There are loads of games you can (and I do) use to teach and reinforce the come cue (aka Recall). Round Robin, Restrained Recall, Tag, The Stalky Stalk Game, Hide & Seek, Treat Toss, The Bowl Game, and more. But relatively simple game my friends and I often play with the dogs on our walks is calling them back and forth between us.
The “rules” of the game are pretty simple:
- The dogs start at Human A.
- Human B calls the dogs
- the dogs race as fast as they can to Human B. Dogs that actually reach human B directly get praise and food treat (if they want it)
- Human A then calls the dogs
- The dogs race as fast as they can back to Human A
- Dogs that actually reach human A directly get praise and a food treat (if they want it)
The “if they want it” is because we’ve learned some of the dogs prefer to only gets treats from me, or from my friend. But they learn they will only get those treats if they actually complete the loop of run to the opposite person, then run back when called. So they race away when called to the other person same as the rest of the dogs, don’t really care or want that person or the food, but are thrilled to then be called back and get their treat then. Race away, race back, race away, race back.
How far apart we are to start depends on the dogs in the group at the time and where we are (ie what distractions are or aren’t around), and as the dog’s get into the game we gradually move further and further apart. Sometimes if we’re playing the game on the trails (vs in a field) the dogs end up racing around corners, over fallen logs, up and down hills and generally having a great workout.
The dogs quickly figure out in order to get a food treat they have to A. Go all the way to the human calling them, B. Actually go from Person A to Person B if they want a treat when Person A again calls the group, (except for Tom, he’s special, and as such his version of the recall game involves a sit stay and me moving away) and C. Ignore the other dogs around them. I’ve found this a great game for teaching dogs the value of not focusing on the dogs around them, I’ve done this game with dogs that have a tendency to want to chase or body block, and by the end they’ve stopped fixating on the dogs running around them and instead race as fast as they too can to get to the human calling them. We’ve even been able to time our calls with some of the regular dogs to build up to dogs passing each other without a second glance. It’s great fun for us all! (note, if a dog has a tendency to want to grab other dogs, they don’t play the game while other dogs are also running, safety first always)
Another piece we often add into the game is the dogs not leaving the present human until the other human actually calls them OR the present human sends them to the other human. This teaching of the send has proved useful on a number of occasions. The dogs all learn that if they hear the word “Katrin” and race to me, good stuff will happen. Or “C—” and they race to her, good stuff will happen. Or “J——” and they race to him, good stuff will happen.
We do this game close to every walk in the woods as it really helps to remind the dogs that coming to us when we call is a good thing, doesn’t mean the walk is over necessarily, and helps increase the dog’s value for the humans in the highly stimulating environments of the woods, fields and ponds.
A bonus of the game? The dogs get additional running time and end the walk really tired.
So many times, people forget that teaching a good recall can be fun. And, that making it fun creates a better recall. Thanks for talking about these games.
I’m of the camp that the ideal way to teach a recall is for it to be fun! 🙂 Chasing chipmunks is fun. I want coming to me to compete with chasing chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer, etc. I want the happy, turn on a dime “Oh MY GOSH SHE CALLED ME HOW FAST CAN I GET THERE THIS IS AWESOME YIPPEEE!!!” attitude when they hear the recall cue. I love it when the dogs get soooooo excited when they realize we’re about to play the recall game, makes me happy (ok and honestly, it makes me feel the dogs love me when they are so happy to come. so there is that level of personal reinforcement for playing the games too LOL)
This is great! We have a great big field where we could do this but I always worry about them getting near our busy road. Although with treats, they probably would never leave a human’s side! Thanks for the fun post.
You can also use long lines for added safety. I use those with many many many dogs. I like the bright orange hunting dog check cords, but you can use a horse lunge line (especially with your giant dogs), or a sturdy piece of rope with a clip tied on to it. I can see the danes now, galloping across the field, hope you have fun! (and they don’t bowl you over) 🙂