Printable Dog Recall Checklist (Come When Called)

Back to home Home Printable Checklists Recall Printable Dog Recall Checklist (Come When Called) Recall is a paid job, not an interruption. Tick these off in order and the cue survives squirrels. Print / Save as PDF Which recall approach fits your dog? Three quick questions and you'll get the method, reward strategy and session shape that fit your breed and what's actually driving the behaviour. Find your approach 1 / 3 What breed is your dog? Border Collie Train the reasoning first Golden Retriever Lead with empathy and communication German Shepherd Give the dog a job and a clear structure Labrador Retriever Train impulse control as its own skill Other / mixed breed A general cognitive approach that works with any dog Recall checklist Recall competes directly with whatever the dog is already enjoying. It only wins if the payment is bigger, faster and more reliable than the alternative — and if being called almost never ends the fun. Set up before day one Pick a brand-new recall word you have never used casually or in frustration Choose a jackpot reward: roast chicken, cheese, or a toy chase for chase-driven dogs Buy a 10m long line and a well-fitted harness (never a long line on a collar) Ban the old, poisoned recall word from the whole household Every day 5 recall reps a day, one at a time, in easy settings Pay every single recall for the first four weeks — no exceptions Release the dog back to what they were doing 9 times out of 10 Never call for anything the dog dislikes (nail trims, baths, leaving the park) Never repeat the cue — if it fails, go and get the dog and make the next rep easier Four-stage progression Stage 1: indoors, no distractions, 2-3m apart Stage 2: garden or quiet enclosed space, 5-10m, mild distractions Stage 3: long line in a park, called away from sniffing and mild movement Stage 4: long line dragging, near dogs, joggers and bikes — off-leash only after 20 clean stage-3 reps Any two failures in a row: drop back one stage for a week Troubleshooting checks Dog comes 3m from you then swerves? Pay at your feet, take the collar gently, pay again Only works at home? You skipped a stage — go back to the long line Runs to other dogs instead? Recall away from dogs at double distance and pay with a chase game Ignores you outdoors but eats treats there? The reward is too low value — upgrade it Want this tailored to your breed? Border Collie checklist pack Golden Retriever checklist pack German Shepherd checklist pack Labrador Retriever checklist pack Other checklists Potty training Leash training Barking Chewing Alone time Based on the work

of Dr. Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods Every Dognition guide, assessment, and blog post is grounded in the research and methodologies of Dr. Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods at the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Their work established that "smart" isn't one number — dogs think across five distinct cognitive dimensions, and the best training matches the method to the mind. Book · 2013 The Genius of Dogs How dogs are smarter than you think — the founding text on canine cognitive science. Read more Book · 2024 Puppy Kindergarten The Duke Puppy Kindergarten study — how the first 16 weeks shape a dog for life (as covered by The New York Times). Read the NYT feature