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Sit. Down. Stay. These are typically the first things new dog owners teach their dogs. That’s a shame considering that, hands down, the most important command you can teach any dog is “Come.”
A strong recall can be the difference between a happy dog who has free reign of the off-leash trail park and a dog ever confined to a leash, at least until they escape that leash and take off without ever looking back.
This is why I implore all dog owners to teach their dogs a recall command before ever dabbling in those more mundane obedience exercises. Luckily for you and your dog, training a strong recall is not only fun, but it can be done in 6 simple steps. And if you commit to these steps and put the work in, you can establish a recall so strong that not even a parade of squirrels can stop it.
What Does a Perfect Recall Look Like?
The perfect recall can look different to different people. When I started my dog training career as an eight-year-old in 4H, a recall was a very specific thing. My dog was required to come straight to me, sit right in front of me, then go around me and plop down at my side.
As I started teaching my own dog obedience classes in my twenties, I was much less strict about what the recall looked like. As long as the dog ran up to the owner immediately upon being called, I deemed it a success.
Why? Because a recall for most dog owners isn’t about glitz and pomp, it’s about getting your dog safely to you no matter what is going on around them.
And that’s exactly the type of recall I will teach you how to train below. If you want to add a sit at the end or shape some other extravagant behavior to finish the command, go for it! But only after your dog will reliably and immediately come to you in any environment.
Building a Strong Recall Foundation
Before we get into how to train a dog recall, you’ll need a few things.
First and most importantly, you’ll want some super high-value treats. I’m talking about something moist, stinky, and irresistible. I’ve found that the best treats for recall training for most dogs are hot dogs, lunch meat, freeze-dried liver, and cheese.
Whatever your dog loves, just make sure it’s something that can be cut up into small pieces so you can train for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time without filling them up.
For dogs that truly are more motivated by toys than stinky, delicious treats, you can use their favorite toy instead. But, for the sake of building a strong recall, they should only ever see this toy when the recall cue is given.
What else do you need for this training? Intensely positive energy and a lot of excitement!
From step one, you need to convince your dog that coming back to you is the best thing ever—even better than chasing a herd of deer through the park. So show me that exuberance, and let’s get started.
6 Steps to Train a Perfect Recall
Reliable dog recall training starts with building a strong, positive association with your chosen cue word and builds into a behavior so hardwired, that your dog doesn’t even think about coming to you, they just do it.
Step 1: Load Your Recall Cue
Start by choosing your recall cue. Some common options include “come,” “here,” and “to me.”
My parents, who often take their dogs camping, chose to use a loud whistle for their recall cue so their dogs could easily hear it even when half a forest away. Whatever word or noise you choose, just make sure you’re consistent, that your dog won’t hear that cue when you aren’t recalling them, and that you can give the cue under any circumstances.
Once you have your cue chosen, it’s time to start “loading” it. If you’re familiar with clicker training, you know all about loading. If not, don’t worry, it’s a simple process that involves building a strong association between the word and those yummy treats.
Start in a calm, familiar, controlled environment. The living room works well for this. With a pocket full of tasty treats, get your dog’s attention. Then give your recall cue and immediately drop a few treats at your feet.
Repeat this about 20 to 30 times.
Step 2: Toss, Recall, Reward
Once your cue is loaded, it’s time to add a touch of distance to test how well the loading worked.
Start by tossing a single treat away from you. No need to fling it across the room. Just throw it far enough to force your dog to turn away from you.
As soon as they lick the treat off the floor, give your recall cue.
Your dog should immediately turn to look at you. When they do, drop a few treats at your feet as you did before.
If they don’t look back immediately upon hearing the cue, go back to step 1.
If your dog has made the connection, repeat the process of tossing a treat, recalling, and rewarding.
Step 3: Take Your Recall Out of the Room
Spend a week or so doing short training sessions as outlined in step 2 in your living room or other designated training space. These repetitions are important to build a strong, lasting connection between your cue and all the good that comes from it.
After about a week of daily or twice daily sessions, start playing the toss, recall, and reward game in other rooms of your house.
Next, try taking the show outside. If you have a fenced-in yard, use it. If not, find a low-distraction outdoor space that your dog is familiar with and put them in a long line.
Now, start back at step 1 for at least 10 repetitions. Dogs don’t always assume the same cue means the same thing in different environments. Going back to the beginning helps establish that your recall cue is as magical in the yard as it is in the house.
Next, start playing the toss, recall, and reward game from step 2. Spend about a week in this new environment, running through repetitions for about ten minutes at least once per day.
Step 4: Up the Stakes
Once your dog has spent ample time playing toss, recall, and reward, it’s time to add a little more difficulty. Go out to your fenced-in yard or outdoor training space with your dog on their long line.
Start by letting them get distracted on their own. Let them get a decent distance away from you. Then, give your recall cue and drop treats at your feet.
If your dog doesn’t respond, go back to step 3.
If your dog does respond by sprinting over to you, let them get distracted again and then repeat. Do this a few dozen times.
Once they have this mastered, do the same thing, except this time, don’t drop the treats after giving the cue. Instead, deliver them straight to your dog when they get to you.
Repeat this method of rewarding for a few sessions until your dog doesn’t hesitate to race up to you every time they hear their recall cue.
