How to teach your dog to come when called

We all want to be able to let our dogs off-lead to run free. The most relaxing and most adventurous walks are when our dogs have the freedom to explore without being restricted by a lead. But to be able to let your dog off-lead you need to train them so you know if you call them they’ll come back to you. Otherwise those relaxing walks become incredibly stressful as you watch your dog create chaos and worry whether you’ll ever be able to catch them.

Teaching your dog to come when you call them takes A LOT of effort and time. It’s not easy for them to choose to ignore all the exciting distractions the world offers and run back to you. But luckily out of all the training you’ll do with your dog, training a recall is the most fun and the one that’ll build your bond with them the most. So it’s worth the effort and the wait to watch your dog run joyfully off-lead because you’ll both have a lot of fun on the journey.

Recall should be a fun game

One of the biggest mistakes people make when training recall is only calling their dog at the end of a walk. Then when their dog comes back they're given a tiny boring treat, get put on their lead and are taken straight home. If you were a dog running free off-lead surrounded by other dogs to play with, squirrels to chase and picnics to steal, would you come back? I definitely wouldn't.

The key to training a good recall is teaching your dog that coming back to you is the start of fun – not the end of it. And the way to do that is to play recall games. Throwing that same treat for your dog to chase or catch, or hiding it for your dog to find will increase its value massively. Then, if it’s safe, let your dog go back to what they were doing. They’ll learn their recall cue means they get to play a game with you and they can continue their fun afterwards.

If your dog’s still not bothered about the treats, then it’s time to bring out the big guns - toys. Playing tug or throwing a frisbee for your dog to chase are great recall rewards. And these games can be especially good for dogs who have a high prey drive and love to chase and kill. You can even wave your toy in the air as you call your dog to let them know that there’ll be a game if they come. They’ll zoom back ready to play with you.

Train with a long line

A long line’s just a really long lead - and they’re great for training recall. They allow your dog more space to explore while you still have hold of them. So you can practise their recall over longer distances without having to let them off-lead. And as a bonus, long lines are also awesome for giving dogs more freedom in places you can’t let them off-lead - like where they might encounter livestock. Long lines can be fiddly and take some practise to use comfortably. If you’ve never used one before it’s best to start with a 5 metre one and once you feel happy using that then you can get a longer one if you want.

There are some important safety things to be aware of when using a long line. You can only clip a long line to the back clip of your dog’s harness. The extra length over a normal lead means if your dog runs and hits the end of their long line they could seriously injure their neck. Try to only give your dog slightly more long line that they need (so it’s loose but there’s not lots of lead on the floor). This is why they’re fiddly to get used to, but it does stop your dog running several metres forward, hitting the end of the long line and hurting both of you. And you (and other people) are less likely to trip over the long line. If you ever drop your dog’s long line, stand on it before you pick it up. If you bend down you could get rope burn as it runs through your fingers or you might trip over and get dragged along the ground.

If your dog’s not listening - don’t call them

Everytime you call your dog and they don’t come, they’re learning that ignoring you is fun. You want your dog to learn that when they hear their recall cue, they’re always going to run back to you. There’s just no point calling your dog if they’re not going to listen - they won’t come back and you’re only weakening their recall. So if your dog’s busy sniffing or going to the toilet and they’re safe and not causing a problem just wait until they’re done to call them.

Obviously there are gonna be times your dog’s in danger or causing trouble and you need them back - that’s why you need to train a recall. In those situations it’s much better to go and get your dog instead of asking them to come to you. Your dog will be much more able to listen if you’re closer to them so going to them might help them recall. But even if they still ignore you, you’ll be able to grab them and get them away from a problem. A long line can help with this - if you leave one trailing attached to their harness you’ll be able to stand on it to get hold of your dog instead of rugby-tackling them. Even if you have to get your dog, give them a reward and play a game with them. They’ll learn that you catching them also means fun and they’ll be less likely to play keep-away.

Avoid distractions when training

Yes, your dog needs to be able to come back to you when they’re surrounded by tempting distractions. That’s the point of training recall - to keep you, your dog, other people, dogs and wildlife safe. But if you start training your dog around lots of distractions they’re not going to be able to focus on you and so won’t be able to learn to come back. Start by playing recall games around your home and garden where there are no distractions. And then slowly practise in more distracting places. If you want more space to train without distractions then hiring a secure field is a great idea.

There’s no shame in keeping your dog on their lead if you think they’ll be too distracted to listen to you. As with most things, it’s really better to be safe than sorry. Even with the best recall, they’ll always be spaces it’s not safe to let your dog off-lead. So don’t feel like you’ve failed if you can only let your dog run free in some places. Before you let your dog off-lead, judge the environment, the distractions and your dog’s behaviour to decide whether unclipping their lead is a good idea.

Need more support with your dog’s recall?

You can get personalised support to teach your dog to come back when you call them with the Your Enthusiastic Explorer 1-2-1 recall training programme.

Written by Juniper Indigo, dog trainer in Tiverton and Exeter