[yorkietalkjilly]

Tibbe was getting a bit unresponsive to his "Come" recall a couple of weeks back and I placed a container of his kibble with a bit of his lovely beef jerky treats included on a table beside the door. I started giving him one or two every time he came running when I called him in - along with a return to very generous praise, smiles and petting - and now he comes running at top speed when called, inside or out. I will use this method for another month and return to it whenever Tibbe's recall seems to not be working so well. I've used this device through the years whenever a dog seems to be somewhat slow to respond to the recall and it gets their interest right back up to 100% every time. I've noticed over my liftime with dogs that many dogs get "used to" the recall and can drift into an episode where they don't come right away and then note their owner's unhappiness with them. I mean the harder it is to get the dog to come in, the less pleased you may be with them when they finally go come. The effect continues to build until at times they are even hesitant to come. Nothing like returning to the old treat method to get them vitally interested again and make it fun and rewarding again.