To the dog that won’t Come when called…
Okay, okay– maybe this isn’t for the dog… but for the human fed up with with that recurring situation that feels like your teenager telling you to f*ck off…
This is for you.
Tapping into subjects like this is where dog behavior becomes SO fascinating for me. You see, for the first few years of my training journey, I firmly believed that a dog choosing not to do something was always a result of our own lack of “human training”. I used to think there was no way a dog would “say no” just because they didn't want to!
I am still strong with my roots of ensuring the owner has as much accountability as possible– but how much of it is truly on the dog?
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When it comes to changing unwanted behaviors, “hitting the reset button” is crucial. We approach this all as if it's a brand new behavior that our dog has never done before. So let's bring training back to its roots–
I like to categorize the building blocks to successful outcomes into a few subjects:
Motivation
Communication
Accountability & Consistency
I’m going to accompany each subject with an activity that you can practice at home!
It is crucial not to compare dog behavior to human behavior in a way that makes it seem like they’re the same– because, well, they’re not. You’ll read some comparisons I make for the sake of helping you understand a situation, so remember that it's for the intention of creating a better perspective.
Motivation:
Some people are motivated by the promise of a reward, whereas others are raised with the motivation of avoiding punishment. Majority of us tend to work with more urgency to avoid a punishment– so naturally, many default to this method with their dog. When we act out of frustration and menacingly approach our dogs with an angry tone in our voice when they don’t respond, this will only teach them that avoiding you is probably a great idea.
Here's a familiar scene: Your dog won’t come to you from the backyard, so out of desperation, we grab that favorite bag of treats and give it a good shake. For a dog, that is like the hallelujah chorus- they come running for that treat! Although this is a great result, two things typically happen after this: either your dog doesn’t give AF until that treat bag comes out, or the sound of the treat bag shaking will become less and less awesome. The dog has learned to wait for bribery– they wait for us to pull out that treat because it's what we’ve taught them.
The balanced training community enlightens a whole spectrum of motivation. There is no doubt that “treats only” trainers and “praise only” trainers both get fantastic results. True balance shows itself when the trainer can differentiate motivators from each individual dog and their specific environment. Skilled use of canine psychology will include more than one quadrant of operant conditioning. ( “Operant Conditioning” blog post to follow)
The big picture with motivation is making yourself the most relevant thing in your dog’s environment. This concept in itself has to be trained– we usually aren’t as relevant to our dog as we think we are. We have to put in the work to be more significant than the squirrels, the other people around, the sniff in the grass, heck– we even have to be better than the ultra comfy snooze spot our dog might be lounging in.
To effectively hit the reset button, we need to create a distraction- free environment and act with intention– think “training mode”. My absolute favorite engagement activity is rewarding the choice of eye contact:
Start by putting the dog on a leash and remain inside the house. Since we are leaning into positive reinforcement, have treats or kibble at the ready in a pouch behind your back. When the dog makes eye contact (unprompted), mark and reward immediately. (tutorial for loading/using a marker on my instagram). I suggest working in “stations”. First spot is the living room, second is the entryway, third is the entryway with the front door open– we continue challenging the dog more and more with each station. Over time, reduce the frequency of treats to wean- down on physical rewards. After mastering the basics, this eye contact activity is best utilized when your dog chooses to look at you and remain calm when you’re around other dogs, people, or any other specific distracting situations. A great way to level- up this activity is by holding out a piece of kibble and waiting for your dog to choose you over looking at the treat.
Communication
Dogs don’t speak human. We can’t “talk them out of” running away from us, or reason with them in order to get what we want. . You may find yourself having a one- sided conversation with your dog when desperate to get them to come into the house. Here is where accountability within ourselves really comes into play:
Our dog’s compliance is not a debate when it's something so crucial like recall. We have to make our words mean something. If we desensitize our dog to their name because we say it 5 million times before they *maybe* respond… of course they won’t come to their name on a regular basis!
