Engaging in effective dog recall training often necessitates the use of specialized tools, and one valuable approach involves incorporating chew toys into the process. In this particular method, which we’ll explore in-depth, you’ll require a pair of identical toys, each with a distinct color.
These chew toys serve as the cornerstone of your training strategy, enabling you to reinforce your dog’s recall skills in an engaging and interactive manner. By utilizing these toys effectively, you can establish a strong connection with your canine companion and enhance their responsiveness, ensuring that they return to you promptly when called, even in distracting or challenging situations.Something durable and versatile like the Fenrir Hammer can help.
If your dog prefers to chase one colour over another, this is the perfect time to make use of that preference. You can also hide some treats in one of the toys to make it a little more high value than the other to help with the process.
Choosing a Location for Dog Recall Training
You want to start this training in a location with minimal distractions. Your backyard or an empty park are both good choices.
If you choose a park, or your yard does not have a fence, make sure you have an appropriate harness and long-line lead to use during training. You have to remember, this is training. Your dog might not come back to you when you recall them, so they need to be contained or on a leash to prevent accidents.
Once your dog has gotten better at the command, you can start to make it more difficult with distractions in the area.
How to Get Started with Dog Recall Training
Most dogs are pretty familiar with some sort of recall command. You probably tell them to ‘come’ for dinner or to put their harness on. This training takes it up another notch.
You can use any word you like as long as you’re consistent. “Come” and “here” are both popular choices.
Once they readily respond to “come,” you’re ready for the next step. Make sure to reward them with praise and you can offer their high value toy to them.
The goal at this point is to get them to associate the command with coming back towards you. They may not come the whole way back to you immediately.
If this is the case, you can start with a smaller distance and work your way up. There’s nothing wrong with starting in your house if you need to work up from a very small to a larger distance.
Performing a Full Recall in Dog Recall Training
Now that your dog responds to your recall command, it’s time to put that second toy to use.
Keep the coloured toy of high value with you. This one will not be thrown. You can stuff it with some goodies if your dog needs extra incentive to come back to you.
Throw the toy of lower value and once your dog takes-off after it, use your chosen recall command and offer out the toy you kept with you.
Your dog should come back to you and you can offer them praise and their toy as a reward.
The goal of this exercise is to get your dog to associate you with good things. No matter what they’re interested in out in the world, you are of higher value and they should want to return to you.
