Donāt let it go extinct!
I just got a question from someone whose dog used to have a reliable recall but lately, when they whistle, she doesnāt come. What to do?
First, letās try to understand why this is happening. Itās something I see often with my clients, and itās a big source of frustration. I frequently get told their dogsĀ āknowā the behavior but just wonāt do it, and this is usually blamed on some character flaw in the dog. TheyāreĀ āstubbornā orĀ āindependentā or ādominant.ā I have yet to meet a dog tooĀ āstubbornā orĀ āindependentā to be trained, and I have met and worked with a lotĀ of dogs. As for dominance? Well, the idea that dogs are fighting for world domination was debunked decades ago. So whatās going on?
Sometimes, itās simply not true that the dogĀ āknowsā the behavior. Dogs donāt learn sit and down and come like we learn the capital of Florida is Tallahassee. Itās not something they memorize once and then have for the rest of their lives. Dogs learn behaviors more like we might learn a complicated dance move. If Iām in dance class being coached through the waltz, you can bet Iāll get it right. Iāll probably even be pretty solid if I go home and try to practice in my living room. But if you toss me on stage in front of an audience of 1000, blast some bright lights in my eyes, and tell me to hop to it, my fancy moves are sure to fall apart.
It sounds absurd, but we do this with our dogs all the time! We practice in relatively low-distraction settings like our living room or back yard or a training classroom and then, after theyāve gotten a few successful reps under their belt, we throw them in the deep end. If your dog has just practiced come or a down stay in your living room, theyāre definitely not ready to take their show on the road yet! Donāt count on those behaviors being reliable at the dog park or a busy trailhead.
Okay, you might be saying, I get that, but we have practiced in lots of different environments with different distractions, and my dog was reliable. But suddenly she justā¦stopped doing it.
Here, we could be running into another problem: extinction. Extinction is a fancy way of saying the behavior stops working, so the animal stops doing it. Whatever motivation was compelling your dog to come when called has dried up. A lot of people reach a point with their dogs where they decide they are officiallyĀ ātrainedā and now they donāt need to reward the behavior anymore. Treats stop, games of tug or fetch are no longer used as a reward, and suddenly coming when called doesnāt seem to get your dogā¦well, much of anything. Maybe aĀ āgood girlā or a pat on the head, but recall is hard work! Much too hard of work to settle for such low pay. Your dog decides the behavior is no longer worth doing and they look for something better to do.
And with recall, they find it! You may only be paying your dog occasionally, letās say giving them a treat or a good tug game one out of every five times they come. The world, on the other hand, is paying out 100% of the time they donātĀ come when called. When they ignore your cue, they are rewarded with freedom, interesting smells, access to other dogs and people, critters to chaseā¦and the world is offering these things up every single time.
So whatās the solution? Start being more generous with your rewards. Remember this post? Intermittent reinforcement may prevent extinction in clinical settings, but it doesnāt create fast, reliable, enthusiastic responses in our pet dogs. Start bringing treats on your walks. Bring food with you to the backyard. Practice your dogās skills and give them great rewards for getting it right. Teach your dog that yes, doing as you ask does pay off!
You are asking your dog to do work, which means they expect to be paid. If your boss suddenly stopped paying you, or started paying you for 1 out of every 5 hours you worked, youād start looking for another job. Itās the same for our dogs! Without reasonable (in their minds!) payment, theyāre going to go on strike.
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