“Building Your Dog’s Bank Account” 

The concept of “building your dog’s bank account” is simple but important. Right before you start your hike, if you practice multiple recalls quickly you get your dog into a working mindset and this will set you up for greater results. 

Think of it this way: every time you work with your dog, its like putting money in a bank account. You then want to look at situations with a monetary value “it will cost 5 hundred dollars to get my dog back.” Make sure your bank account matches that.

As your dog becomes better at paying attention to you, you want to slowly put them in harder more distractible situations to test their ability. This will allow you to know your dogs’ faults and weaknesses.

EVERY OPPORTUNITY IS A CHANCE TO TRAIN!

If people or dogs show up and that starts the recall training, your dog will start to see that pattern and recall before asked. This is the ultimate goal but this happens over time. Repetition is how dogs learn, what you allow them to practice creates patterns of behavior.