How do I teach a dog to come back when I call?

Recall breaks down for a predictable reason. The word has been used a thousand times without consequence, or it has been used to end the walk, or the dog has been scolded on arrival. What you are building is a reflex: hearing the cue produces the expectation of something excellent, and the dog turns before it has finished thinking. That reflex needs a clean word and a high enough value to beat a squirrel.

Safety

Step by step

1. Choose a brand-new cue word.If the dog's name and "come" have been used and ignored for a year, they carry that history. Pick a distinct word or a whistle, and reserve it exclusively for recall.
2. Decide what the dog genuinely values most.Not what you think it should like. For most dogs it is high-value food — roast chicken, cheese, liver — and for some it is a tug toy or a ball. Whatever it is, it should be reserved for recall and not used for anything else.
3. Charge the cue indoors, with no distractions.Say the word, then immediately give the reward, without asking for anything. Twenty repetitions over a few sessions. You are building an association, not testing obedience.
4. Add distance in easy places.Hallway, then garden, then a quiet enclosed space. Call once, and reward generously when the dog arrives — several pieces in a row rather than one, so arriving is a longer event than a single treat.
5. Use a long line before trusting it off lead.A five to ten metre training line on a harness lets you practise at distance with real distractions and no risk. Never attach a long line to a collar — a dog hitting the end of it at speed can injure its neck.
6. Increase distraction one step at a time.Quiet field, then a field with people, then a field with other dogs. If the dog fails, the step was too big — go back a level rather than repeating the failure.
7. Call once, then help.Repeating the cue teaches that it means come back on the fifth attempt. Say it once, then make yourself interesting — run away, crouch down, make a noise — rather than saying it again.
8. Never call the dog for anything it dislikes.Do not use the recall word to end the walk, put the lead on, give a bath, or trim claws. Go and get the dog for those. Otherwise the cue starts predicting the end of fun.
9. Never tell it off for coming back.However long it took, however annoyed you are. The dog associates the telling-off with the last thing it did, which was returning to you. This is the single most common way owners destroy a recall.
10. Recall, reward, release.Most of the time, call the dog, reward it, and let it go again. If recall always means the walk is over, the dog learns to avoid it. This one habit is worth more than any equipment.
11. Keep paying for it, permanently.Recall is not a trick that is learned and finished. Maintain it with occasional high-value rewards for the rest of the dog's life, or it degrades.

Common mistakes

• Only calling the dog at the end of the walk — The cue starts to predict the lead going on and freedom ending. Recall, reward and release many times per walk instead.
• Repeating the cue when it is ignored — It teaches the dog that the word means nothing until it has been said several times, and often loudly.
• Using low-value food in a high-distraction environment — You are competing with rabbits and other dogs. A dry biscuit does not compete; a piece of roast chicken sometimes does.

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