Building a reliable recall with a ten-month-old Vizsla

The problem this solves

Ten months is when recall tends to fall apart. The puppy who used to trot back happily discovers the world, and a Vizsla discovers it at thirty miles an hour. Owners keep telling me the same thing. He comes back fine at home, and in an open field he doesn’t hear a word.

What you’re watching

This is one session out of a series with a ten-month-old Vizsla and his owner. We’re building a recall that holds up with space and other things going on around him, and this clip builds on what we’d done in the earlier sessions. He’s young, fast and easily distracted, and he’s choosing to come back in an open field.

What matters most is who he’s coming back to. A recall only works if the person calling is consistent and gets their timing right, so I spend as much time on the owner as on the dog. My job is to build the habit and then hand it over.

Why this matters for your dog

A dog you can trust to come back gets to go off the lead, and you get to stop worrying on walks. It’s built in stages, at the dog’s pace. Adolescence is the most common time for recall to go wrong, and it’s also a good time to fix it.