Whistle up a recall!

That feeling when the sun comes out after a long, hard Winter!

We took the girls for a long ramble through our local woods, around the perimeter of the pear orchard and across a huge 'scrubby field' yesterday. The sun shone, it was warm and we noticed a gentle hue of fresh green cast over the landscape and tiny buds on trees ... we were left in no doubt that Spring is close by.

And of course, there is nothing quite like owning Golden Retrievers to help you fully appreciate the joy of Spring as goldies positively bounce with excitement whenever the sun comes out!

Sadly, like so many areas in the South of England, our local green spaces are now under threat of development. What was once a beautiful field full of wildlife, birds, berries, crops and happy memories of beautiful evening sunsets, is now bricks and tarmac. We watch helplessly each week as yet more trees are torn from our lovely pear orchard to make way for a community centre and with our hearts sinking, await the inevitable moment when diggers plough ruthlessly through our ancient bluebell woodland to lay an approved road. Dear old 'Scrubby field' will also eventually be built upon, as we fear, will our favourite 'Pea field'. These are sad, sad times for this county, historically celebrated as 'The Garden of England'.

Naturally as a walker and a dog owner, I enjoy our natural environment at all times of year, but in Spring, nature's moment for rebirth, somehow this loss seems ever more poignant ...

:-(

Oops, I digress! 

Let's get back to the subject of dog walking while we do still have a few open spaces to walk in!

If you read my early blog posts, you will see that as a new owner, I was very anxious about allowing off lead fun, but knew it was important, both for exercise and for mental well-being. For a long time my oldest girl Polly led me a merry dance while I tried my hardest to train her to recall to me; it was a massive learning curve and very hard work but I stuck with the obedience/recall training and gradually, she began to improve. 

In hindsight, one of the most important things I did to help our recall, was to introduce whistle training ... that was definitely a turning point for us.  Now that Polly is almost six years old and Betty nearly four, we never leave home without our whistles - I say whistles because I have two. I use an Acme 210 dog whistle for everyday recalls but if my girls run further (Betty is a terror for super-fast runs!) I blow my very loud Acme Thunderer whistle twice because it can be heard in the fiercest of winds and I know that is pretty much guaranteed to stop them in their tracks and have them racing back to me for a treat.

Whistle training tips: 

To begin with: I was taught to 'load the whistle' before setting foot outside with it. To do this, you simply blow the whistle, treat the dog. Repeat. Repeat ... after fifteen times. There is no need to set up a recall, this technique is purely to teach your dog to associate a reward with the sound of the whistle. You can also blow the whistle at mealtimes to call your dog to their food bowl ... or ask them to wait, until you place the food bowl on the floor and you whistle a couple of times to let them eat from their bowl.

When your dog is paying attention to the whistle, you can then practice little recalls in the house, then in your garden and when you are having a good level of reliable recall success in these areas, take pup to a safe, quiet outdoor space such as a local playing field (not surrounded by roads/train lines etc).  Attach a long training line (10 metres is a good length) to your pup's harness and allow them to explore the nearby area ... when their excitement has settled a little, drop the end of the line for a few seconds, give a couple of toots on the whistle and hopefully pup will race back to you for a tasty treat! If he is a little reluctant, just catch hold of the end of the training line, whilst calling them in a happy voice back to you and give the line a gentle tug to show them that you want them to come to you. Practice, repeat, repeat, repeat ... you get the picture! When they do recall, praise, praise, reward, praise!

Don't rush recall training. It takes time and needs to be built up gradually. Dogs don't generalise well, so what they learn in one situation, may not work in different circumstances initially. Increasing levels of distraction makes recall training harder ... for example, getting Betty to recall if a squirrel runs up a tree close by, will take me a little longer than if there are no squirrels to distract her.  

Also, if your recall is being ignored, reduce the distance between you and your dog, before trying again ... when training a recall, distance matters, so start close by and build distance and distraction gradually.

So, my advice is: don't set your pup up for a fail by expecting him to recall from play with mates in a woodland full of squirrels, for example. Instead, build up the level of distraction gradually, carefully and prescriptively. Start somewhere relatively quiet and boring and over the coming months, gradually add distracting elements into your training ... other dogs, people riding bikes, joggers, new areas. Hopefully one day, you will come to realise your pup is returning to you promptly more often than not ... and eventually, you should find you no longer need the training line as your dog will be recalling from play with other dogs, interesting sniffs, distance ... and even from those pesky squirrels!

It's always worth bearing in mind that dogs are not pre-programmable robots, so however well you train them, their natural instincts don't disappear ... you are aiming to build your relationship and two-way understanding with your dog so that he wants to return to you more than he wants to chase/run/play. That's a big ask!  It also entails learning about their individual quirks, especially those that may cause a problem with recall. So for example, if you know your dog becomes very excited by cyclists or joggers, it may be better to clip on a lead when you spot one, rather than rely on your recall ... unless you absolutely know for certain you can turn your dog on a sixpence back to you, in the nick of time. My girls are both excellent recallers these days, but I won't take chances with their safety, so they walk on leads on public paths and lanes and anywhere I feel there is a potential for them getting into trouble. 

Allowing your dogs to enjoy off lead fun is a huge responsibility, both legally and in terms of their safety. Training a reliable recall is absolutely essential to ensuring it can happen regularly and with the minimum of worry. It's great fun too and so satisfying when pup actually learns how to recall promptly! Keep it fun, be focused on what you want to achieve and don't give up as it really is the most important skill you will ever teach your dog.

Last recall tip of the day!

I see lots of people struggling with recall on my walks. They have treats, they call ... but their pup ignores them. Naughty pup? Well, maybe, but when I spy the treats I think to myself, would I want to give up my fun with pals to race back for a tiny dry dog biscuit? Probably not! So, what I have learned is to vary the treats and use good quality rewards. My girls will practically fly back to me if I have a piece of roast chicken to share with them, for a pork chop they will zoom back rocket speed. I don't use such mega-treats for every day recalls, but if I know I am going to be in more distracting environments, I up the the level of treat accordingly. I have also learned that they would far rather have a nibble of Dad's sandwich ham, than dog biscuit and if there's a piece of cheese in the offing, that's worth recalling for. So, think about what you are asking from your dog and whether the reward is a fair enough exchange for asking them to leave their fun. Bear in mind, if your pup is less interested in food rewards, a good game with a favourite ball or tug can be just as rewarding for them ... so long as you are enthusiastic and fun too ... remember, coming back to you is a big part of their reward, so greet them like a long lost friend each time and make it count!

If you have any handy tips you are happy to share with new owners for helping train and maintain a reliable recall, I'd love to read them ... please leave them in a comment. Thanks!

:-)