An effective recall is one of the most crucial skills your can teach your dog. A reliable recall will prevent Fido from running off down the street or chasing cats and bicyclists while out in public, helping keep both yourself and Fido safe.
Step one of teaching a dog how to recall is choosing a verbal cue that will remind them it’s time for their recall behavior. This could include their name or an action word like “come” or “here”, even whistles as possible options. Once chosen, stay consistent! Once your cue has been selected – keep it the same each time!
Once your dog is familiar with both your arm signal and words, practice at home until he/she responds positively both at home and during daily walks in your neighborhood. After this stage, introduce new environments which present unique challenges; for instance, if they have difficulty coming away from squirrels when out walking for example; try training in an empty parking lot rather than forested park.
Use food rewards to motivate the dog toward you. If the animal ignores your recall cue or goes in another direction, make kissy noises or otherwise lure it back. If they continue ignoring you and moving towards another distraction, use kissy noises or another tactic such as making kissy noises to try to coax them back towards you. If this does not work, increase reinforcement levels, decrease distractive environments or train in less challenging areas.