Recall

Recall is a skill every dog should have in his behavior toolkit, as it’s essential for living politely with humans, and can be lifesaving.

While turn-on-a-dime recall takes repetition and practice over time, you can easily begin the process with your new dog, working in small steps and rewarding each success.
Remember: recall is a hard skill for dogs. Leaving the smelly thing to hang out with a human is not innate, and goes against centuries of survival and genetic wiring. Repeated practice combined with consistent rewards will overcome this hurdle, and create an enviable rock solid recall.

Keys to Success

Set him up for success. Only call him when you’re sure he’ll come. If he’s chasing a squirrel or reading pee-mail, you’re competing with an impossible distraction. Wait until he’s doing nothing, or better yet, looking your way.

Only call him once. Repeating the cue, calling louder, or adding words only weakens the cue, and confuses him. “Fido, come! Coooome! Here, boy! Pleeeease, come?” will be what it takes to get his attention in the future.

Choose a cue you can say quickly, easily, and sounds the same each time. It’s best to choose something you don’t say often in normal conversation, as you want this word to stand out.

Intonation matters; “here” said with a happy lilt is far more appealing than a flat, demanding “here”, growled in frustration.
The cue can also be a tongue drill or a whistle, but if you’re fostering, remember that the adopter will need to learn the cue you’ve chosen.

Reward generously every time he comes. Ridiculously generously. Recall is a PhD level skill for dogs, so the payoff must be equal to the task.

Use super yummy treats. Think stinky, slightly forbidden, steal-when-no-one’s- looking yummy.
Freeze dried organ meats and leftover human food such as hamburger, steak or salmon, tiny pieces of cheddar, string or pecorino cheese, and small cubes of hot dogs work well.
Peanut butter in a squeeze tube or meat-flavored baby food or cat food are a nice hands-off alternative.
Saving one or two favorite foods just for recall strengthens their value.
For some dogs, a toy or ball, or playing a quick game of tug may be his highest value reward.

Reward even if he’s slow. Especially in the beginning it might take him longer to connect the new word he’s hearing with the skill he barely understands. Keep the rewards coming. You’re building a skill, not setting a speed record.

Praise works. This is one situation in which praise combined with treats creates a stronger reward. Dogs love a party; use your best silly voice and praise him like crazy as you dole out the treats.

Never use the cue to call him to something distasteful or scary, such as a bath or nail trim, or ending play every single time you call.

Eat your broccoli, then you can have cake. Call him, reward for success, then release him back to doing whatever he was doing. Win-win! This increases the chances he’ll come no matter what, and strengthens even a beginning recall.

Open the bar for a big success. If he leaves something enticing to come, make it a jackpot reward. Open your hand and scatter a pile of treats while showering him with over-the-top praise.

Never punish. If he doesn’t come, don’t yell, scold, reprimand or use any kind of physical or emotional punishment. How eager would you be to approach someone who’s angry? Nothing squashes recall like fear.

Call him when he’s already coming toward you. This reinforces the idea “coming toward the human = good stuff for me”. This will strengthen his behavior when on cue.

Use a long line to ensure success and create safety.

Start in low-distraction environments, such as one room of the house, from a few feet away.

Vary the distances, but keep them short.
Vary the environment, but always low distraction.
Increase distance gradually, e.g., from 5 feet to 7, then 10, then 15.
Add distraction gradually, e.g., changing rooms, turning on the TV, another person walking in, etc.
Decrease distance when you add distraction, and slowly increase again as he’s successful.

Additional Resources

Check out these links for more support on training recall

Coming When Called: How to Improve Your Dog’s Recall (Dog Matters)

“Supercharging” an Emergency Recall Word (Dogkind)

Copyright 2025, Jeanne Spreen and Angela Amundson. All rights reserved. Please ask us before reproducing in any way. Please link to the articles rather than copying content to your site. Thank you.

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