Since Winnie’s last training session, we’ve been practicing her recall. We continuously practice this everyday when she goes out in the backyard to pee or play. We always call her into the house after instead of going out and getting her. We stand at the door and say “Winnie come!” and clap our hands to make it a really exciting event. Usually, she comes bounding inside right away and she gets a treat. Other times, it takes a little bit of time before she comes, but we just keep encouraging her with claps, and always reward her no matter how long it takes.
We’ve also been practicing “recall” by playing “hide and seek.” Our trainer told us this was a great game to help reinforce the skill.
- The way you do this is by leaving your puppy in a room, and going to a different room in the house, and then calling your dog to come. If they are struggling because they are confused as to where you are, you give them an extra call, whistle, or clap. You can start by even hiding behind a couch or a chair in the same room. And then progress further to hiding in a different room in the house.
We’ve tried this game multiple times with Winnie and she does a fantastic job! I caught one of the attempts on video to show you guys.