a teenager, and, if you haven’t done your groundwork of teaching your dog to focus on you, in the home, in the garden and out about, the big wide world becomes far more interesting than you are. After a few incidents of your dog running off and ignoring you, you have the beginnings of a problem as your dog will be finding his or her self-employed exercise more rewarding than anything you have to offer.
Then you are in the business of needing to retrofit your recall.
Getting it right
The good news is that it’s not impossible; training techniques will vary, depending on the reason why your dog doesn’t come back. You will need to dedicate some time and attention, firstly building up your relationship with your dog and then (re)building your recall. A long line, used correctly, is a brilliant tool for this.
If you have a dog that doesn’t come when you call, do drop me a line or, ahem, give me a call.
Photo credit: Photo by Reed Naliboff on Unsplash