Off Leash Life
Maeve enjoying her time on the trail - off leash but equipped with a GPS tracker (no shock, sound, or stim capacity - simply for tracking)
Every dog deserves a bit of adventure! But is your dog's recall up to par? For safety, and of course your own peace of mind, before you allow your dog to roam off leash, you will need to train a recall cue.
You can start by doing so in the house - in fact, starting in a low distraction is much easier.
Ready to get started? Great! Choose a word you don’t use much in every day speech, for example “cookie”, and follow these steps:
Sit next to your dog with your pocket or treat pouch full of extra yummy treats, and say “cookie”, immediately following it by a treat. Pretty soon, you will see your dog perk up when you say this word - but keep in mind you may need to get in quite a few repetitions before your dog really puts it together - think about 50 or more spread out over several shorter sessions.
Next, see if you can get your dog to move a step towards you when you say this word. If it doesn’t work, don’t worry - simply go back to step 1!
Getting a couple of steps? Fantastic. Get more distance. Will your dog come from across the room?
Is it working well in the home? Awesome! Take it into more distracting environments. Use a long line initially to ensure that everyone is safe, especially for puppies.
Finally, a few tips:
Never skimp on rewarding for your recall. Pull out the high value stuff - string cheese, cooked chicken, steak bits... ask your dog what they like best.
Make sure to use a word that is only associated with positive things, like, well.... string cheese, cooked chicken, steak bits, .... It’s best not to use this word before you take your dog to the vet (unless your dog loves the vet, of course!).
This is of course just one of many approaches that you can use to build a recall - but one that works really well!
Have fun exploring the great outdoors with your dog!
