Recall: This is why your rewards aren’t working

Read time: 5 minutes

The advice in this blog post is to be used for obedience training, not reactivity training. Reactivity is rarely an obedience problem, and likely won't be improved using obedience drills. Reactive dogs need personalised behaviour modification exercises. Please contact for more information on training.

Do you give your dog plenty of rewards every time they sit or come when called?

They act like a Crufts champion in the living room, but once you get outside with distractions, it’s like all your hard work just goes out the window!

If you've found yourself carrying a pocket full of stinky dried fish, cheese, and all kinds of other greasy foods - just to get their attention…

This blog post is for you.

There's a very good chance that no one has shown you how to use rewards properly!

Reward based training is super effective when it's used correctly.

When used incorrectly, it can backfire and encourage laziness!

Giving too many food rewards will create a dog who can't be bothered making an effort.

Their drive to work hard and earn their rewards will turn into laziness.

When you call your dog back at the park, and they spend 35 seconds sniffing another dog's bum, then they go and pee on a tree stump, and then chase the cute labrador puppy around for 25 minutes before finally returning to you - you've got a problem.

When you recall your dog, they need to come back immediately. One day your recall might save their life.

So how do you encourage your dog to make an effort?

How do you get a faster recall at the park?

The answer is not more rewards!

The answer is using your rewards more wisely.

So what does that even mean?

You should only be rewarding 50% of your dog's responses.

Okay... so then which ones do we choose to reward?

The best ones, of course!!

If you want a snappy recall, you need to only reward the snappiest of recalls!

In Applied Behaviour Analysis, this is called differential reinforcement. You reward different behaviours differently.

In the last blog post, we talked about how to prevent bad behaviours. And I used the analogy of how our dogs are kind of like our employees. We can't expect them to work for free. I focused mostly on how not using rewards will damage your training.

So let's continue with the other side of that coin: using too many rewards can be just as damaging! You must find a healthy balance.

Imagine you're in a job that rewards you a £1000 bonus for excellent performance. And then you find out that your colleague, Jamie, gets exactly the same £1000 bonus even though he rarely shows up for work, and then does a sloppy job when he can be bothered to make an appearance.

Do you feel super motivated to keep working hard?

Probably not.

If you realise that you'll get your £1000 regardless of the effort you put in, your work ethic will slide.

See how this relates to dogs?

If your dog gets a handful of stinky dried fish treats for a really snappy recall, and then they get the same handful of delicious treats for a slow, pathetic recall…

Which one do you think they'll do more of?

The sloppy pathetic recall.

Why?

Because it's less effort and provides the same amount of reward.

Dogs are actually quite logical in that way!

When I say "best 50% of responses", what I mean is your dog's personal best.

So don't look at Crufts champions and decide to only reward your dog when they perform at that level! It takes years of training to reach that level.

Think of it as very slowly increasing the difficulty.

Much like a video game.

The first level is usually super easy.

You collect your coins, or points, or whatever the game rewards you with, and then you get to the next level which is just slightly more difficult than the last level.

This is what dog training should look like.

So let's continue to use the example of a super snappy recall.

Firstly, your dog should be on a training lead (10-20ft) until they are performing a reliable recall 90% of the time (if you're training daily, this will take around 3 months).

This is level one in the video game - make it super easy to earn the reward.

You allow your dog to go out to the end of the long line, sniffing and doing all their doggie stuff.

Then you use your whistle (or your chosen verbal command), and if your dog so much as raises their head and looks in your direction - you run over to them and shove the food treats in their mouth before they even realise what's happening!

Tonnes of praise and excitement!! Throw in some play time with a tug toy or ball if your dog is more toy-motivated.

Wait at least 10 minutes until you practice again.

I don't want to see you recalling your dog every 45 seconds.

I’m glad you're excited about training, but you will annoy your dog and they'll start to ignore you because they've got super important doggie business to attend to, like sniffing and peeing on everything.

Super.

Important.

Repeat just as before, only this time when your dog looks up at you, do a playful stance with your arms out, and then run away from them for a few paces. (I can barely run 5 metres due to joint issues, so I use a technique called "crazy eyes" and an excited walk/jog to show my dogs that we're playing a game and they need to chase me to earn the reward.)

When your dog catches up with you, give them 2-3 treats, cuddle, praise, and some playtime with a toy if they're toy-motivated.

If you practice the next one (I know you waited the 10 minutes!), and your dog ignores you or comes to you slower than they did before, just say "good dog" in a boring tone of voice and then ignore them.

They will be on the long lead, so gather it up until it's fairly short, and then stand still and be boring for a few minutes.

Don't give any commands, don't tell them what to do. Just stand still and wait until your dog is no longer sniffing - they're simply standing, maybe looking wistfully into the distance.

You've now got your dog in a check-mate. They're bored of this particular spot in the park. They want to sniff new locations. They want to find the perfect stick to carry around and flirt with the cute cockapoo they saw earlier.

But you have them on the training lead.

So what do they need to do to earn some more freedom?

RECALL.

Teach them how to earn their freedom.

Do your recall again, and this time if they look up at you quickly, say “Yes!” and release some of the long line to give them a few extra metres of freedom.

Timing is crucial.

You need with say “Yes!” while your dog is looking at you. And you need to let the training leash out within 2 seconds of saying “Yes!”.

This is called a life reward - you didn't even need to give a food or toy reward in this situation because you rewarded your dog with more freedom to sniff and explore.

If your dog still didn't respond or even look at you, continue to stand still and be boring. Some breeds are less cooperative than others.

A beagle does not have the same recall potential as a border collie. That doesn't mean your beagle can't be trained to come when called (and it doesn't mean collies don't need training)!

There could be a battle of wills during the first two months. Show your dog that you are willing to wait them out patiently. The only way for them to earn freedom (and eventually be off-leash), is to prove themselves to you. They must prove that they are willing to listen to you.

So you see how we are finding a healthy middle ground between the punitive methods of punishment-based training, and the overly permissive methods of showering dogs in treats simply for breathing?

Training in this way teaches your dog that you are a fun person to be around, but that you also expect respect. You will not be walked over, and yet, you will also be a kind and patient teacher.

Once your dog has got the hang of this, you can phase out food rewards entirely and simply use verbal praise and a game of chasie. I often don't take food with me on walks and there is no change in my dog's recall reliability. This is because I spent so much time slowly increasing the difficulty, and only rewarding their best responses.

No dog has 100% reliability because dogs are not robots, but you can certainly get to 95% with this training.

Don’t hesitate to improve the quality of your walks!

If you'd like coaching or help with training, I'm available in Aberdeen, Scotland, or online via Zoom. Get in touch and get your dog training problems solved!