The definition of recall is Word > Environment, so a lot of people think if you just do lots of training, you will make that word so valuable to the dog that they will give up anything in their environment and come running to you when they hear it. But this is not the case. In many situations, the dog is just so desperate for the environment that no amount of training in the world can compete with that.
This is something we call an obsessive behavioural issue—when the dog is particularly obsessed with one thing, like other dogs or smells, and it is rooted in desperation. Some dogs are just incredibly hyperactive as soon as they go out on a walk—or maybe all day—and training anything is really hard, especially when it comes to recall.
Before we get to the dramatic stuff about transforming our dog’s life, here’s some training advice!So, like I said, recall is about making a word more valuable to the dog than the environment. Do we think asking our dog to do a job for us is something valuable to them when they’ve just found something stimulating to do? Especially a sighthound! The answer is no.
So we are not going to teach this the traditional way—where we call the dog from a distance, say the word to make them run to us, and reward them for doing it. Remember, we do not need to teach our dog how to run towards us. We also do not need to teach the dog that this word means “run towards us.” This is not an English lesson. We just need the dog to end up running towards us.
So our goal is to pair something very, very valuable to the dog with that word so that in a real-life situation, they’re far more likely to run a distance to come get it.
What we’re going to do is have the dog right by us, say the word, and just throw the food. Remove the job completely. Don’t make the dog run to you every single time. This is now no longer an instruction. The dog associates this word with a bit of food flying behind them, a bit of food flying up in the air, a toy they can bite, or a toy they can chase.
I want you to practice this in your garden, your living room, your kitchen, your car—even when the dog is asleep. Just say it once, make something fantastic happen, and then continue with life. If you want to have a few training sessions where you do it 20 times, you can do that. Now, this word just means good stuff, free instant good stuff. And in real-life situations, the dog just happens to be a little bit further away.
Now, the life-changing stuff. The thing people forget is that the dog has to be in the right state to listen. Our dogs do not, and will never, know that they need to listen to recall. All we can do is make this word mean something great is happening. So if we have a dog that is in an incredibly desperate, hyperactive, and frustrated state, they are not going to care about any food or toy, and they are especially not going to want to do any obedience for you.
When it comes to sighthounds in particular, it can be a little tricky because these dogs are the furthest thing from a collie. A collie is a dog bred to follow a human like a little robot and loves to impress. So, congratulations, you’ve bought the best dog ever! Living with a sighthound, you’ll see that these dogs get a lot more enjoyment from walks than other breeds because all of their enrichment is out there.
Now imagine we have one of these dogs, and they’re also really hyperactive, frustrated, or desperate. Then, we put them in an environment with squirrels, rabbits, other dogs, and all these opportunities to chase, follow smells, and dig holes. Can you see how, unless we work on the dog, we are never going to get reliable recall?
But it is more than possible. I rescued a Pharaoh Hound who was three years old from a rescue centre in Malta. They had found him on the street, and he had spent a year in their facility. As you can imagine, when I rescued him, walks were just super stressful because he had so much pent-up energy and had not been given any outlets.
But here’s the interesting thing: he still does all the behaviours today on those walks that he did when I rescued him. He will never stop doing those behaviours; they are part of his breed. But what you can get rid of is the obsession.
The Root of Desperation:
Many dogs are frustrated because the lifestyle they’re living isn’t providing them with what they need. This makes them desperate to chase every scent or dog they come across, and they become very obsessive. Understanding and addressing this pent-up frustration is crucial. They often feel this way because they aren’t provided with the right outlets. Therefore, you get obsessive behavioural issues.
This is never going to be solved through more and more recall training, but it will be solved through helping the dog. A sighthound loves to chase, bite, rip, and some will love to follow smells. Giving the dog opportunities to do this is what we call an outlet. Without it, they’ll disappear off without looking for you. This is frustration.
So, if right now you struggle to let yours off the lead, make sure the dog has opportunities at home to chase fluffy toys, balls, bite things, catch things, and find food scattered through the grass—not just for a couple of minutes here and there. Remember, we’re talking about enough work here to transform our dog’s life. If, right now, your dog is on the lead or perhaps you only go to parks and fields, the dog needs a couple of hours of this great stuff every day.
Just remember, the more chasing does mean more arousal, so make sure to always finish these really exciting activities with something much calmer—like scatter feeding, chewing on something, or licking a lick mat. Rest is the most important thing. The more your dog rests, the more their arousal drops, creating a much calmer dog.
It doesn’t matter how much you’ve tired out your dog and stimulated them—if they’re all hyped up and triggered, they are not going to sleep, and you’re not going to have recall. The great thing about this is that as your dog becomes calmer, they’ll be able to be on the lead less and explore more, getting even more stimulation and outlets. If the dog is never obsessing over things, we never have to recall them, keeping the recall valuable and the dog in a safe state—where we can actually enjoy them.
Lesson on all of this at MK9Plus.com
When I embarked on my dog training journey, a mentor once told me a phrase that stuck:"If a dog’s recall is hit and miss, their walks are simply dictated by luck. Recall is the only thing dogs need, but it’s typically the one thing they don’t have.”
This resonated deeply when I rescued my three-year-old street dog, Enzo. With his hyperactive, frustrated, and often distant demeanour, recall training was a challenge. Recall training was basically pointless, but I practised it anyway so I could gauge how much he was improving mentally. As it started to work more often, I knew he was making progress. Within a mere 30 days, he was off lead with a human for the first time in his life.
Max Randall
CEO & Founder of MK9Plus
Qualified Dog Trainer
MK9Plus Online Dog Training
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