Teaching a Reliable Dog Recall

From Puppy Games to the Field

A reliable recall is one of the most important things you can teach any dog. For a bird dog, it is essential. A good bird dog should search independently, use its nose, and cover appropriate ground, but it must also learn to hunt with you rather than simply run through the field hunting for itself. Those are two very different things.

Recall training is easiest when it begins with a young puppy that naturally wants to follow you and stay close. In the beginning, COME is not yet a command to enforce. It is a game, and the puppy should think that running to you is one of the most enjoyable things she can do. Eventually, COME must be honored every time, but first the recall needs to be fun.

Choose Your Recall Command

Any word can be used for recall. COME and HERE are probably the most common English commands, but a word in any language will work if you use it consistently. I prefer COME because it projects well and carries more authority than HERE. I also think HERE sounds too much like HEEL. There is no reason to make training more confusing by choosing commands that sound similar.

I use the dog’s name followed by the command: TIKA, COME. The name identifies which dog I am addressing, and COME tells that dog what to do. I can have all three of my dogs standing on WHOA, call “TIKA, COME,” and only Tika should come to me. In that situation, her name also releases her from WHOA.

While dogs can learn dozens of words, I believe a reliable field dog really needs only two commands. For a pointing dog, they are WHOA and COME. For a flushing dog, they are HUP and COME. WHOA or HUP may be the more important field command, but a dependable recall is never far behind.

Begin With a Game

A hallway is a wonderful place to introduce the recall. The puppy wants to be with you, cannot run far in another direction, and is likely to come straight toward you. Move a short distance away, squat down, clap your hands, and enthusiastically call, “TIKA, COME!” A six-foot-tall person standing over a tiny puppy can be more intimidating than we realize, so get down to her level and make yourself inviting.

Another good game is to sneak around a corner and briefly disappear from sight. Most young puppies immediately want to find you. Call the puppy, and when she comes running around the corner, make a big deal about it. “GOOD GIRL! GOOD GIRL! GOOD GIRL!” Pet her, praise her, and let her know that finding you was the best thing she could have done.

Do this about three times, then stop while the puppy is still having fun. Several short sessions throughout the day are better than one long session that allows her to become bored. The puppy thinks she is playing. Trust me, she is also learning her recall.

Never Chase a Puppy After Calling Her

One of the worst things you can do is call a puppy and then chase her when she does not come. The puppy quickly learns that “TIKA, COME” is an invitation to a wonderful game of chase. You have unintentionally rewarded the exact opposite of the behavior you wanted.

The dog must come to you. Instead of chasing her, turn and run away. Clap your hands, squat down, hide around a corner, or make an unusual sound. Do something that makes the puppy want to follow you.

For a very young puppy, I like to let a five- or six-foot-long, 3/8-inch-wide nylon lead trail behind her. It is amazing how fast an eight-week-old puppy can move. The lead gives you a way to regain control without chasing. Catch the lead, not the dog. A very gentle pop can interrupt the puppy’s attention and encourage her toward you. The lead is for control, not for dragging the puppy across the floor.

Say the Command Once

During the first lessons, repeating the command can help a puppy connect the words with the action. If she is already running happily toward you, repeating “TIKA, COME! TIKA, COME! TIKA, COME!” can help her learn what those words mean. Once the dog understands the recall, however, give the command only once.

Too many handlers fall into a pattern like this:

“Here. Come here. COME! GET OVER HERE! COME! COME HERE! COME! COME HERE, GODDAMMIT!”

Then, when the dog finally returns, they scold it for not obeying the original command. The dog has learned two things: the first command does not matter, and coming back to the handler may result in punishment.

Do not repeat the command, raise your voice, or become more emphatic. Dogs have excellent hearing. Isn't it amazing how a dog can be several rooms away and suddenly appear when it hears the crinkle of a treat bag? The dog either does not fully understand the command, has learned that it can be ignored, or is more interested in something else. Shouting will not solve any of those problems.

Do Not Give a Command You Cannot Enforce

A young dog should not have complete freedom before she has earned it. If you call a loose puppy across a large yard and have no way to reinforce the recall, you are gambling. Every time she ignores you and continues playing, she learns that COME is optional.

