How to Improve A Dog’s Recall Through Labrador Training
Labradors can sometimes blind us to their weaknesses due to their whole range of skills and winning traits. The dog is at its most imperfect whenever recall issues make the dog very focused on everything, that is, except its master’s voice. How can dog owners use Labrador Training in responding to this possibly harmful habit?
First of all, at the root of getting dogs to respond to recall is food and a familiar sound that gets the dog on their bearings. The first can be achieved by even some signal word that hints of food, but the second can be demonstrated by the following. One trainer claims that whistling every time he sets about doing something good or productive with his lambs is the trick. He whistles before he feeds, he whistles before he does belly rubs, etc. In the end, the result of his mere whistling is that the dogs actually come running.
The following would be another great Labrador training plan. Visualize the dog park as among you and your dog’s top destinations eventually. Before you both head out to that place, you first need to have your dog 100% reliable in a quiet area. In your practices, make it a point to give a great reward if the dog comes to you, and give a correction if the dog fails (for example, if you are using a long line and practicing progressive recalls, try hitting the end of a line). Some owner respond to an error by grabbing the dogs by the collar, coming back up hauling them to the spot from where the dog was called, while the owner is saying “I said Come.” Upon coming to the spot, tell the dog “Good come” followed by a treat.
The point of the exercise is that the dog needs to be aware that when the recall is given, it is bad to be away from the master, it is good to be with you, and being away from you is not tolerable.
Other things to remember include exercising the dog’s recall through distractions. Lessen the recall distance every time a distraction is added. Once you were able to work on overcoming some mild distractions, try keeping the dog on a leash for a while once you get to the park; yet, even there at the park, it is still up to you if you want a couple more on-leash visits to get the dog comfortable to the idea of playing recall in the park. Practice recalls with rewards every time he gets it right. Make him comfortable and secure in the fact that his returning when you call does not mean that the fun will stop.
Indeed there is hard work ahead, but the dog will get it in the end. Do not forget to have treats with you, although if the dog is quite happy with praise, that will be good too.
Soon, you can actually enjoy letting your dog run off lead in the park, but you will get to enjoy the magic of Labrador training when you can easily call the dog off distractions in the form of people and other dogs.
