How do you all have such a good recall???

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Hello all! I love looking at all the pictures of everyones doodles, and I always see that MANY a times they are off leash and running free. I would love to train Midas to be free off leash..at the beach or a park or big field.. how do you all get such a good recall? I know training training and training..but how? i often call Midas and say Come!, he will come if i have food or something more interesting then what HE is interested in doing.. if not..he will not come and just ignores me..how do i work on my recall day to day? do you honestly trust ur dog 100% that they wouldnt run from u if a squirrel or another dog ran by? i want to so badly trust Midas one day and know he will always listen to me no matter the circumstance we are in! tips PLEASE

[Adina P]

Some things that help is being very deliberate in teaching the recall. And by that I mean teaching that 'Midas, Come!' means something very specific like 'Arrive sitting in front of me within arms reach and wait until you are told otherwise' -- I think this helps tremendously...so that it does NOT get translated into keep away, or swing by and then keep running or just come close enough but don't let me touch you, etc. So you teach a very specific behavior and practice that on leash. First from 6 feet away while doggy is in a sit stay, then from farther away (on a long leash), then from diff angles, then when doggy is playing (STILL on long leash)...with diff distractions and distractions in diff locations (to the side, behind him, behind you, etc). Always on some kind of leash so you can MAKE the recall happen if Midas does not. And ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS...Midas is a 'Very GOOD Doggy!' when he arrives in front of you. But NEVER call him with his recall word when he is not on leash until you've covered at least the training ground I and others have mentioned.

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Thank you for this recall post.  I have learned a lot from reading the responses from other doodle members.  I never let Traz out of the house without his leash because I'm afraid he won't come back.  He does great inside the house (most of the time).  The other day we took him to a dog park.  It was empty so my husband and I practiced the recall command increasing the distance between us with every recall.  It was fun watching him go back and forth between us.  We both had treats.  After a while, Traz caught on to the game and it became "run by eating".....eat the treat and immediately run to the other person for their treat without being called.  Little rascal!!!!  Oh well, at least he was coming when called, at least in the beginning.  We'll have to modify that game.  We too, are looking forward to the day when Traz will come, all the time, when called.  Good luck with your training :-)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We trained hard for the recall, however we have not kept training with it and our dogs have lapsed into unreliability.  They are great at a dog park but recently we were camping at the beach - they were great on the beach, however there were bunnies and squirrels all over the campground and they just took off - not good at all!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

We followed a training program much like Adina described. Starting with a 6 ft leash and sit stay, I'd move away, put my right arm out, then bring my hand to my chest --over exaggerating the word "come" When he came towards me I would clap happily and when he sat down in front of me he got a high value treat and lots of hugs. Once he was reliable with sit stay, I would put him in a sit stay in the kitchen, go to another room, and call "come" and he would come find me. Outside we went from a leash to a long line. But as a puppy, we always made it a game but with a leash on, disobedience was not an option. We moved through puppy classes, basic obedience and CGC. I think classes help because you're working with lots of distractions. Finn would crack everybody up because no matter what he was doing, when I put my arm out his head would snap to attention! Always in safe enclosed places we would practice and still do today -- even though Finn is two years +. Even when we play "fetch" Finnegan gets the ball and waits for the "come" command to race back with it. I still jump up and down and applaud him for bringing back the ball. Sometimes you wonder who's trained who :) I think recall training is something you constantly have to reinforce. Today we work in larger enclosed spaces like soccer fields, baseball fields, etc. sometimes with another dog. Finnegan is doing well with his recall - I've called him back from other dogs, squirrels, and people. But if he sees a deer all bets are off. So although his level of recall makes our lives happier snd easier, he always has to be in a safe place off leash. We may try an electronic collar to go the next step. Like others say, pictures don't tell the whole story:) Have fun with it and good luck!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Chelsea, he is still very young. My early days on DK, I remember Adina saying, " Every day is a training day"
I always have remembered those words. It's the small thing you accomplish little by little that build a greatly trained ( and human) dog.
The leash training, reward every recall no matter what, etc others have mentioned I won't add to, but I do want to mention a trick I do each day. Because these doodles are retrievers by nature, it can work with most. We incorporate the command Come with fetch.
My dog never fails to bring me back his ball. Just as he is starting to bring the ball back I say, happily, ' come'. Many times, I will also use the ' come' hand signal too.
Spud, has excellent recall, has spent events off- leash, weekends away, however until he is well exercised and tired, I wouldn't ever leave him off leash on a busy road, with squirells, or any situation there is doubt.
Still, try working recall with a game of fetch.
When Spud was only 7-8 months, the traditional period when a dog's recall is said to be the poorest, I never tried off- leash events unless there was a fence. And, I never gave the command Come, unless I knew he would not fail-- which again means, never give a command unless you know you can follow through.
This is one command to ALWAYS REWARD NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES, as others have said.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Any one have a training video with the Leash-Sit/Stay/Come/Sit, example?
I've deleted most of mine.
We could use a video library in this group.
This would help a lot.