Reliable Recall

Training a reliable recall is an important behavior to train. I learned how to train the 'come' command early in our journey. I remember Helen telling me it was something to practice a lot and often.

In his first year, I worked with Bo on the come command every day. The training involved a long lead, planned distractions, high value food and a lot of animation on my part. 

I can remember coming home from work and taking Bo outside to practice recall under the flood lights in our side yard. I still practice it with him, though I don't use a lead anymore.

Today, while walking Bo off-leash behind our house, I was reminded of the value of a reliable recall. You see, Bo is a dog that notices when something is out of the ordinary. (Daran says Bo takes after me in this regard.) Anyway, when we were on our walk we came upon other humans and a dog. It's rare to come across anyone behind our house because our property abuts conservation land. I could see one of the people was a neighbor whose property also abuts the land. He was talking to two women. 

I saw them from a distance before Bo did. I noticed the women had a dog. Bo soon noticed them too and moved ahead of me barking. He got about 15 feet in front of me and then stopped moving and barking. When he stopped, I gave him the come command. As soon as I said the command, he turned and ran right to me. (Even though my neighbor, who had recognized that it was us, acknowledged Bo by name.) When Bo returned to me, I attached his leash and treated him for his return. 

My neighbor and the women were a distance away from us, so with a bold voice I apologized for the interruption we had caused. Then with Bo on leash, I turned back the way we came and continued our walk. 

Thanks to Bo's training and his reliable recall, I was able to avoid a situation of Bo approaching people and a dog we didn't know. You'll never regret time spent training your dog to come to you when called. For more on how I trained Bo to come on command, read Training the Come Command.