Why dogs dont come when called

Why dogs don't come when called - with a few tips to help

Scotty Valadao - Accredited Canine Behaviour Consultant - Friends of the Dog

Teaching your dog to come back to you in a reliable manner, is one of the most important things you can teach your dog, especially if you can see the dog heading towards a dangerous situation. Each and every time the dog fails to come back to you, inadvertently, the behaviour you don’t want is bring reinforced, and that is, not coming back to you, and the more you nag, chase the dog etc, the more you are reinforcing the behaviour you don’t want.

Although we may like to not to admit, the main reason that dogs do not come when called, is us, their owners!

Here are some of the ways that we blow it:

Chasing

Ever called your dog and when he does not come back you chase after him? We believe in dog language this is called ‘catch me if you can’, and a popular exercise for dog to teach their peope!

May seem a bit strange, but if your dog does start to run away, turn and say ‘bye’ in an excited tone of voice and run in the opposite direction – make sure to praise and treat when the dog does come to you.

Misunderstanding dog’s body language

You will get the owner that when they come home, find that their dog has broken the lamp, soiled in the home, chewed the furniture or engaged in something else that the owner finds unacceptable. The owner will call the dog,often in a harsh, or threatening tone of voice, with even threatening body language themselves, to come to them to be reprimanded - I dont know about you, but I would be hesitant to go to somebody calling me like that!

As dogs are beings that live in the moment, they relate the owners angry behaviour to actually being called to the owner, rather than what they may have done earlier. They will then either approach owner slower, or approach in an arc, perhaps even exhibiting submissive urination, and other body language as well -all they are trying to do is to calm the owner down with their own body language. This is interpreted by the owner as the dog ‘knows’ it has done wrong. The relationship between the owner and the dog deteriorates, and the recall goes out the window.

What owners may also fail to realize is that the dog is probably engaging in the unacceptable behaviour due to either lacking sufficient mental, physical or social stimulation, or in the scenario that the dog is destroying things, separation anxiety could be present. For the dog that is soiling inside, perhaps management that the dog can get outside is not properly in place, or even that toilet training has failed. It could even be that the area the dog has soiled in has been cleaned with household products, most of which contain ammonia, therefore making the place smell even more like a toilet to the dog.

Punishment

On a very similar vein as above, a dog that has been called and then punished, will obviously be very hesitant about coming back to the owner – understandably.

Don’t call your dog when you want it to do something it dislikes

Think of the dog that absolutely hates to be bathed – what do we normally do – call them for a bath! We may think that the dog is unaware that a bath is forthcoming, however, we are creatures of habit, and we may have put the dogs shampoo and towels next to the bath in preparation. We may even put on certain clothes when bathing them, or put their collar on at home when it is normally left off, or called them to the bathroom, or a multitude of similar scenarios. Instead of calling the dog, be aware of what your normal patterns are when you do bath your dog, and simply change them, then go to your dog, put on the collar and lead and walk them to the designated area, or walk around the garden a bit, then take them for the bath. The same applies where a dog runs away when being taken to the vet – perhaps this is the only time the dog gets into the car?

Not setting ourselves up for success

This is a very common reason the recall does not always work, even with people that are being consistent and putting in the practice. What do I mean? While you are training the recall, don’t call your dog if you are doubtful it will come! If Fluffy is busy smelling a wonderful smell and you call him, while in the teaching phase, the odds are you will fail. Rather wait until Fluffy has finished investigating, and the second the nose comes off the interesting scent, in a happy tone of voice, call the dog – the chances of success are greatly increased.

Your dog does not know what the cue (Come/here) means or we have been inconsistent about using it

We often just assume that the dogs knows the cue to be called! Think about it, do you say ‘Fluffy, come’, or do you say ‘Fluffy get over here’, ‘Fluffy, I told you to come here 5 times already’, or perhaps you just say ‘come’ without using the dog’s name first – see how easy it is for us to make mistakes?

We can also be totally inconsistent about calling them. Sometimes we may stand and shout at them and then walk away in a huff because we were ignored, sometimes we use the word ‘here’, other times we use the word’ come’ for example. The secret to all dog training, is that consistency, and practice, while making it fun, is the way to a well-trained dog – and don’t forget to have short training session throughout the day, rather than a half and hour once a day and use only the dog’s name and one cue, which is always the same one.

