• Generalized means the dog will do the behavior in any setting. So while your dog has learned to sit in the kitchen facing north, they may not understand that they are also to sit in the living room facing east. If you change any one of the conditions the others will suffer... so it is important to plan ahead and work each of them into your training program. The more you train the different conditions and the more you teach generalizing to your dog, the faster they will learn to generalize each time around.

People are good at generalizing by the way.

•  Discrimination refers to a dog's ability to detect little cues about what is going to happen next. For instance, you put on running shoes and your dog gets excited because he realizes the possibility exists that he's going out. Put on your church clothes and he becomes subdued because he knows you are leaving and he is not going. Carefully assess the patterns of things you do before doing other things and you will be able to detect the clues your dog picked up a long time ago.

Dogs are better discriminators than people.

The need to establish a reliable recall for your dog, "COME HERE!" is vital. The benefits can vary from the safety of the dog to the simple courtesy in public parks.

A simple rule about teaching dogs new tricks is that they learn through association. Behavior is driven by the immediate consequences following that behavior, be it positive or negative.

Let's start at the end of the command, the all, powerful ‘Reward’. This can be many things – petting, verbal praise, a quick game with a favorite toy, saying hello to another dog. The types of rewards are limitless. Treats or food rewards can be great for focus work and starting a learning process. However, it is important to think of them as temporary or initial tools for training. Other rewards such as affection, play and praise are more important in the long run. So, let’s consider the dog’s perspective on the reward . . . does the dog find it rewarding?

How about when a dog is playing off leash in the park with other dogs and hears your words ‘Come Here’! These words are then heralded with the reward of no more play, get in the car, quiet down, you’re going home. Rewarding? Yes or no? It doesn’t take too many canine neurons here to put two and two together.

When a dog chooses a behavior that’s immediately followed by a reward, the dog is conscious of the choice and learning is quite rapid. You of course will be supplying the motivation. If the rewards drop off, the behavior will disappear in half the time it took to build. Our dogs are brilliantly selfish and will choose what works for them. (They’re not plotting against you . . . it’s nothing personal)

Reward and praise your dog for any step in your direction. They may not always come all the way to you. Keep in mind that a blowing leaf may distract a curious dog in mid recall . . . do not attempt to correct her for running off and introducing herself to the leaf and inviting it to play. . . She really may not understand what the behavior is that you want. Praise your pup as soon as she heads in your direction again. Once she comes to you, give a special yummy treat, grab the collar and rub the head and neck giving additional cookies (helps to create a "grabbable" dog). Never punish or correct a dog for coming to you!

Learning a command to come is all about the stuff that happens before and the stuff that happens after a behavior. Our dogs are very capable of learning many words but sometimes a serious misunderstanding can take place when we assume that a dog truly understands the meaning of a word more than he actually does. The dog may be listening more to the sound of your voice and expression than to the word itself.

We speak in rather strange symbols that our dogs try to understand. The language that your dog uses to communicate with you is dog language! It is rich and full of meaning. Dogs give each other an incredible amount of information by barking, wagging tails, grumbles & grunts, touches, postures, facial expressions, turns and movements, and smells, etc. Our language is built upon the symbolic word. It’s basically a language too complicated for our dogs. When you say the word ‘down’ to your dog, do you mean ‘lay down with your chest and elbows on the ground ’ or ‘ get off the couch’ or ‘stop jumping’?

Words alone lack in conveying the complete meaning. We too have a silent language, or body language. We too communicate with facial expressions, body postures and movements as well as touching. Dogs are experts in reading our body language and in understanding the meaning without confusion. They study our movements, postures and facial expressions constantly.

So how well does your dog respond to the verbal command to come?

Here is a simple test. Place your dog in either a sit or a down command or let them roam around. Turn your back to your dog so that they cannot see your facial expressions, say ‘Come’. What is the reaction from your dog? Often the dog fails to obey. The dog is used to seeing your body language coupled with the words. Repeat this exercise, if out of ten attempts the desired behavior was there 8 out of 10, then this is something worth building on. If however, the response is poor try a new word rather than trying to deprogram what the old word already means to your dog. You can still keep ‘Come Here’ for other things such as suggestions to come, just NOT for an emergency recall to come.

Patience and practice are the keys to teaching an effective recall. You are not going to call your dog out of mid-flight-squirrel-pursuit right away. It takes time to introduce distractions in training. Dogs do not generalize.

And remember It is important that the dog is still rewarded for the correct behaviors. Would you want to stop getting paid as you got better at your job?

An enthusiastic, reliable recall is every dog owner's dream. It is also the bane of many. Of the phone calls I get from people struggling with their dog's obedience, a poor recall is high on the list. The importance of a solid recall cannot be overstated: it is the one skill that could very well save your dog's life. It will also give your dog off-leash freedom.

All dog training boils down to one very simple factor: attention. If you have it in your dog, the sky is the limit. If you do not, then even the smallest of tasks will be mountains to overcome (ever try to keep a highly distracted dog in a sit-stay?). The recall is largely about attention because the further your dog gets away from your body; the less likely you are to have his attention. Attention is a reflection of the relationship you have with your dog - it permeates into every facet of life the two of you share.

Before teaching that perfect front (the attentive sit in front of the handler after the recall), you want to begin by imprinting on your puppy the great joy of running with gusto toward your body. Begin in a quiet area and get your dog's attention with a treat. Toss it a few feet ahead of you and as he goes to get it, run the other way. Turn and call his name ("Fido, come!") with a second treat ready as he runs up to you. Moving backward draws your dog toward your body. Toss another treat away from your body and sprint off in a new direction. A few repetitions of this game and he will come to love this special game of racing after you.

Keep it interesting and mix the training up. Occasionally toss the second treat behind you as your dog runs up. Or turn sideways and crouch down, cheering and encouraging your puppy as he comes toward you. Give him enthusiastic praise and set up for another repetition. As your dog becomes more focused on you, slowly build in distractions. Set him up to win.

For the ball-crazy puppy, teach a "THROUGH!" command. Begin this with your puppy a few feet in front of you in a narrow passageway. Motivate him with his favorite toy and as he moves toward you, toss the ball through your legs, commanding THROUGH! as he goes to get it. Some reluctant puppies may need a push, so take hold of the flat collar and gently push them after their toy. Once your dog is comfortable with this game, tack it on to the end of a short recall. Give your dog the command to "COME!" and as he approaches, toss his toy through your legs and call out "THROUGH!" This builds speed and - later - a very close front. This can also be done with food.

Once your dog gets the idea of coming toward you, begin fine tuning a proper front. Positioning exercises can be easily taught with food. As your puppy comes in for his treat, draw the piece of food toward your body and up above his head. Most dogs will naturally fall into a sit as they focus on the food. Immediately release enthusiastically and reward. Over a few weeks build the time that he sits in front looking up at you before the release.

These same basic principles can be applied to adult dogs with poor recall habits. Use powerful incentives (i.e. a ball or special treats) to keep his attention and to reward the correct behavior. Be patient in re-establishing a solid foundation before moving on to more distracted environments. It is a common error to expect more from our dogs than they are ready to give; training routines should be carefully set up so that the dog wins at each level. Regardless of the age of your dog, spending the majority of time at an off-leash dog park can have a disastrous effect on the recall. Instead of spending that special time training and establishing a true bond, such ventures imprint upon the dog a lack of attention and a greater joy in other dogs. Freedom should be earned, and doled out in small portions. By making training fun, you'll end up with a dog who finds you the greater enjoyment and who comes racing when called.