Have you ever received a message from your boss that goes something like this? "Once you've finished your lunch please come to my office".

You could be about to get a promotion or maybe even a pay rise but I bet you aren't filled with joy, excitedly awaiting 2pm so you can skip down to his office.

No, I bet instead you are filled with dread.  You are thinking about that time he called you to his office and told you off for being late or that time he pointed out an error in your work.  I bet you don't enjoy your lunch and when 2pm comes you drag your feet down to the office, mouth dry, palms sweaty.  Maybe you'll even pretend you haven't read the email and then once he's gone home for the day you'll try and find out some clues from colleagues as to what he wants.  Perhaps you'll feel so worried you go off sick.

When we teach our dogs to come back when called, we very much risk making our recall cue (the word we use to call our dogs back) the equivalent of your boss' email.  If, when our dogs don't come back as we expect we either use a mild correction like raising our voices, shouting at them, grabbing them by the collar, putting their lead, ignoring them (social exclusion), or even just withholding the treat, then it's very likely our dogs are going to start getting that feeling of dread when they hear us call them.

This is a very common phenomenon with our pet dogs.  Our dog runs off and annoys someone else in the park or they go chasing deer. We call and call but by the time they come back we are annoyed or embarrassed and let our dogs know it... and do you know what, it can only take one instance of the dog feeling like they have been punished for our recall cue to become poisoned.

How many times would your bosses email have to lead to a favourable outcome to undo the bad of that one uncomfortable meeting? 10? 50? 100? Maybe never?  Once you have poisoned your dog's recall cue, it's likely you will only be able to repair the problem by retraining your dog's recall from scratch with a new cue.  

If you then muck up that new recall cue then you are in big trouble.  Now your dog might just associate being in the park, with you calling out any word at all, with the possibility of a telling off, so maybe they are even slower to come back when you call or even avoid you all together once you un-clip the lead.

So, don't risk making your dog think of your recall cue like your boss' email instead make your recall cue like a ice cream van jingle.  Hearing that jingle and running to the van provides positive reinforcement 100% of time.  Rather than a churning stomach and sweaty palms I get really good feelings when I hear that jingle, I might even stop watching my favourite TV show to go and get an ice cream.

When I shout "Velma come" and she runs to me, I am going to provide her with some form of positive reinforcement 100% of the time.  If she's taken a big detour to chase deer on her way back to me, then I will just have to think of how I will prevent it happening next time but that's my problem to solve and not Velma's.  I want Velma to hear me call her and respond as if it's the ice cream jingle.  With enough practice and now with a big enough history positive reinforcement, and no history at all of punishment, Velma will even interrupt her favourite pastime (chasing deer) to come back to me to find out what good thing is in store for her. 

So, if you want a dog that comes back instantly when you call, every time, you need to always reward them for coming back.... ALWAYS.  No matter how "naughty" you think they have been while they were away.  Avoid at all costs letting your dog know you are annoyed.  

If you know you have sometimes let your dog know you were annoyed once he came back to you, you now need to retrain your dog's recall.  You want your new recall word to make your dog think of ice-cream and not telling offs!  Join the mailing list here for tips on how to recall train your dog. 

Whether it's your own dog or whether you are a professional dog walker, remember your recall cue is a precious thing and fragile thing.  Treat it carefully. 

Jill O'Sullivan APDT INTODogs CDT
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