I only looked away for a moment.

She was gone.

When I looked down, my four month old sheltie pup was out on the ice. I used to take her for a walk every day around the pond in the woods behind my house. I let her off leash and she would always stick close to me – not this day.

It was towards the end of winter and no one was around.

I started to call her but she went right out on the ice which was very thin. Her back paw went through the ice and I started to panic. Luckily, her paw going through the ice was enough to startle her and she raced back to me.

It all happened so fast.

Time to get to work on THE most important command you can teach your dog. The recall command, or more commonly known as coming when called.

It’s the one command I have spent more time studying than any other. So, without any more fanfare, let me share with you 31 Ways To Improve Your Dog’s Recall:

1. Always set your dog up for success when you are teaching this command. Make sure your dog will come to you when you give the command, “Come.”

2. Make it fun. If your dog thinks there is going to be a game when she gets to you, she is much more likely to come to you when you call.

3. Reward your dog for coming. Once your dog gets to you, you should give a treat, toy or play a game.

4. Never punish your dog for coming to you.

5. Let your dog develop a sense of freedom. Most dogs don’t come because they are always confined. This can be difficult for some dogs. A fenced in softball field is a good place to do this.

6. Use meal times to practice the recall command.

7. Practice doing this command with dogs that already are good at coming when called.

8. Use a clicker to teach the recall command (see video).

9. Have your friends help you (see video).

10. Play tug as soon as your dog gets to you.

11. Hide somewhere in your house and call your dog. This will quickly teach your dog the word “Come.”

12. Use a long line.

13. Call your dog and then run AWAY from him. This will draw him to you as you move away. Reward and repeat.

14. Put a few treats in your pocket. Standing in front of your dog, back up a few steps and call your dog. Once your dog gets to you, reach down and hold the collar. Take out a treat and reward. Repeat the process.

15. Keep recall training sessions short. If you keep repeating this command, your dog will get bored. Always keep your dog excited about doing the recall command.

16. Use treats your dog really likes. Milk Bones usually don’t cut it. Use high powered treats like hot dogs or cheese.

17. Start teaching this command early. If you have a puppy, start teaching as young as eight weeks old.

18. Keep it short. When you call your dog you should say your dog’s name and the command, “Come.” For example – “Fluffy, COME.” Don’t say, “Fluffy, comeoverhererightnowyourbaddogcomeherenow!”

19. Don’t chase your dog. They love this game and will learn to run in the other direction.

20. Work on teaching attention. If your dog does not come, it is probably because she is not paying attention.

21. Come is a word that has to be taught just like every other command. Do at least three recall practice runs every day.

22. Practice indoors first. Most dogs successfully come when called indoors. There are usually too many distractions outside.

23. Some dogs like to do drive byes when you call. They race towards you and then right by you. Guide your dog to you and only reward when they get to you and you can hold their collar.

24. Never call your dog and put him in a crate. This will develop the wrong association with the command, “Come.”

25. Beware of un-intentional punishment. See above.

26. Never intentionally punish your dog. If you walk in the house and see a chewed up shoe, don’t call your dog over and then punish.

27. Train when your dog is hungry. Training sessions after a meal are usually not as successful.

28. Have a friend help you. Stand about ten yards away from each other. You call your dog over and reward. Wait a few seconds and then your friend calls and does the same thing. Repeat.

29. Use other motivators – most dogs learn the sound of car keys jingling or the fridge opening. If you are about to open the fridge give your dog the command, “Come” and then open the door. Your dog will link the word “Come” with the sound of the fridge opening.

30. Practice doing the recall command around distractions. Use a long line to guide your dog to you when there are distractions.

31. Practice, practice, practice.

So there you have it. 31 Ways To Improve Your Dog’s Recall Command.

Each one is perfect to “Tweet” to all your dog loving friends or on Facebook.

Please let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section below.

Thanks!

Did you know:

• For most people, no matter how hard you pinch the skin on your elbow with your fingers, it doesn’t hurt.
• One in three dog owners say they have talked to their pets on the phone.
• The names of Popeye’s four nephews are Pipeye, Peepeye, Pupeye, and Poopeye.
• The sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.” uses every letter of the alphabet!
• The #1 problem for new puppy owners is puppy biting with housetraining running a close second.

Some may argue this fact, but my research shows that puppy biting is the numero uno behavior problem.

So here are 10 ways to STOP puppy biting:

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My wife thinks I’m a little weird.

She does not understand how I can watch an hour of Seinfeld every night.

“Don’t you get sick of it?” she asks.

I don’t know what it is but I never do get sick of watching the show. Even though I can almost recite each word of the show and know what is going to happen I keep watching it.

Did you know that the show almost did not get on the air when Seinfeld told NBC that he wanted to “do a show about nothing.”

Why do I tell you that?

Because that is the secret to stopping puppy biting. Keep Reading »

On my dog training radio show, Canine Conversation, this week I interviewed Eryka Kahunanui, owner of Kahuna’s K9s. She is a graduate of the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior and a KPA certified training partner. She also has a specialty in training puppies as an Operation Socialization certified trainer.

In this episode, you’ll learn what you need to know about puppy training. Puppy training is one if the most important things you can ever do in the life of your dog. Learn the importance of socialization, positive reinforcement, nutrition, and more. Remember to call in with your questions.

Please remember to rate, subscribe and comment on the show.

You can listen here or go to iTunes.com to subscribe to my dog training radio show, Canine Conversation.

Today I am going to reveal the most powerful (and little known) recall secret I have learned in my entire career on how to train your dog to come.

You need to PAY CAREFUL attention to EVERY WORD of this post.

The information I am going to share with you could save your dog’s life or from getting lost or injured.

First I am going to discuss the THREE main reasons why a dog does not come to you when you call:

1. Never properly learned the command.

2. Dog has negative association with command.

3. Dog feels he has other choices and does not respond to your command.

In order to learn how to train your dog to come when called every time, she has to first learn to come when called in a positive way and then she has to learn that the only choice they have when you call “Come” is to stop what they are doing and race back to you.

Sound good so far?

Excellent.

Now that we understand why a dog does not come when called let me share the BIG SECRET on how to train your dog to come. I can share it with you in one word.

DESIRE!

If you want your dog to come when called you have to build desire. A dog has to WANT to come to you when you call.

Building desire is done by setting your pup up to successfully do this.

For a couple of years I lived just a few miles from a beach in Westport, MA. I loved going down there with my dogs and letting them run around. I would watch dog owners come with their dogs to the beach for the first time and let them off leash.

I would then watch and try to help them catch their dogs for the next hour. Most owners would be screaming “COME” as they chased their dog all over the beach.

This is setting up the dog to fail.

Building desire and setting up for success happen at the same time.

Here is a simple exercise on how to train your dog to come:

Find a friend that can help you do this exercise. Have your friend hold onto the dog’s leash as you go to her and get her excited, really excited. Pet her, run around back and forth in front of her, keep doing this getting her more and more excited.

Right as your dog is hitting peak excitement run about twenty feet away, then turn and face her.

Done correctly she should be straining at the end of the leash. At this point you want to clearly say “COME.”

The second you say “COME” your friend drops the leash and she will race to you. When she gets to you reward and throw a party.

Repeating this a few times and your dog will start to associate the command with racing towards you every time you call. There is some more to this but you get the basic gist of what to do.

Okay, that’s it for today. Go out and train your dog to come.