Using I Spy As A Training Game
Fun game to teach recall
Share via:
Dogs walk towards us all the time without our asking them to do so. With that said, we don’t need to teach them to walk towards us - what we want to do is to teach them to come to us when we ask them to. Here’s an easy way to do that by capitalizing on what a dog is going to do anyway. Place several small pots of a portion of your dog’s daily ration of kibble in several spots throughout your home where you will be spending time with your dog. Every time you notice your dog looking at you or moving towards you say "yes" and toss a piece of kibble to your dog. "Yes" will become the marker to let him know what he did is going to get rewarded, then it is followed by the thrown treat. By tossing the food away it sets up for your dog to turn, look at you and/or move towards you again.
Your dog will very quickly start to move towards you or look at you more often and you will also be able to predict when your dog is going to do these behaviours. It is at this point, generally just a few days after beginning to play the I Spy game where you are actively looking for the dog to move towards you without being asked to and that you will begin to Name the behaviours saying the word "come" or "here" just as the dog is doing the behaviour. Remember, you are simply naming the behaviour at this point which is very different from asking for a recall.
There is no point in asking for a behaviour before your dog understands what it is that you want. Repeating the cue or word louder or more often will not make the dog understand, nor will physically manipulating the dog into the position.
Playing I Spy with behaviours like recall and then naming them in many locations in your home and outdoors, with varying levels of distraction over a couple of weeks, remembering to mark each behaviour with “yes” and reinforce it will not only teach your dog what you want and ensure he understands what you are asking but it will also get you in the habit of watching for what your dog does right, behaviours that you like and then reinforcing them.
You can start to "test" your recall word, but calling your dog and see if they do come but begin in low distraction environments and do not keep repeating the word if they don't come. Instead keep naming the behaviour for a bit longer. Even after you get a solid recall, remember you do want to keep reinforcing it and we will talk more about that in the coming weeks.