Food Resources

23 seconds

This course is not designed to cover all the bases of food training. That topic has been covered extensively. But, it is important to note, that if your dog has low food drive, there are some things you can do to help bring that motivation up. So if you are at all unfamiliar with using food as part of your training, I’d highly recommend that you go through some of the other material available from the Leerburg University and spend some time forming a plan.

Overview of Recall

37 seconds

The first exercise we are going to cover is the recall, or “Come” command. The vast majority of people who are interested in using the electronic collar are so because they want to get their dogs to the point of off leash control. Being that the recall is the basis and foundation of off leash obedience, it’s important that our dogs have a clear understanding of what they are supposed to be doing.

Recall Demo with Sonny

2 min 19 sec

This video shows the beginning stages of the recall with Sonny. Sonny as you can see is very motivated for the food, which makes this training a breeze for both of us. If you’re having any trouble with this exercise, get your dogs attention with the food first, then call your dog, and then run backwards.

To do this correctly, there is no minimum distance you need to run backwards, nor is there a minimum speed of which you need to run. So don’t worry about running backwards across your entire yard. Focus on teaching your dog that when they hear the command, they need to get to you ASAP!

Notice in this video, that I am starting to show Sonny the lure for the behavior before he actually gets to me. This stops him from running past me, and helps him commit to completing the exercise. While we’re on the subject of committing to the exercise, keep in mind that Sonny has done this before, and has a good understanding of this game already. If your dog however does NOT know this game, there may be some things you want to do differently, e.g. you may want to mark the behavior as correct before your dog gets to the “Front” position. In many cases, you need to mark the behavior as soon as the dog turns towards you, or in some cases just looks at you.

Because Sonny is well versed in this exercise, it isn’t a problem for me to wait until he is in front of me to mark and reward the behavior.

Paper Plate Recall

2 min 49 sec

The point of the paper plate recall is to be able to practice your recall when your dog is engaged in something they find interesting. This exercise was NOT intended to practice a “Call Off,” meaning that we would call the dog away from the plate before they get to eat the food. It is simply a way to entice our dogs away from us, and then give us an opportunity to recall them back again. There are a few different variations of this exercise, but this is the one I like best.

It is not necessary to use a paper plate for this exercise, but only something that can hold a few pieces of food for our dog. Don’t put a ton of food on the plate, or whatever object you’re using (food dish, etc.) just a few pieces will do. And make sure the first few times you do this, that the dog SEES you put the food on the plate. Once they know the exercise, it won’t be as necessary to show them you’re putting food on the plate. You can see this demonstrated in the video, that at one point, there isn't any food on the plate, but Sonny returns to it to check anyhow, and I get another repletion of the recall without having to load the plate. But be careful, too many repetitions of no food, and your dog will stop going to the plate.

Restrained Recall with Mijo

1 min 44 sec

The restrained recall is a wonderful exercise for dogs of all ages, but especially good for young dogs and puppies. The exercise builds desire to get to the handler when they hear the come command, and can increase the dogs speed and passion for the command.

To do this exercise, you’ll need a helper to hold the dog back. In the video because Mijo is so young, we aren’t using a leash, Forrest is just holding onto him, to make sure he doesn’t chase me too soon. If you’re going to use a leash and collar for this, that is absolutely fine, but make sure that it is NOT attached to a training collar like a snap around/dominant dog collar, or prong collar. We WANT the dog to pull towards us in this exercise, so anything that will put the brakes on the dog should be avoided. This also includes restraining a dog by hand as shown by Forrest, if the dog is not familiar with the handler.

With the restrained recall, do not wait until you are across the room, or standing still to call the dog. Your movement is part of what will encourage the dog to come to you.

As you can see in this video, I tease Mijo with some tasty treats before I run away. I want him to KNOW I have something he wants. Only after he has seen and smelled what I have do I run a short distance and then call him. It should go like this:

• Show the dog that you have something they want (High value kibble, Treats, or toy) and try to get them excited about it. Keeping in mind that if you have to put on a show to get the dog excited for what you have, it may not be the right reward.
• Run away from the dog when they seem intrigued by what you have. You want to move away from the dog at the height of their excitement, so don’t stand in front of them for too long, or they will become disengaged in the exercise. And move quickly! You don’t need to sprint, but you don’t want to walk either.
• When the dog gets to you, or seems highly committed to getting to you, mark and reward. In the beginning stages, I don’t worry too much about a sit finish, but eventually we want to add that.