The Unnecessary Recall

We all know that a good recall is important if you want to let your dog off lead.

You’re going to need it to keep them out of trouble. Stop them from running into danger, or over to people or dogs that may not want to be approached by them.

But if you think that through, you’ll notice that the only times you’ll be using your recall, are because…

1. They are doing or want to do something and you want to stop them

2. The walk is over and you’re going to take them home

Essentially, the recall is a big old NO.

No wonder so many dogs don’t buy into it.

If these are the only times we use our recall, our clever dogs are pretty soon going to realise that recalls are just us being a buzz kill, and all the effort we put into training their recall will start to unravel.

What can we do about this?

One solution is unnecessary recalls. Use your recall when you don’t need it and they aren’t doing anything, way more often than when you do.

This way, as long as your recalls are fun and rewarding, you can make sure that coming back to you is going to be a positive, enjoyable experience for your dog 99% of the time.

So when you need that recall in a real life scenario, they won’t automatically think that you're ending their fun and blow you off, but offering an opportunity to have fun with you.

You might find that the more fun your dog has with you on walks, the more they want to stick around you anyway!

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