The Weekly High Five 🐾

Hey there,

I've been getting a ton of calls lately about off-leash recall.

And when I dig into it with these families, it's always the same story:

"We've tried treats. We've practiced in the yard. But the second we're at the park and my dog sees another dog? Gone. It's like I don't exist."

Sound familiar?

Here's what's probably happening.

You're not doing anything wrong. Your dog isn't stubborn or broken.

The issue? Most people skip the foundation work and jump straight to the hard stuff.

It's like trying to run a marathon when you haven't learned to jog yet. You're setting both of you up to fail.

So how would I actually help you fix this?

When someone comes to me struggling with recall, here's what I do:

First, I figure out where the breakdown is happening.

Is your dog ignoring you at home? Then we've got a foundation problem.

Does your dog come great at home but falls apart outside? Then we need to work on building up distractions slowly.

Has your dog learned that "come" is optional because it's never been reinforced properly? Then we need a fresh start with a new word.

Essentially, I need to see where your training is falling apart so we can fix the actual problem instead of guessing.

Next, we rebuild from scratch (in a way that actually sticks).

Most people practice recall the same way every time. Same location. Same reward. Same setup.

Your dog gets bored. Or they figure out the pattern.

When I work with families, we mix it up. We start boring (your living room), then add distractions one at a time. A person walking by. A toy on the ground. Another dog across the yard.

We build your dog's ability to come back to you even when life gets chaotic.

And we do it at a pace that works for YOUR dog. Not some generic timeline.

Then we make sure you're using rewards your dog actually cares about.

If you're using kibble to compete with a squirrel? You're going to lose every time.

I help you figure out what your dog goes absolutely crazy for. Cheese? Hot dogs? A specific toy? That's what we use.

Because here's the deal: your dog needs to believe that coming to you is the best possible option. Always.

Finally, we practice in the real world (safely).

No, I'm not going to tell you to just "let your dog off-leash and hope for the best."

We use long lines. We pick quiet locations first. We set you up to succeed.

And when your dog doesn't come? We don't punish them. We go back a step and build the skill back up.

This whole process takes time. Weeks. Sometimes months.

But when it clicks? You get to actually enjoy those off-leash hikes without your heart racing every time your dog gets 10 feet away from you.

Here's the thing.

I'm working on something right now that's going to walk you through this entire process step-by-step.

It's not ready yet, but it will be soon. And if recall is something you're struggling with? It's going to be worth the wait.

I'll share more details in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned.
​
Pam,
CPDT-KA
​