“I don’t care about the fancy training, I just want my dog to come back when he’s called.”

Sounds familiar.  Why should that be so hard?

Recall training is one of the most complex requirements you will ever ask of your dog.   Think of it in terms of the classic concepts of reward and punishment.

If a behaviour is “rewarded”, the animal tends to perform that behaviour more often.

If a behaviour is “punished”, the animal tends to avoid doing it.

That should be easy, then: if you simply reward your dog for coming back to you, she will come when called, right?  Wrong. 

Imagine your dog is out playing in the park, having the time of her life, romping in the long grass, sniffing sensational smells, and experiencing the delights of doggy freedom.  Time is up, there is a car coming close, or a storm on the horizon.   You call her back to you, offering the comfort of your company, or perhaps waving her favourite treat.  She ignores you.  Why?  It should be obvious in this circumstance, that the “reward” you offer is competing with every exciting sensation she is experiencing by being free in the park.

In freedom, her every move is “rewarded” with a new smell or an exciting find.

If you now try a “punishment” (you admonish the dog for not coming), he starts to associate your recall request with the punishment itself, and doesn’t want to come back at all.  And so the cycle goes.   Freedom is its own reward.  Recall - returning to you - becomes less desirable.

To improve recall behaviour, you have a couple of choices. 
A: Don’t let your dog off lead.
B: Make the recall more desirable than the freedom.

You can do this by choosing your timing, only let him free when you can guarantee you can offer a recall reward which is better than freedom itself, play ball games such that he comes and goes to you, and is rewarded as such with more freedom, don’t call him when he’s having more fun than you are, roll in the grass with your pooch when you call him, and become some of the fun.  And so it goes.  Think like a dog, not like a human.  

Your dog knows what he likes and what he considers a reward.  When you too can identify and provide that, then you are in a position to call him back to claim it joyfully!