Recall Tips

Regular proactive socialization & exposure to a wide variety of sights, sounds, humans, dogs & other distractions will greatly improve your dogs ability to respond to the "Come" (and all other) commands.  You cannot over-socialize your dog.

Positive reinforcement training means you must do whatever is necessary for your dog to successfully comply with your command.  In other words, make it easy enough for him to succeed, and add difficulty (distance, time, distraction) gradually.

Part of the reason dogs don't properly learn this command is because owners often repeat the word "Come" before the dog has learned the meaning of the word "come" — so the owner cannot be sure the dog will come.   Owner repeats "come" while dog is very young and usually distracted, so "come" becomes ambient noise, part of the scenery, not important to the dog.  However, smart dog owners think of it this way:  When we go to school, we learn for several weeks or months BEFORE the test.  In dog training, the Learning Phase = Getting 100% compliance from your dog while you repeat the word with hand signal AND continue to praise/reinforce.  After several weeks or months, the Test = you command "come" when he's off leash and/or slightly distracted.

Methods to getting 100% compliance during the Learning Phase: 

1.  In a non-distracting situation, let your dog sniff treats in your hand.  Now move away from him a short distance (either he's in a stay or someone's holding him).  Now call him over, praise "good come" the entire time he approaches, praise enthusiastically and when he gets to you, hold onto his collar while he eats a few treats out of your hand.  (Use this method at all mealtimes and each meal automatically becomes Recall/Come training.

2.  Attach your dog to a leash or longer line.  Call him "Rover, Come!" and praise enthusiastically as he comes.  If you have to reel him in with the line, reel him in but continue to praise - he IS still coming, even if you're reeling him in.  When he gets to you, hold onto his collar while he eats a few treats.   

3.  Any time he happens to be on his way to you, praise "good come" enthusiastically and treat when he gets to you.

If you continue to shout "Come" at your dog and he does not obey, you are simply diluting the power of the word & teaching him to ignore your command. 

Practice in very gradually increasing distracting situations.  (ie., don't yell "come" the first time he goes to the park).  Start in your livingroom, move to other rooms in the house, then to the yard/street (always on leash when not fenced in), then add distractions to yard/street (someone walking by, another dog, etc.)  The key is to make it easy for the dog so that you ALWAYS have something to praise/treat.

Don't request a Sit after each come during training, or when your dog has just accomplished a tougher (more distracting or longer) Come than usual - he won't know you are treating/praising the come.  Vary your endings - sometimes with Sit, sometimes praise/treat without Sit.  Add more  Sit endings later after his accomplishment level is increased. 

At first, don't expect your dog to come for the same distance that he did in the quiet yard now in the street when dogs are walking by.  Decrease distance when you add distractions; decrease distractions when you increase distance; gradually add to distractions and distance as your dog succeeds. 

Do not let your dog off leash in an unfenced situation until his/her Recall/Come is very solid at long distances.