Training Recall

 My article on  TRAINING RECALL:

Dogs live in the moment.

They are going to remember the last thing  that happened, they don’t rationalize like humans do. 

So, if the dog originally disobeys when called, but finally comes to you, the thing they remember is coming to you, not the disobeying. 

Punishing a dog for coming when called is unfair and counterproductive. 

I don’t think it matters using a verbal COME or HERE, unless you are training a dog you are going to be doing herding with.( come by and come here would be confusing to the dog).

I always use a tether at first for training recall,start with a short leash and gradually make it longer as his recall becomes more solid. Let the dog move around a bit,say the dogs name, then use the verbal command HERE/COME , move backwards quickly - this usually gets the dogs attention and builds drive. Tug and reel in on the line if needed to get him to come all the way in. 
Praise and reward when he gets to you.
Never give a command you cannot reinforce.

Using all the pups daily meals for training will help build a bond ,and also will help reinforce the recall. Hand feeding gives the human “value” to the dog, which is a huge asset in our favor when training.

Practice often, for short sessions. Give food as a reward about 70% of the time, the rest of the time just reel him in -as he is on a tether. Every now and then give him a “ jackpot “ ( handful) of food, this will improve his drive and willingness to recall.
Always set the pup up to succeed, start with lower distractions than gradually increase difficulty.

Once the verbal obedience word is learned, and the dog is coming in well, I properly condition the dog to a QUALITY  low level remote collar ( Mini Educator) so when the dog feels the low level stimulation from the e collar they understand they should look to the handler for information.  
The handler can now give a very low level tap from the e collar, a learned verbal command, and have the ability to correct the dog at a slightly higher level for disobeying a learned command if needed. The dog will decide what level on the e collar is needed.

I always use a long line along with the e collar when first training ,to help guide the dog in if needed.

I recommend having the dog properly conditioned to the e collar ( receiver) by a good balanced trainer, then have the trainer instruct the owner how to use the remote ( transmitter) responsibly.

Kenji was fully conditioned to a Mini Educator low level remote electronic collar by 6 months old. 

He can be a bully to weaker dogs, so I trained a verbal LEAVE IT command. 
Once fully understood, I can give him a light tap to get his attention,give a already learned verbal LEAVE IT command, and enforce that command at slightly higher levels if needed for him to comply.

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