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The Puppy Guide >> Puppy Training >> Obedience Training >> Recall and Down
Recall and Down
Recall: Come/here boy
Recall is important for when you are out walking and let your puppy off the lead. You need to know that he/she will come back to you.
Firstly decide which command you are going to use - 'come' and 'here boy' are the most popular choices.
There are a number of ways to practise the recall. Do many of the exercises many times inside your house and garden before practising them in an open space with some distractions. Do not let your puppy off the lead until the exercises have been mastered and practised many times.
- Get your puppy to sit and stay. Back away a number of steps before calling him to you using your chosen command. When he gets to you give lots of praise and a treat.
- Sit on a chair with a handful of treats. Get your puppy to sit, then throw a treat across the floor for him to find and eat. Recall him back to you, get him to sit then throw another treat. Repeat a number of times. This exercise reinforces the recall command and your puppy should begin to associate going back to you with good things happening.
- Use a training lead. These can be bought from pet stores and usually consist of a very long lead with a stake that you can put in the ground. Try to find a large open area with few or no distractions to start with. Put the stake in the ground and tie your puppy to it using the training lead. Walk away from your puppy then call him to you. As he reaches you give a treat and lots of praise. Repeat many times.
Down
The down command is for getting your puppy to lie down on the floor. This can then be combined with stay if you wish. First get him to sit, then with a treat in your hand put your hand flat on the floor. Your puppy should try to work out how to get the treat. As his nose and eventually his body goes down on the floor use the command 'down', praise and reward.
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