In a small sleepy town adjacent to mine there is a beautiful, peaceful wooded area with a crushed stone path that leads you in a full rectangle which brings you back to where you began. On most days there are few people to no one. The sounds of wildlife create a peaceful ambience. One section has a small brook that dogs love to jump, run, play and splash. It's a suburban doggie paradise.
The peace is usually broken by "Zoe! COME! COME HERE ZOE! COME! COME ON! LET's GO!" within a few moments the owner appears and asks me if I've seen his dog. It's a hit or miss sometimes I have and and sometimes I have not. When I ask whether the dog got off the leash and ran away I get the expected response, "She IS trained and always comes when I call her". Then begins the chase. "Zoe" then assumes the prey role and the owner predator. The screaming resumes and eventually the dog "Zoe" returns to her owner. Sadly this is not a demonstration of a "trained" dog nor is it a solid recall. If this were out in the real world with cars, truck and people around this behavior could be fatal. Trust me. I know first hand. I lost a 5.5 month old puppy that way directly in front of a Animal Emergency center and there was nothing anyone could do to save him.
I urge everyone to actually train your dog with a private trainer and if that trainer doesn't have a recall "COME" command in their ciriculum find another one quick.
Recall is one of my top priorities, after the basics: sit, down, stay, stand, off, leave it which usually are all indoors. Recall is serious business and must be done on a leash first before you can advance to off leash. I've sadly had to become a pro at recall since I've vowed never to have a off leash recall tragedy again.
Contact me for help.
Adam Casper
Dog Trainer
Casper Dog Training
973-652-5515
https://www.casperdogtraining.com