Every dog should have a reliable recall. In police services a recall is when the dog is chasing a suspect and you are able to call him off and return to you without making contact with the suspect. In layman’s terms a recall means come when you are called. So does your dog come when he/she is called? When I am evaluating dogs the usual answer is, “no” or “sometimes”. No and sometimes is not the correct answer.
The recall is the most important command you can teach your dog because it will keep him from getting injured. It will keep someone else from being injured. All dogs need to come when they are called, period. Dogs are animals and they do not think or rationalize like people do. If a dog is territorial it may perceive a threat and chase after the threat. The dog may bite the threat. The threat to a dog maybe the delivery person or your brother you dog seldom sees. A dog bite is a mark against the dog and it’s your fault.
Let’s say you own a happy go lucky Golden Retriever who loves to play fetch with the Frisbee. Let’s say your dog REALLY likes to play fetch with a Frisbee. Your dog sees the neighbor kids playing with a Frisbee across a busy street. Your dog charges for the children not to bite them but because he/she wants to play and there is a car coming. If you cannot recall your dog, you have a serious injured or dead dog. Its not the dog’s fault its your fault to failing to train.
If you teach your dog anything it better be a reliable recall. I teach the reliable recall using a remote collar. It’s like having an invisible leash on the dog. I can have total control of my dog and he runs, plays, sniffs and chases with no worries that he will not come when called. My dog can be a dog. That is the awesome thing about remote collar training! The trick is, knowing how to introduce and train the dog using the invisible leash. Done incorrectly your dog will not listen, become confused, or maybe fearful and go hide under the table. Then you will take the collar off never to use it again. Maybe sell it on craigslist at a loss.
There are trainers out there who use remote collars incorrectly. I know because there are a couple in my area and their clients end up coming to me after he screwed their dog up and gave the owner no guidance. My dog’s love their collars because they were introduced properly. The coolest part is they can be a dog. Freedom rules when you are a dog. If you want your dog to have off leash freedom, come and see me. I will show you the way.
