The #1 Most Important Command to Teach Your Dog

There are seven basic commands to teach your dog that are necessary to having a well-behaved dog beyond responding to his name. These commands are sit, down, stay, heel, come, no, and off. All are important, and you need to teach your dog each one so that they will behave in everyday life.

And while they are all important, there is one that I would argue is the absolute most important for them to nail. That is their recall. Because if your dog doesn’t come when you call him, is he really your dog?

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.

What is a reliable recall?

A reliable recall is when you give your dog a specific command to return to you and you have extremely high confidence that he will return to you immediately every time. Most recalls are either with the word “come” or at the sound of a whistle blowing, which is also called whistle conditioning. It’s important to teach your dog both, because your want your dog to return to you no matter how far away he is or how loud the environment is. Your voice may not carry as far or as loudly as a whistle will so it’s good for your dog to respond to a whistle as well.

Why is a reliable recall the most important skill?

A reliable recall is important for your dog’s safety. If your dog happens to get off leash, you don’t want him to get into a fight with another dog, get hit by a car, or get lost. If he doesn’t have a strong recall, you run the risk of losing your dog or worse.

You want your dog to return to you regardless of any really distracting people, animals, or objects that are nearby. A reliable recall will ensure that even if your dog doesn’t actually want to return to you because there’s something more exciting nearby, he will every time.

Essential gear to teach your dog to come

Before we get into reliable recall training, first we will discuss the things you need to get started.

Bernese Mountain Dog puppy sitting and waiting for a piece of chicken as a treat.

#1: Prepare a super high value treat

Because this is the absolute, most important skill you could teach your dog, you want to give him his favorite treat when he does it correctly to help reinforce. For Ezra, that’s boiled chicken. For other dogs, that could be hot dogs or cheese. I would avoid his kibble or other basic treats you give your pup in usual training sessions.

Identifying the right treat for the skill, age of the dog, and distraction level is incredibly important.

#2: Buy a long line

A long line is just a really long leash. This is important piece of equipment because you want to be able to give your dog freedom to roam without actually being out of reach. You need to still be connected to your dog to reinforce the right behaviors if he begins to stray. You can buy a 15-20 foot line at any major retailer.

#3: Buy a whistle

A standard whistle is fine. I recommend buying a full pack of whistles so that you have multiple handy in case you lose yours, or you want to leave a fresh whistle with your rover or dog sitter.

A young Bernese Mountain Dog, very seriously waiting for his chicken after a perfect recall in the snow. — A young Ezra, very seriously waiting for his chicken after a perfect recall in the snow.

How to train your dog to reliably recall

Before we go into each step, the first step is to make sure your dog knows to respond to his name. If he doesn’t know how to respond to his name, it may be too early to teach him to come when called. But once he knows his name, you can begin training a reliable recall following these steps.

Reliable recall training using “come”

Go outside with your dog and put his long line on. Stand on the other end of the long line. Then let him wander a bit. Once he has forgotten about you, call your dog’s name and say “come.” If he doesn’t turn immediately back to you, yank a couple times on the leash until he turns to you and comes. Then give him some chicken. Sometimes for very young puppies, yanking may not be able to actually get them to physically return to you. Try to be more exciting or energetic than anything else. Move around or wave your hands around or jump. Excitable puppies will respond to that. When he does come back to you, give him chicken.

Remember: don’t repeat the command over and over again. Tell him come once. If he doesn’t come yank the leash and be more exciting than anything else. Once he comes, reward him with treats.

Repeat it a few more times (no more than 10-15 minutes) until he begins to come immediately to you. In the beginning you may want to train this almost everyday, but long-term you don’t want to train this more than a few times a week.

Whistle conditioning your dog

I taught Ezra to respond to a whistle first in the house during a normal training session. I had him in front of me and engaged with me. Then I blew my whistle and took a step backwards. He followed me. When he followed me, I gave him chicken. Then I blew my whistle again and repeated the exercise. I did this about 8-10 times until the chicken was gone. Then I did this everyday for about a week. On the final day of practicing, I blew my whistle while he was distracted. When he came to me, I gave him 8-10 pieces of chicken for coming to me all at once, piece by piece.

Once he got the hang of it inside, then I did it outside on the long line with him following the same steps I taught him to respond to “come.”

3 key tips to train a reliable recall

Bernese Mountain Dog avoiding walking on his leash and being obstinate.

Tip #1: If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

It’s just like going to the gym. Over time, if you stop going to the gym you will lose any muscle gains you made. Any type of dog training is like this, not just recall training. For Ezra, we use “come” very regularly but I don’t often blow a whistle. He quickly forgot to return to a whistle. Now I make sure to practice it a few times a week. If you are in the same boat and you think your dog forgot his skills, that’s ok. They will remember quickly.

Tip #2: But don’t overuse it.

Dogs will learn it’s OK to ignore commands if you give a command, they do nothing, and they don’t get any type of repercussion. Dogs are just like people that way. If you hear the same thing over and over, you’ll start tuning it out right?

Come is a hard one, because once your dog learns it you’ll be compelled to tell him to come to you all the time. Don’t give in to that. Only tell him to come when you need him to come.

Tip #3: Practice in new environments.

This is important because you want your dog to respond regardless of any stimulating activity, people, animal, or smells nearby. For Ezra, I’ll practice when he wants to play with other puppies or children. I’ll bring him to a baseball field and practice there. I’ll also practice with him in Home Depot or Lower’s, but he’ll be on a regular 6 foot leash.

Bernese Mountain Dog puppy running through a baseball field.

Common questions about reliable recall training

You can begin training your dog a reliable recall once he learns to respond to his name. By about four months old, you can expect your dog to know what to do when he hears a whistle or the command “come.” You will likely need more practice to ensure your dog has a reliable recall.

You can teach him to come by getting a super high value treat (chicken or hot dogs) and a long line, which is a leash that is 15-20 feet long. Put the long line on your dog and stand on the end so that he has a sense of freedom, though he he cannot run freely. Allow him to wander, and then call his name and say “come.” When he turns and comes to you, give him his treat. If he doesn’t turn to come to you, yank on the long line a few times until he turns and comes. If you have a young puppy, yanking may not be enough. Be ready to be high energy and clap your hands and move around so that you are more exciting than anything else. Once your puppy returns to you, give him a treat. Remember: only say come once. Do not continue repeating it – just yank on the long line and be exciting.

Boiled chicken breast or hot dogs are great high value treats for a recall. Make sure you reserve those only for recall training, especially in the beginning. Cheese could be another option for recall training.

During training sessions, don’t practice it more than 3 times a week. However, if you think your dog forgot, I’d go back to step one and re-train from the beginning. It won’t be as hard or take as long because he’ll pick it up quickly. Once he picks it back up remember to only use it when you need to in real life situations. During training sessions, don’t practice it more than 3 times a week. It’s likely your dog forgot it because you either weren’t practicing it enough or you were over-using it.

#1 Most Important Command to teach your dog with a picture of a dog sprinting through the snow.

Conclusion

A reliable recall is the most important command to teach your dog because you are preparing for ensuring no negative outcomes from a worst case scenario situation. You never know what the future holds, and you want to know that your dog will return to you for his safety, even if he doesn’t realize it’s a safety concern. I hope that if you weren’t training your dog to come before, you’ll start training a reliable recall now. Just remember – keep practicing it once he learns it and don’t over-use it.

The #1 Most Important Command to Teach Your Dog

What is a reliable recall?

Why is a reliable recall the most important skill?