Must Have Skills for Your Dog

It’s happened to most everyone. Your dog lunges forward and the leash is jerked out of your hands. What happens next? You chase your dog. Does your dog stop? Nope! Your dog runs away, most likely enjoying this game of chase and newfound freedom.

Below are two must have skills if the leash is jerked out of your hands: an emergency break stop and a recall.

An emergency break stop is when your dog stops walking as soon as the leash is dropped. I call this behavior, “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. Want to know how to train this? Watch the video below!

Train your dog to stop whenever the leash is dropped.

Getting your dog to come when called can be challenging in certain situations. This is usually because we’re calling the dog away from something they find super interesting towards something less interesting at that time - us. I want the dog’s recall word to spark a speedy and enthusiastic response. How do we do this? We do this by making the recall word itself be an invitation to chase us. Want to know how to train this? Watch the video below!

Training recalls as a fun “chase me” game for your dogs.

Here are five tips to remember when training recalls

1. If your current recall word has at least an 80% success rate, please continue using it. If your dog doesn’t immediately come when called 80% of the time using your current recall word, pick a new word.  

2. If your dog was in a different home before your home, use a different word than “come” (unless your dog has a >= 80% response rate to come). 

3. During training, do not use your recall word when you’re not 95% sure your dog will respond quickly and correctly.

4. Do not use your recall word before giving your dog a bath, clipping their nails, and doing anything unpleasant to them. 

5. Do not ever punish your dog when they come to you.

Here’s a video of a Behavior United client practicing these two skills. As you may notice, I am holding a long, lightweight leash for backup as the dog learns these new skills outside.

A Behavior United client practicing the dog stopping whenever the leash is dropped and practicing recalls.

I hope this post and videos have inspired you to train skills needed whenever the leash is jerked out of your hands. Check out Behavior Buddies for more dog training inspo and reach out to your local reward-based trainer!