So Ariel and I have really been struggling with her recall lately. I've upped the rewards, try to call her only when I believe she'll have success, etc.etc. The other day, while camping, I started to train her with "touch", which we haven't done before. She loved this new challenge. So on our walk this morning, on a retractable lead (as laws forbid us to walk our dogs off leash), I used the touch command numerous times and she whipped right back to me. When we were back at the house, she was downstairs and I was upstairs, I called out "touch" and she was at my side in seconds. Success! So I'm thinking of continuing to use this command for recall rather than "come". Provided everyone in the family uses this same command, can anyone suggest a negative side to this? Thanks as always.
Well, yes and no. "Touch" is really effective because it's an easy and really fun game for the dog. It is certainly something to keep in your bag of "how to get the dog back" tricks. But, I wouldn't have it as my main recall cue, because, when used to call the dog away from something enjoyable, it will diminish the efficacy and reward of the "touch" game. I sometimes use a game of touch as a reward for a recall - to use it exclusively as the recall itself reduces its application this way.
Although not a suggested use of 'touch' and as long as you don't intend to use 'touch' for any other purpose I can't se any major problems. What you have to remember us that you need to proof 'touch' in many different environments and with many different distractions just the same as any other recall. One of the main reasons for recall failure is lack of proofing in different environments and with distractions
