Recall games

Building a reliable recall doesn’t have to feel like a chore. In fact, the best way to get your dog to come back to you on walks is to start practicing in a low-distraction environment, like your home or garden, and turn it into a game.

When you make recall an exciting, rewarding habit, your dog stops deciding whether it's "worth it" to come back—they just do it because it’s fun.

Here are a few simple games you and your family can play to get started.

The Ping-Pong Game

This is a fantastic way to build speed and enthusiasm. You will need two people, both equipped with a bag of high-value treats, standing at opposite ends of the garden or driveway.

Take turns calling the dog back and forth between you, rewarding them with plenty of praise and food every single time they arrive. The key here is consistency and energy. Make sure both of you are using the exact same command clearly, loudly, and with genuine excitement. You want to be the most interesting thing in their world so that later on, you can successfully compete with outside distractions.

The "Go Find" game

This game is excellent for teaching your dog to refocus on you after their attention has been driven down into the ground.

Grab a bag of treats or use your dog’s kibble at dinner time. Throw a piece on the ground in plain sight and say the command "go find." The moment they eat the treat and lift their head up to see if there is more coming, immediately call them back to you with your recall word, like "come." Reward them when they get to you, and repeat.

Over time, you can throw the treat further away or even throw multiple pieces at once to build up the challenge. Just be sure to never fake throw a treat, as this breaks the trust and ruins the game.

As your dog gets better at this, start moving around. When their head pops up to look for you, they'll have to actively seek you out to get the next reward.

Hide and Seek

Once your dog master the basic "go find" game, it naturally evolves into hide and seek—which is also a brilliant game for kids to get involved with. It gets your dog's nose working and teaches them to actively hunt for you, which naturally translates to better "check-ins" when you are out on off-leash walks.

Start by putting your dog in a separate room. If you have a helper, they can act as the "door person" to hold the dog and release them at the right moment. Go hide somewhere in the house or behind an object in the garden.

Once you are hidden, call your dog by saying their name followed by your recall command, like "Xena, come." This keeps the repetition and positive association going. If they are struggling to find you at first, make some fun noises to encourage the search and let them take their time figuring it out with their nose.

When they successfully find you, throw a massive party. Praise them heavily, make it exciting, and reward them with treats or their favorite toy. Even without food, most dogs are absolutely over the moon just to find you. You can repeat this as many times as you like, and you’ll quickly notice your dog paying much closer attention to where you are, both inside the house and out on walks.