Just because your dog is not giving you the response you’re looking for doesn’t mean they are inherently stubborn. Recall training can be tricky not only for dogs, but for humans too. If you think about it, how often did you go back to your parents the exact instant they called you as a child? Not complying every single time does not make you stubborn. Why should we label our dogs as “stubborn” when they choose not to comply immediately?
Training a stubborn dog to come involves a little more time, patience, and positive reinforcement. If you want to master how to teach a stubborn dog to come, understanding their motivation is the true secret to success.
Why Is Your “Stubborn” Dog Bad at Recall?
In a nutshell, stubborn dogs aren’t bad at recall; their motivation just lies somewhere else. If a dog can be incredibly tenacious about chasing a squirrel or sniffing a bush, we can channel that same focus into something more desirable.
Your dog may seem stubborn because, in that specific moment, they are driven by their instincts or an external environmental trigger way more than the reward you are offering.
For example, an Afghan Hound ignoring a recall cue is acting purely out of instinct, not spite. They were originally bred to course game across rugged, mountainous terrain where a reliable recall was never part of their historical work.
2 Ways to Recognize What Motivates Your Dog
1. Note Their Natural Inclination Towards Certain Activities
The first step toward recognizing a dog’s natural instinct is to study their breed. What was the breed originally bred to do? What kind of behaviors are they genetically predisposed to exhibit? Knowing these answers is highly helpful in understanding your dog’s likes and dislikes.
A Bloodhound bred for tracking work may never pass up an opportunity to follow a scent just to come back to you for a standard treat. Conversely, a Golden Retriever, a classic people-pleaser, might come running from miles away for a piece of raw chicken liver. Recognize the activities your dog naturally inclines toward and use those patterns to build a solid recall.
2. Experiment with Different Types of Rewards
Sometimes, what excites your dog at home will not even catch their attention in a distracting outdoor environment. Dogs seek out excitement and motivation through different experiences depending on the situation.
If your dog is food-motivated, utilize low-value and high-value treats to keep outdoor training upbeat and exciting. Other dogs are completely play-driven. Turn recall into a game for these toy-loving pups and watch your training progress accelerate rapidly.
Step-by-Step Guide to Train Your Dog to Come Every Single Time
Building a reliable recall with a strong-willed dog takes consistency. Consider recall training a marathon, not a sprint. Follow these chronological steps to establish a solid foundation:
1. Choose the Right Cue
Use a distinct cue that you will exclusively reserve for recall. This helps the dog learn, remember, and generalize the command more effectively across different environments. A clear, audible cue is vital for ensuring communication and safety. If your dog has built a habit of ignoring your current command, change the word entirely and start fresh.
2. Start at Home
Introduce your new cue at home in a low-distraction environment, following it up every single time with a high-value reward. It is crucial to begin where your dog feels most comfortable and is highly likely to focus. Successful repetitions at home build the baseline muscle memory required for outdoor training.
3. Go at Your Dog’s Pace
Recall is one of the easiest cues to teach but one of the hardest to perfect. The difficulty lies in generalization. A dog might return to you 100% of the time in the kitchen but completely ignore you when a squirrel appears. Never rush the process. In the initial phase, only call your dog when you are certain they will respond positively.
4. Always Have Something Better to Offer
Your dog must maintain a highly positive association with coming when called. If your dog is relaxing in bed, calling them over for a belly rub is an upgrade. However, if they are playing with an exciting toy, you must counter with something even better, like a bully stick or fresh meat. Consistent upgrades prevent your dog from viewing the cue as an inconvenience.
5. Get Professional Assistance
A common misconception is that professional trainers should only be consulted as a last resort. In reality, working with a specialist early on ensures you stay on the right track. If finding an affordable in-person trainer is difficult, virtual dog training programs like HOMESCHOOL BY LAY LO® offer personalized 1:1 video evaluations and custom training plans tailored to your dog’s specific temperament.
6. Always Keep It Positive
Always use an upbeat, encouraging tone. A recall command must never result in reprimands, baths, or veterinary visits, as this builds a negative association. Keep your rewards unpredictable but exciting so your dog always wants to find out what you have.
7. Engage in Recall Games
Dogs thrive on play, which naturally reduces hyperactivity and behavioral problems. One excellent family game involves dividing your dog’s meal among multiple family members. Take turns calling the dog from different sides of the room, rewarding them with a small portion of food each time they arrive.
8. Use a Long Lead Outside
If your dog runs away or ignores you outdoors, they may have been granted off-leash freedom too soon. Transition to open spaces using a 30-to-50-foot long line. This setup grants your pooch plenty of freedom while keeping them safely connected to you during training reps.
9. Remember That Freedom Is Also a Reward
Many pet owners only call their dogs when it is time to leave the park. Over time, dogs realize that the recall cue signifies the end of their fun, prompting them to ignore you. To fix this, call your dog back every few minutes, give them a high-value treat, and immediately release them back to go play.
10. Practice with the 3 Ds
The foundational pillars of dog training are Duration, Distance, and Distraction. Slowly increase these variables one by one. Gradual exposure to heavier distractions will foolproof your dog’s recall response.
4 Things to Avoid When Recall Training
- Punishing your dog: Never punish your dog when they finally return to you, even if they took twenty minutes to do so. If you scold them upon arrival, they will associate the punishment with coming back to you, making them even more reluctant next time.
- Poisoning the cue: Repeating “Come, come, come here, come now!” while your dog ignores you poisons the cue, making the word background noise. Use the cue sparingly, and if it is completely compromised, switch to a brand-new word like “Here.”
- Practicing outdoors too soon: Multiple failed recall attempts teach your dog that complying is entirely optional. Perfect the behavior indoors before attempting to compete with the enticing smells and sights of the outdoor world.
- Using your dog’s name as the recall cue: The average pet parent uses their dog’s name dozens of times a day for attention, corrections, or casual conversation. Because the name is used so frequently, it loses the specific urgency required for an emergency recall command.
Pro Tip: Choose a recall word with a high sound frequency that travels far, such as “Here!” rather than “Come.” Dogs can hear high-frequency sounds much more clearly over long distances.
How to Catch a Dog That Won’t Come to You
When a dog breaks loose, our natural human impulse is to panic and chase them. However, chasing a dog often turns the situation into a fun game of keep-away, causing them to run even faster. If your dog is anxious, chasing them can trigger fear, driving them further away.
If you find yourself trying to secure a loose dog, remember: no chasing, no yelling, and no panicking. Instead, try these proven strategies:
- Stay completely calm and stand in one place.
- Avoid direct eye contact or staring them down, which can feel confrontational to a dog.
- Drop down to your knees or crouch at their level using welcoming, submissive body language.
- Turn around and jog in the opposite direction to trigger their natural instinct to follow you.
- Pick up an object from the ground, like a stick or a leaf, to pique their curiosity.
- Crinkle a treat bag or show them a high-value item to incentivize them to close the distance.
At What Age Should You Begin Recall Training?
Recall should be one of the very first safety skills taught to a young puppy. Starting early allows you to build a strong bond based on trust and reliability before your puppy hits the independent teenage phase.
During puppyhood, focus heavily on perfecting the basics indoors with minimal distractions. As your puppy grows more adventurous, gradually test their skills outdoors on a long line. What is learned thoroughly in puppyhood becomes deeply hardwired, transforming the recall response from a calculated choice into automatic muscle memory.
References
- Kennel Club Accredited Instructors (KCAI) Core Behavioral Guidelines.
- Canine Cognition and Breed-Specific Instinctual Behavioral Studies.