That is why a trailing lead, a flexi lead, and a check cord are so useful. They allow the dog some freedom while giving you enough control to follow through. As the puppy progresses, I move from the short trailing lead to a flexi lead. Some professional trainers and field dog people dismiss the flexi lead as a toy, but those same people are often impressed by how reliably my dogs recall. Give it a legitimate try as a training tool.

A flexi lead should never be used to haul a dog back to you. Hauling is not training. Use a light pop to interrupt the dog’s focus, then encourage her to turn and come. You want the dog to decide to return. Later, a twenty-foot check cord provides controlled freedom for a young dog beginning field work while preserving your ability to reinforce the recall.

For a more in-depth discussion of the check cord, see my previous post, “The Secret Power of a Check Cord.”

Make Returning to You Positive

For most puppies, enthusiastic praise is all the reward needed. Get down to the puppy’s level, pet her, and let her see that you are genuinely pleased. If that is not enough, a small piece of liver will almost certainly get her attention. There is nothing wrong with using a treat to introduce the behavior, but I phase it out quickly. I do not want the dog deciding whether I have a treat before choosing whether to obey. I want her to enjoy working with me and value my approval.

Trained adult dogs can also help. Young dogs naturally follow the older dogs. When I recall the group, the first dog to reach me receives the pets, praise, and attention. The puppy quickly discovers that returning promptly is the best way to join the others.

Lavish praise is appropriate for a puppy, but a finished dog does not need a celebration every time it does what is expected. Too much praise can shut down a mature dog and take it out of a working mindset. Try making a great fuss over a well-trained dog sometime. The dog may soften, let down, or even go to ground rather than remain engaged in the work. For a mature dog, one calm “GOOD GIRL,” “GOOD DOG,” or “ADADOO,” meaning “that will do,” is usually enough. The praise should acknowledge the correct response without making the dog think the work is over.

Never Punish a Dog for Coming to You

I have watched hunters become increasingly frustrated while their dogs run through the field, ignoring them. The hunter calls repeatedly, gets louder, becomes angry, and may even start threatening the dog. When the dog finally returns, the hunter scolds it and tells it how bad it has been.

What did that dog just learn? It learned that returning to the handler results in anger and punishment.

No matter how frustrated you are, a dog that completes the recall deserves praise for returning. If the situation has gotten that far out of control, reduce the distractions, shorten the distance, use a check cord, or regain more control before giving the dog that much freedom again. Never call a dog to you to correct it. If a correction is necessary, go to the dog. Coming to you must always be positive.

Add Distance and Distractions Gradually

A puppy that races to you in a hallway has not necessarily learned to recall away from another dog, a blowing leaf, a rabbit track, or the scent of a bird. Those are different challenges, and you must work up to them gradually.

Begin in the hallway, move to a quiet room, and then practice in a fenced yard with a trailing lead or flexi lead. Introduce mild distractions before using a longer check cord in light field cover. Do not jump from an easy recall inside the house to expecting a young dog to turn away from a bird in an open field.

A dog that ignores the recall is not necessarily being stubborn. You may simply have asked for more than the training prepared her to do. Reduce the difficulty, regain control, and build repeated success before increasing the challenge again.

Tika responding to “TIKA, COME,” followed by our five-tweet whistle recall signal.

Introduce the Whistle From the Beginning

I introduce the whistle as another recall command from the very start. I pair it with the verbal command: TIKA, COME, followed immediately by five quick, distinct tweets.

Dogs of all ages seem to respond better to the whistle than to the human voice. A whistle is clear and consistent, carries farther in the field, and does not convey frustration or anger the way a handler’s voice sometimes does.

I like the ACME 210½ whistle. It is not excessively loud for indoor use, dogs can hear it well, and it projects reliably in the field. If I later switch to a much louder FOX 40 for greater distances, my dogs respond to the same pattern without hesitation. It must be similar to the way we understand the same English word spoken in different accents.

