Most dogs who ignore a recall aren't being stubborn. They've just never been given a good reason to think coming back to you beats whatever they're doing.
Off-leash time at a park, or a day at daycare, burns energy. Nobody's arguing with that. But a dog who spends hours running with other dogs while their person sits on the sidelines is practising something the whole time, which is having fun that has nothing to do with you. Repeat that every weekend, and it's no great mystery why your voice barely registers when there's a squirrel in the yard.
If you'd rather watch than read, Kayl takes her dog Five out for ten minutes of tug and recall in the video above. Everything below is the why behind it.
Recall is a skill, not a personality trait
A recall is your dog coming to you the first time(every time) you call. Sounds simple. In practice it's one of the hardest things to make reliable, because you need it most at the exact moment your dog least wants to give it to you: mid-sprint toward another dog, or a dropped sandwich.
We build it the way we build everything at McCann Professional Dog Trainers. Cue, then stimulus, then reward. The cue is the word (their name and "come"). The stimulus is whatever helps them get it right in the early days, so food, a toy, your body language, a bit of guidance. Then they get paid. As the dog starts answering the cue on their own, that extra help fades out.
Where people go sideways is the order. Teach it somewhere quiet with nothing better going on. Then add one thing at a time, a little more distance, one small distraction, a few more seconds before you call. Inside McCann Dogs, we call that proofing. Skipping straight to the leash-free park is testing a dog on something they haven't learned yet, and we don't correct confusion. We teach first and test later.
The long line buys you time
Between "just learning it" and "I'd trust them anywhere" there's a long stretch, and that's what a long line is for. It's a lightweight lead, 21 feet long, that lets your dog roam and sniff while you still have a way to stop them. Hold it when you're about to call. Let it drag when they're doing well.
The point isn't reeling your dog in. It's that a missed recall can't turn into a fun game of keep-away. That's prevention, and we'll take prevention over punishment any day. A year on a long line isn't unusual, by the way.
Pay the check-ins
This one gets missed constantly. When your dog wanders over on their own, without being asked, reward it. Treat, toy, a big fuss. Those little voluntary check-ins are what a dog who stays tuned in to you off leash is made of, and most people walk right past them.
Carry both treats and a toy if your dog likes toys. Toys are great for recalls and retrieving and grabbing attention. They're a bit clumsy for rewarding a dog who's walking in the right spot beside you, since a dog hanging off a tug isn't really in position. Treats cover that.
Teach a retrieve early
If you've got a puppy, start a retrieve right alongside name and sit. A dog who brings the toy back can be properly exercised in ten or fifteen minutes in a small space, which makes them a lot easier to live with. A dog who grabs the toy and bolts? You'll be doing more chasing than they will.
Exercise isn't one thing
Dogs do best with a few kinds of outings. Controlled walks at your side where they're paying attention to you. Sniff time, where they get to wander and be a dog with not much asked of them. And real running. The quick loop around the block doesn't do much for any of those.
Two safety notes from the agility side of our world. Walk your dog to wherever they'll be running so their body warms up, and walk them home afterwards to cool down. Going from flat-out sprints straight into a crate in the car is an easy way to end up with an injury. And in summer, find shade and bring water. Overworking a hot dog isn't worth it.
Where to practise around Burlington
Early recall work belongs somewhere boring. Your own backyard, ideally fenced, beats any park for the first few weeks, because nothing out there is more interesting than you yet.
Once your dog's coming back reliably at home, take the long line somewhere with a little more going on. Check the leash rules for wherever you go before you clip on a 21-foot line, since an on-leash park and a long line aren't always the same thing in the eyes of a bylaw.
Leash-free areas come last. They're full of other dogs, which makes them the hardest test there is, and the right place to proof a recall you already trust.
For Burlington owners
The freedom part, where your dog can run and roll in the grass and you aren't nervous about it, comes after the training. Not before.
That's what our classes are for. McCann Dogs is family-run, based in Flamborough, just up the Escarpment from Burlington, and we've been at this since 1982. We train people, not dogs, so you leave knowing how to do it yourself. Puppy Essentials is where puppies start learning how to learn, stop nipping and biting, and are introduced to socialization elements.
Life Skills takes dogs 16 weeks and older through recall, walking work, stationary skills, and other skills that are important for a well-behaved family pet. All of these skills are coached by an instructor who is watching your timing so you're not guessing.
Tell us a bit about your dog. What's going well, and what you need help with. Reach out through mccanndogs.com and we'll point you to the right program and go over the pricing options.
Happy Training!