When Colby’s owners brought him to us, one of their top priorities was off-leash recall – they wanted Colby, who showed a strong drive to run off and explore, to ignore all distractions and come to them when commanded.
Recall is one of the hardest things to teach a dog because you’re asking them pay zero attention to everything else in their environment, no matter what, and come back to you. The only way to accomplish that with Colby was to build a rapport and a bond of trust.
So, we gave Colby with a clear set of rules to follow, with rewards for the correct behavior and consequences for the wrong ones. Colby’s trainer, Owen, wouldn’t let him to fail. Colby would be on leash every time he was asked to recall so he had no option but to come back. They practised this constantly to instil the new behavior in Colby.
Colby is back with his owners now and they’re happy with his results. They continue to work with him daily, practising perfect walking as well as “place” and “come” commands, often multiple times a day.
“We have more control on Colby and at the same time enjoy our time together with Colby more. You left us an excellent road map, which has been followed carefully.”