Teaching Your Dog to Come with the End Game

You were looking forward to all the off-leash hikes with your new dog.

And you were excited about exploring all that nature offers with your friend and partner.

But then, I hear this…

"What if my dog,

Jumps on strange people?"

Chase's wildlife near roads?"

Eats things they shouldn't have?"

Is uncontrollable around other dogs?"

Runs away and doesn't come back?"

Your worries are valid. Every dog owner is concerned about their dog not listening while off-leash. 

I teach many games to make clients feel confident about snapping off the leash. 

Let's look at one game applied in two ways.

End Game

Concept 1 Backchaining

Recalls (or teaching your dog to come) are a series of behaviours all strung together.

Back chaining is a process where the last skill is trained first, and then you sequentially add the pieces until you have the entire chain!

Gigs' cue word for recalls is COME. So I teach her that the end action of coming is to eat a treat on my leg.

Gigs learns this by feeding her at my leg each time I say the cue word, "Come."

You can see the End Game for a Responsive Recall in action.

Concept 2 Conditional Emotional Response

We can thank Pavlov for understanding how to get a positive emotional response when a dog hears a cue.

I want your dog to feel the cue word so they will automatically come. It's a bit like brainwashing but in a good way.

I use the End Game setup but jackpot 1-3 x in a row this time. 

A jackpot could be all 20 treats simultaneously, or a piece of hot dog, tugging on a toy, throwing a tennis ball, chasing me, etc. 

It's not just a single treat. It's a special event! 

You say the recall cue word (for Spring, it is her name, "Spring!"), then immediately give the jackpot at the very first response from your dog. Do not wait until they are at your leg. 

After you've embedded this concept, you'll begin to see the magic!

In this video, you'll see it in action. I don't even have food or toys on my person; I can get away with that because I continue working hard on the End Game with Jackpots. I don't test or challenge her when loading her "Spring!" recall word; she is 100% successful with huge reward events. 

You can also have this cooperative relationship and go on outdoor off-leash adventures with your dog, knowing they will be responsive when you need them to come.

Get access to the End Game.