# How do I teach my dog a 100% recall?



## Clicker (Apr 28, 2012)

Bailey is somewhat good at coming when called. She is about 95% when she knows I have high valued treats. When she knows I don't have anything, its about 50/50. (damn smart dog) I've tried clicker training, giving praise and of course, the treats. I have been doing this in a lower distraction area (the backyard). Do I need to start over from the beginning, using a leash? Any ideas would be appreciated.


----------



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Practice, practice, practice! Be the best thing around, always having something high value. Sometimes high value isn't a treat, sometimes it's a toy. Vienna I adopted at 2 1/2, recall has been very difficult to teach her outside, she forgets her name and says 'LOL SEE YA' where as both my boys, even the 8 month old puppy, have such good recalls we're i nthe yard without ties on them, and we have no fence.


----------



## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

There is no short answer to that question!

In my mind, a 100% recall is made up of much more than a pocketful of treats. The dog has to see you as the source of all good things, and a relationship has to be there. Extreme value for "you" has to be there.

I just took an online course called "Recallers" that focused on this very training issue. It was a lot of fun and taught many, many games that were designed to increase the dog's value for you and thus the recall, plus putting on a great foundation for future training. I don't know if another Recallers course will be coming along, but here's a brief entry from the same outfit, Say Yes dog training, about recalls: Deposits into the Perfect Recall Account

One important thing: whatever you do, don't "practice" the scenario of you calling and calling and calling, and the dog ignoring you. Call only when you have a really good idea the dog is going to come, and if he doesn't, go get him. If you're in a situation and you really need to dog to come, one thing to do is run the other way; most dogs will chase. (This was the basis of several of the Recallers games.)

Good luck! Keep working that recall--it is so important!

--Q


----------



## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

You need a Jackpot that she wont know you have. Something like the little Ceser dog food packages are perfect because they are quick and easy to open, can be eaten out of and have no sent.

Make sure she doesn't see the Jackpot on you and that you only Jackpot a couple times spaced apart.You rarely give a Jackpot.

Also What I found helpful is to let them out, run back inside and get treats while they are occupied, Try to be down wind and then do a recall. Overall treating should be random, types of treats and even not giving a treat.Never lure but call when you think she will come or already is coming. And Jackpots should always be a surprise.

This is what I did with Bambi who would plant her bottom even in snow and not come. First I ran away a lot to get her to follow me, worked primarily off leash. She became 100% without treats or distractions after I did Jackpots and I did about 2 or 3. After she is good this way continue to Jackpot very rarely to keep her fresh and phase out treats. The goal is recall without treats. 

I worked from the beginning when training recall with distractions. I basically played hide and seek when Bambi would run off at the huge dog park, she did that often, and give treats when she found me. She caught on and would keep her eye on me.Then I was able to start recall training like I had done before.


----------



## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

IMO, you cannot have a 100% recall...there is always a chance the dog is going to decide to ignore you. Dogs, after all, do have the ability to think, and sometimes what they _want_ has more value than what you _have_. Also remember you are dealing with a poodle...they seem more apt to weigh their options and pick the most appealing one. For example, if there is a deer in the yard, it doesn't matter what treats or toys I have, my dogs are going to chase it. I could have 50 lbs of steak in my hand and they would totally ignore my call. Maybe it shouldn't be that way, but it is. That being said, I do believe that you can have a dog who will come back when called 99% of the time. The other posters have made some awesome suggestions for that. I've also found that teaching them to always come back to me, whether I call or not, is helpful when solidifying my recall. They sort of get into a habit of checking with me, which makes their recalls much better for some reason. When I'm first teaching recalls, I carry treats almost all the time unless we're in the house. So on walks, at the park, etc....in the house we have a treat tin that I use so I don't have to have dogs digging in my pocket every time I sit down.  Every time I call and they come, they get a reward. Once they've gotten that down, I still carry treats but don't reward as often....only quicker responses get rewards. I also reward them checking in with me at this point. Trev tends to come and heel beside me for a few seconds every now and then. Once we're solid there, I start throwing in "treatless" walks....just praise and play for good behavior. I still believe in rewarding them a good part of the time though....I don't work for nothing, why should they? I work on listening without a reward for those moments when I have no access to any kind of anything fun. I would say we are at about 95% reliability with recall with Sam and Trev, and about 98% with Pepper and Dusty..I'm striving for 98% with my two little reprobates (lol...), but that takes time. Both of them need more mental maturity I think. Trev is still very very puppyish and Sam is just, well, Sam. She's not the brightest crayon in the box, plus she's only 3 and seems to be one of those "late bloomers", but since she's so willing to please and tries very hard to learn, I know we can make it.  Good luck with your pup!!


----------



## Clicker (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks for some of the ideas. The last couple of days I've started using the phrase "Get in here" and rewarding with treats. So far, 100% success rate! YEAH!! So I have a couple of questions from here; 1. How long should I do this in a lower distraction area until I move to the next level of distraction? and 2. Does anyone else use a "phrase" for their recall?


----------



## sarpoodle (Dec 26, 2011)

Clicker said:


> Thanks for some of the ideas. The last couple of days I've started using the phrase "Get in here" and rewarding with treats. So far, 100% success rate! YEAH!! So I have a couple of questions from here; 1. How long should I do this in a lower distraction area until I move to the next level of distraction? and 2. Does anyone else use a "phrase" for their recall?


If you think it's 100% reliable, add distractions. Remember to lower your criteria, and build back up to where you were without distractions.

The heat and humidity has been really bad here around D.C., and has introduced new distractions to Saydee. The heat is causing things to release even more gasses and intensify smells. I recently had to adjust my recall drill accordingly. Now I make sure Saydee is down wind when recalled. I also have been using a treat that has a stronger odor, and put it out in the sun for 10 minutes or so before starting. I want my treat to smell way better than other stuff out there. Point is, push the dog to do better for sure, just be aware of how the distractions will affect what you're trying to do. You still want to set the dog up for success.

As for a phrase, I don't think dogs know phrases vs. words. I think the rule of thumb is use to use something short. Especially for a command that needs to grab the dog's attention. "Come" or "here" works well because it is short, and better redirects the dogs attention. Longer, slower command words are preferred once you have the dog's attention, and you want it to remain calm.

Greg


----------



## ItzaClip (Dec 1, 2010)

Quossum said:


> There is no short answer to that question!
> 
> In my mind, a 100% recall is made up of much more than a pocketful of treats. The dog has to see you as the source of all good things, and a relationship has to be there. Extreme value for "you" has to be there.
> 
> ...


I decided to take recallers 5.0 even though my vogue has a dran good recall. in fact i know and have taught most games, but i like the schedule and it forces me to go outside our very scheduled routine to practice in new enviroments. i'm enjoying it.


----------

