What’s the best way to train reliable off-leash recall for a terrier with hunting tendencies? My dog is proving very difficult to train, and it is becoming a big problem.
Fiona

Hi Fiona,

That’s a tough one, but definitely possible. You’ll have to be patient though and build things up slowly. Reliable recall is one of the most important things to teach a dog because of the safety aspect. Here is how I would try to do it:

The main problem with off-leash recall is that dogs quickly learn that once they are called back their play time is over. The first few times the dog will come to you, but after that it soon realizes that if it doesn’t come to you then it won’t be put on a leash and hence it can play (or hunt in this case) for longer.

Because of this, you need to make the dog think the being called is beneficial for it, rather than a chore that signals the end of playtime. This is going to take longer if the dog already thinks of being recalled as a problem, but any dog can be re-trained no matter how set in their ways as long as you’re patient.

So how to do it? First of all, take your dogs favourite treat with you to the park. Every so often call the dog and make it sit for its treat. This will show the dog that coming to you when called is actually enjoyable and doesn’t always mean that the fun is over.

Of course, you are going to have to leave at some point, but if you can make even leaving the park fun by providing treats when your dog gets in the car for example then that shouldn’t be a problem.

Before long, you’ve got a dog that loves being called back to you if all goes well. With each dog you might have to adapt the strategy, but you’ll know what your dog likes better than me. The main thing is to reward your dog every time he does come back.

Thanks,
Richard Cross
TheDogClinic.com