Before you begin whistle training, decide which signals you will use. I use three:

• One long whistle means WHOA for my pointing dogs or HUP for flushing dogs.

• Two short whistles mean turn toward me or bend around.

• Five quick whistles mean come to me.

As I write this, two tweets and five tweets sound as though they could be confusing. Somehow, all my dogs over the past 35 years have learned the difference without difficulty. Your signals do not need to match mine. A short-short-long recall can work just as well. Any clear pattern will work if you decide what it means before training and use it consistently.

The whistle becomes especially valuable in the field, where a dog may be working beyond the reach of your voice. Yet one thing still amazes me: my finished dogs seem to understand that being on point overrides the recall. Even if I call or whistle, they will not leave the bird they are pointing. I cannot honestly explain how they learn that distinction, but mine consistently have.

Many trainers warn against recalling a dog that is out of sight because it may be on point, and that is probably good advice. I almost always run my dogs with GPS tracking collars, so I know whether a dog is moving or standing before I call. Even though my finished dogs have never left point when recalled, I do not intentionally call a dog that the GPS shows is standing.

When an Electronic Training Collar May Be Needed

Properly introducing and using an electronic training collar deserves its own discussion. I have studied and used electronic collars for approximately 35 years, and I believe in them when they are introduced and used correctly.

An electronic collar should never be used to punish a dog. I have seen dogs shy away from their handler when the collar comes out. That makes me sad and even angry because the dog has clearly learned to fear the equipment. My three Brittanys have the opposite reaction. They push each other out of the way and stick their necks forward, each trying to be the dog that gets the tracking and training collar. They know it means they are going to run, work, or hunt.

When I use stimulation, the level is only high enough to interrupt the dog’s focus, allowing it to listen and respond. Ideally, it should be barely perceptible to the dog. I have worked with dogs whose appropriate level was so low that I could not feel it myself.

The collar is not a shortcut for teaching recall. The dog must already understand COME before a collar is used to reinforce it. Some dogs may eventually need that interruption around birds, game, or another powerful distraction. However, when training begins properly with a young puppy and trained adult dogs help along the way, I have often found that I did not need collar stimulation to reinforce COME with my Brittanys.

Old Dogs Can Learn Recall Too

Starting with a young puppy is ideal, but old dogs really can learn new tricks. My mom adopted Kipper when he was four years old. He had received virtually no training and had no idea what a recall was.

We trained him the same way I would train a puppy. We made returning enjoyable, worked in controlled situations, and gradually added distance, freedom, and distractions. I think Kipper may actually have learned faster than many puppies, although he may simply have been a particularly smart dog.

A mature dog can learn a reliable recall. The process still requires clarity, repetition, consistency, and an understanding of what motivates that individual dog.

Common Mistakes That Damage Recall

Most recall problems are created or strengthened by the handler. Common mistakes include:

• Repeating a known command, getting louder, or calling when you cannot enforce the recall.

• Chasing the dog or hauling it back with a lead.

• Calling the dog over for a correction or punishing it after it returns.

• Adding distractions too quickly or failing to praise success.

Each mistake can teach the dog that COME is optional, unpleasant, or the beginning of a game that has nothing to do with returning to you.

Train the Dog in Front of You

Not all puppies and dogs are equal. A technique that works beautifully for one dog may not work for the next. If the dog is consistently not coming, stop and think honestly about what is happening. The dog may not be the problem. The training may simply not be working for that particular dog.

Consistency and repetition are critical, but so are flexibility and honest self-reflection. A good trainer must recognize unintended cues, reduce the difficulty when necessary, and be willing to try a different approach.

Many training books present a single method and insist that it be followed exactly. After all, the author is selling that method as the best method. The truth is that there are many ways to teach almost any behavior. Your responsibility is to find the approach that works for the dog standing in front of you.

Keep the early lessons fun, make success easy, and maintain control without chasing or dragging. Never punish the return, and praise the behavior you want. Through consistency and repetition, that simple puppy game can become a dependable command that lasts for the dog’s entire life.

For the principles underlying all dog training, see my earlier blog post, Essential Principles for Effective Dog Training.