Step 5: Take Your Recall on the Road
The next step to creating a strong recall foundation is continuing to build the association between the cue and a fantastic reward in increasingly distracting environments.
One of the best places to start is somewhere on your typical walking route. Start in a place that isn’t overly distracting but is more interesting than your yard.
Go back to step 1 for a few repetitions, then continue to the toss, recall, and reward game. You can do this while your dog is on their normal leash, as they shouldn’t be moving too far away from you during this game.
Repeat the steps from the above in different locations around your normal walking route. Play the toss, recall, and reward game for at least 15 repetitions in each spot.
Next, take your dog to a new place. Start in a place with minimal distractions. An empty park without a lot of wildlife or a vacant parking lot both work well. As you did before, go back to step 1 for a dozen repetitions before moving on to the toss, recall, and reward game for a couple dozen more repetitions.
From there, continue this sequence in increasingly distracting environments. Spend a couple of weeks doing this. If at any point your dog does not respond to the recall command, it means you upped the distractions too fast. Go back to the last place they were successful and move up more slowly.
Step 6: Add Distance
Up to this point, all our work has been focused on teaching your dog that the recall cue delivers super awesome rewards no matter the environment or what’s happening around them. Only once you’ve spent ample time rewarding your dog for reacting to the cue in increasingly distracting environments should you move to adding distance to your recall.
For this final step, you’ll need a long line.
Go to an outdoor location with minimal distractions and let your dog wander to the end of their line. Then give your recall cue and reward them when they come racing to you.
Repeat a few dozen times in this environment before moving on to a more distracting one. Again, you should slowly increase the distraction level over the course of multiple training sessions.
If at any point your dog struggles to recall in an environment, go back to step 1 in that environment and work back up to the long line.
Once you have successfully trained on a long line in high-distraction environments, you can begin utilizing your recall in different circumstances. For example, when your dog is at the dog park when they are in the yard, and you are in the house, or when they are staring at a squirrel, and you’re behind them.
Just keep in mind that the higher the distraction factor, the closer you should be before attempting a recall. Likewise, the farther you are away, the less distracted your dog should be when you give the cue. The more you work, the more you can increase each of these factors.
Tips for Keeping Your Recall Strong
While you work through your “come when called” foundation steps with your dog, keep these tips in mind:
- Never call your dog for something negative. In other words, do not use your recall cue to get your dog to come to you for a bath, nail trimming, or anything else they don’t like. On the other hand, DO recall them for meals and other rewards they love.
- Never use your recall cue if you aren’t sure your dog will come. Until you’ve reached the end of step 6, only use your recall cue in controlled environments or during training sessions to avoid failed attempts.
- If you do get a failure, turn it into a success. That is, if your dog doesn’t respond to your recall cue, run over with a treat, plant it in front of their nose, and then, once they start to follow, reward them with plentiful treats to remind them why that cue is so magical and worth listening to.
- Don’t repeat your recall cue. If, at any point in training, your dog doesn’t respond to the cue, it’s a sign you need to go back to the last successful step or environment. What it doesn’t mean is that you should repeat the cue again. The goal is to get your dog to respond to your recall immediately the first time, every time. Repeating it only chips away at that goal.
- Up your reward as needed. Many dogs will happily recall in the house for minimal reward, but as the distractions become more rewarding (think chasing squirrels, barking at cats, eating out of the trash), your rewards need to become even MORE rewarding.
- Practice even after it’s perfect. Even after you’ve mastered step 6, don’t forget to practice your recall occasionally with ample rewards. We don’t want your dog forgetting how rewarding your recall cue is.
The Perfect Recall
The perfect recall is when your dog comes bounding to you the second you give your cue. But, really, the MOST perfect recall is when your dog responds to the cue in an unexpected situation.
It’s that moment when your dog slips out the front door to chase your neighbor’s cat across the street. Or when your walk in the park threatens to turn disastrous because your off-leash dog just spotted a skunk.
In moments like these, all those weeks of training your recall, of rewarding and rewarding and rewarding your dog for simply hearing and reacting to your recall cue, pays off.
The recall question I get asked most often is, “But isn’t it bad to always reward your dog for recalling? Won’t they expect a reward every time?”
My answer? Yes, absolutely, they will. And that’s exactly why, when you yell “Come!” as your dog chases a cat toward a busy street, they will turn on a dime to run back to you.
They do it because they expect an amazing reward. In this unexpected instance, you may not have a reward to give them. But it won’t matter because your dog will already be at your feet before they realize you’re empty-handed.
All those rewards could end up saving your dog’s life.
Sources
Grossman, A. (2024). How to Train Your Dog with Love + Science: A Dog Lover’s Guide to Animal Behavior and Positive Reinforcement Training. [Paperback]. Sourcebooks.
Pryor, K. (1999). Don’t Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training (Revised) [Paperback]. Bantam
Sara Seitz worked in the pet industry for over a decade. In addition to being a certified dog trainer, Sara gained experience working as the general manager of a dog daycare and boarding facility, as the creator and manager of a pet sitting company, as a groomer, and as a dog behavior evaluator. She also has a bachelors in animal behavior from CSU. Currently, Sara works as a freelance writer specializing in blog, article and content writing.
