13 Nov
13Nov

What you will need

  • Super high value treats

  • A low distraction area

  • A long lead (attached to a harness 15 ft in length with knots tied through out, dragging behind Fido)

  • Low value distractions to add in if needed

  • Another person to hold Fido or a sold stay cue

 

Directions

To begin:

  1. Start with someone holding Fido's harness

  2. Run up to Fido, show them you have treats and then run away, maybe about 1-2 m away, crouch down low, and say Fido's name and recall cue once, if they start running over, reward with a party when they get to you, and then have them sit and practice pairing touching their collar with treats, when Fido gets to you it should be the biggest party you have, with the best treats you have, and lots of them!! It needs to be highly rewarding. If Fido doesn’t start to come over right away, or gets side tracked, then you are going to want to start that cheer leading, use a word that is not your dogs name or recall cue, a good one is go. Get exciting crouch down again, get a bit closer even if you need to. Get your dog success. If we always practice at Fido's level in environments that are realistic we will build the most solid recall cue possible. After practicing this for a while, you can stop showing Fido your treats, have them stay or be held, you just stay where you are, and then call Fido over, when they get to you it is still that party with tons of treats, and getting that sit, and again practicing that collar touching, just without the initial lure.

  3. To practice pairing touching of the collar with good things, we want to get treats in Fido's mouth, and then reach and touch that collar, we want to practice is in all different contexts, and also with Fido's harness too, we do this to prevent them starting to run when we reach for their collar at the park because they know the leash is going on and the fun is over, they start to feel collar touching is just as fun as being at the park. 

  4. After the recall cue is solid in a low distraction environment, at many different distances, you want to move to adding in distractions such as toys, dogs, sounds like cars and bike bells, moving things that look like rabbits etc… you want the cue to be solid with no distractions first. You want to focus on the distance of the recalls first, start short and slowly move to longer distances, when Fido does well with that, you know its time to add distractions!

 

  • Practice where you get success

  • Progress at your dogs pace

  • If one component gets harder one needs to get easier (ie. Higher distraction = shorter distance) and you work up from there

  • Say Fido's name and recall cue once only, then use a different word to cheer lead and get Fido closer

  • No matter how long Fido takes to get to you, no matter how many pit stops, Fido always gets a party, to show being around you is rewarding, never punish Fido when they get to you

  • Only use recalls when you know they will be successful, if you know Fido wont listen opt to just go leash Fido and move them 

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