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Recall Challenge – Can Your Dog Come Like This?
Having a great recall is probably only second to walking on a loose leash, in terms of importance to pet parent priorities. Training for a great recall is not something that happens without some thought and preparation, nor does fluency on this important cue happen quickly.
Here’s a clip made by Virginia Dare showing an exemplary recall with Lily, a client’s dog. There are several great things to note about Virginia’s set up and method here.
What stands out to you the most? What would you do, next?
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5 Replies
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First of all, WOW to Lily!!! She did AWESOMELY, coming away, not just from the dropped food, but the other foraging dogs! That can NOT have been easy for her. Way to go!
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I’m not sure about what I’d do next…maybe add distance? Already the other dogs are adding distraction. Or up the ante with higher value food on ground?
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@bernerlabreclectus Good one! Distance is always a variable to work through. Well done.
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Two things stand out to me, 1. she began to lift her head at the sound of her name and before the cue “come”, which tells me she knows her name well!
2. The other dogs did not respond to the cue “come”, which makes me think they are also sensitive to hearing to their names (or not hearing them in this case) or, they have not learned the cue yet. Either way, super interesting that they were not interested in what Lily was doing.
I like the idea of increasing the distance too as Paula mentions. Another thing I like to do is add in trials, which is to recall them back again almost immediately after a release cue, just to ensure they have the cue down and are paying attention, that it is not a “one and done” behavior,
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Nice observations, @jenz – yeah, it makes me think the little dogs are like: “It’s a board & train set up; doesn’t apply to me!” ????
I went ahead and tested my dogs with this set-up – just kibble on the ground and stepped away about 10 feet. Bliss (5mo) rocked it; came right away! Joy (10yo) was like: “Okay, one sec., lemme just snarf all this down first….” ???? She tried to eat so fast! Haha. Guess I need to get back to practicing with her!
That said, Joy ROCKED the fast down-at-a-distance I tried. Her down is pretty strong, I guess!
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