I’m coming! (Photo: Weimaraner running toward camera)
Will your dog come back to you no matter what?
What if there’s poisoned food on the trail?
Think I’m being dramatic?
This is happening in Guelph, ON, Canada right now. There’s posts on our local dog forum every day.
This week, there were posts about carefully placed organ meat, as well as a picture of a turkey carcass. Not a wild turkey killed by a coyote. A perfectly bald, store-bought turkey carcass sitting on a trail.
When you call your dog, is it going to look like this…(Photo: Husky running toward camera through the snow)
…or this? (Photo: Duck Toller looking away from camera)
So I ask you again. If you call your dog, does she come back no matter what?
If the answer is no, then you need to think very carefully next time you unclip her leash on a trail. Is watching her run free worth her life?
Whether she runs in front of a car, decides to approach the wrong dog, a coyote, or a porcupine, her life is in YOUR hands. You need to make good decisions that keep her safe.
There is no shame in not having perfect recall, especially when food (and bunny poop) is involved. It’s one of the most difficult commands to master, but master it you must.
If your dog ignores you when you call her, here are a few tips to help:
RELEVANT — You need to become relevant to your dog. Ask for eye contact more often, and not in that “super hyper waving a hotdog near your eyeballs and making lots of sound” way. Before being let out of the car, before eating, and before being allowed to follow you out the front door are all good times to wait for eye contact. Reward that with the word “Yes,” and a smile. You don’t always have to give a steak for everything your dog gets right. Your happiness is payment enough for her.
You have to MATTER to your dog. (Photo: Collie making eye contact with the camera)
2. BACK TO BASICS — Practice recall in your home, where there are less distractions. Add distractions gradually.
3. LEASH WALKS — Work on loose-leash walking (AKA structured walking, AKA heeling with breaks.) If your dog is way out in front of you on walks, you are not relevant. Go back to step one. There is nothing wrong with you. We are all working on things with our dogs. Keep going. You’ll get there.
Build a strong bond and become relevant through loose-leash walking (Photo: small dog heeling beside and looking up at her owner.)
4. LONG LINE — Light-weight leashes that are very long are known as long-lines. After you’ve worked on recall outside using your regular leash, you can use a long-line to practice recall with your dog a little further away from you.
5. CALMNESS — Always use calm and confident energy when working with animals. Calm breeds calm, panic breeds panic. If you’re not feeling calm and confident, work on yourself first. Take some time away from your dog to pump yourself back up. Who knew that owning a dog would mean self-reflection, working on yourself (finding calmness and patience,) and learning to only listen to your inner voice when she’s being kind to you?
Dogs gravitate toward calm and confident leaders. Find your inner leader and then share her with your dog.
Practice, practice, practice. And have a wonderful (and safe) weekend, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: Nathalie SPEHNER @nathalie_spehner (Weimaraner running toward camera,) @worthyofelegance (Husky running toward camera through the snow,) @jamie452 (Duck Toller looking away from camera,) @jaredgorski (Collie making eye contact with the camera,) Upsplash (small dog heeling beside and looking up at her owner.)