Insufficient practice

As all our students know, something I0 repeat often is the quote from Gary Player ‘ the more I practice, the luckier I get!’. There are no magic wands to dog training, and repetition and practice, together with consistency and making it motivating for the dog will work wonders.

Not enough reinforcement

If you fail to offer positive reinforcement to your dog when you do call him back, you are simply not providing the necessary incentive for it to be rewarding to the dog to actually come. This is as simply as calling the dog in a pleasant tone of voice – make your body inviting for the dog to want to come to you – and as the dog comes to you, praise, and whilst teaching, do treat the dog, but remember that praise always comes first. The time for fading the reward will come after the behaviour has become consistent.

‘Come’ means that the fun has come to an end

Another common mistake that often occurs. Let’s look at the situation whereby the dog is in the dog park or similar – the owner calls the dog back, immediately puts on the lead and the fun ends, is it any wonder that dogs don't want to come back?.

What can rather be done, is that the owner calls the back before it has gone too far away, praises and treats, then tells the dog ‘go play’. This is repeated over and over, and even with the dog getting gradually further away, until the dog gets the idea that the fun will not end.

This can be taken a step further, by calling the dog back, praising and treating, putting on the collar, take a few steps and then release - do this often during the off lead session - the dog does not know when the fun will end. At this final step, ensure that lots of praise and a treat, and even in an excited voice say, ‘let’s go home’. We do find that with dogs that are a bit sticky at this stage, is when you do get home, make it fun with a few minutes of play before life gets back into its normal routine again.

Dog may find standard training boring - bring in the use of a favourite toy, or an exciting new one

As we have said before, and will doubtlessly say again, all training should have elements of fun. In addition to teaching your dog to come back just by calling, bring in a great game of throwing an object the dog really enjoys, and call it back to you, praise and then throw the object again.
In this situation, we do recommend while training, that this particular object is used only in training the recall situation. A similar method, for dogs that are toy driven, is to, on occasion, use the throwing object to keep the dog motivated.

Physical constraints

Physical constraints does not just mean that the dog may have something wrong with it physically, rather think of the breeds and the dogs personality as well. You are going to have a much easier time with a dog that is happy to jump up to run back to you, than you will have with a dog that may struggle to get up due to its size or health, or its naturally laid-back personality, or a dog that is just downright lazy. With dogs like these, make sure that the dog is really motivated to come to you.

Finally, with a dog like this, look for what really motivates it. Standard kibble is not a good enough motivation for some dogs, so use something it really likes (even if toys instead of food, or praise instead of food), such as liver bread, and as the dog becomes more proficient at the recall, you can then start to throw in some kibble as well, and keep the extra special treat for when the dog has done exceptionally well.

Also remember to keep your voice really exited when working with a dog like this, and have very short training sessions throughout the day instead. Use this cue and tone of voice for things the dog does enjoy, such as calling it at food time, going for a walk, or a ride in the car – become an opportunist and make what your dog likes, work for you instead!

Dog ignores the owner and comes back on its own terms.

Instead of begging and nagging and asking 20 times– the end result here is either you are ignored, or the dog seems to think ‘Ok, she shouts five times and then gets really angry, so I will wait till that happens and then go to her’, go HUMPH! In a disgusted tone of voice, then stamp away. The odds are that the dog will be totally surprised and turn and follow you! As it does, take a few more steps and call again in an excited, happy tone of voice and praise.

When it has become a learned behaviour to totally ignore you

It is always a good idea to get in a professional to give you the tools you need, especially with a dog that seems hell bent on never coming back to you.

If you decide to try yourself instead, make use of the dogs daily ration of food, and instead of feeding in a bowl, take the daily allowance and call the dog back repeatedly during the day, but still making it exciting for the dog to do so and praise.

With a dog like this, consider training on a long lead, and then gradually a long line instead, using the ideas above.

Now I have shown your the 'why's' this happens, have a look at the article below - A Really Reliable Recall - it's brilliant and if done correctly and practiced on a regular basis, as close to 'fail proof' as you can get - BUT, you got to put in the work - Happy Training!