6 things you should know about recall

Like any other behavior, a recall needs to be proofed against distractions that you’re likely to encounter such as other people, other dogs, other animals, and vehicles.

It is possible to have a 100% reliable recall but it is not possible to have 100% zero latency in a recall. Depending on the situation your dog might not be in a position to come immediately such as when they are navigating a social situation with a strange dog.

It’s not enough to just have a reliable and proofed recall, you need to know when to use it. Recalls should be used for prevention not just as a solution. You need to use your situational awareness skills to know when you should call your dog in order to avoid a problem rather than waiting to use it as your solution for when your dog chooses to approach something or someone they shouldn’t.

Start young and practice often. Recall is a skill that needs to be maintained for the life of your dog.

For many dogs recall is a punisher. You are asking your dog to stop doing what they’d rather be doing and come to you instead. You must always make it reinforcing to come to you by rewarding them for it, and whenever it is safe to do so, release them to go back to what they were doing, which will in turn reinforce your recall. This is the premack principle.

From time to time, after you call your dog back to you, practice leashing your dog up and then taking it off and releasing them back to what they were doing. This guards against your dog learning that the leash predicts loss of freedom which is what makes them play dodge dog when they see the leash come out.