Say their name and the cue ONCE! Less is more– and that's a hard concept to practice. When our dog doesn’t listen, we naturally seek to plead & bargain.
If it seems like your words are going in one ear, and out the other– or maybe not even reaching an ear at all… we are in need of a reset. Similar to motivation, we must build relevancy with our words. We agree with compliance and we disagree with the lack thereof. Here is an activity you can do to begin bringing relevance to yourself/ hearing their name. This is the “name game”-- also featured via video on all my socials.
Starting inside the home or somewhere low distraction, begin with your dog on a leash. Allow them to “walk away”, or get a few steps in front of you. After this, you can call their name (pair with “tone” if using an e collar), marking the second they show commitment to response. The reward here will come when they get all the way to you– be mindful not to lure, only present the treat the moment they’re ready to receive it. After this, you’ll release them from your vicinity (I use “go), and repeat. Use excitement in your tone, and take quick backwards steps to build more engagement. To “level up”, you can: change the environment, increase the distance they are from you, or have them be a bit more deliberately distracted before calling.
For this exercise, keep sessions short and ensure you’re not expecting too much too soon. You and your dog should be getting several successful repetitions before leveling up. If there comes a time, either in training mode, or real life, where they don’t respond- we have a few options.
Build more excitement: run backwards, get low to the ground, fun sounds
Add leash pressure: gently apply constant pressure on your prong or slip until they follow back
E collar- Add stim to your tone on the e collar until they follow. Slowly dial up on your numbers if over- distraction occurs. This can be combined with leash pressure.
Accountability and Consistency
Accountability simply means we have promised follow- through. 99% of the time, when trainers say “hold the dog accountable”, it just means that we must hold ourselves accountable for upholding rules and boundaries. Dogs require consistency, and they will most certainly pick up on our patterns. If we “let it slide” 1 out of the 5 times– that creates unreliability on our part– therefore, our dog’s success will be unreliable. We cannot wait to only use our dog’s name when we absolutely need them to come– a desired behavior requires a significant amount of that successful exposure I keep referring to. Mentally prepare to step up to the plate and know that our decision to enforce rules/ expectations is crucial. Aside from a dedicated mindset– the best way to practice accountability is through tools.
#1: LEASH LEASH LEASH!!! Use your leash, my friends. If you don’t trust your dog to respond in a given environment, they should be on a leash (yes, even inside the house). Utilizing this tool will remove the option for your dog to run away or entertain another distraction elsewhere. We can manage where our dog goes and how far they get from us with peace of mind.
#2 E Collar: A properly conditioned e-collar gives way to agreement and disagreement. “Tone” on the e-collar encourages movement, and stim can introduce pressure in a variety of levels to also encourage compliance. I suggest pairing e collar with leash work for the ultimate combo.
Here are some other best practices for consistency:
Swap treats with kibble and pick a meal to train with- this ensures daily practice.
Find your own balance of intentional training sessions vs real- world exposure. This may be a 5 minute indoor training session, and your 15 minute daily walk where you tackle training as it comes. Sneak some recall into a game of fetch or hide n seek!
Be reliable with all things, not just recall. Remember that training presents itself in the small moments. Sure, waiting to come out of the crate, or being on place while you eat dinner isn't directly related to “come when called”, but upholding their routine will enhance their listening skills like nothing else.
All of these building blocks combined– each connecting to one another in different ways– can create a solid AF recall. Dogs aren’t robots though, so yes, there will be times when mistakes happen— prey drive takes over, or they just downright don’t want to listen. Before we blame it on “they know better”, we have to check in and ensure that we have truly done the most on our part to create a success- building environment. Recall can save your dog’s life, and professional intervention is something I highly suggest if you feel in over your head with your dog’s listening skills.
With or without a trainer, start something today to build relevancy!
Happy Training! XO,
Hannah, Mind your Canine LLC
