Recall training is based on a chain of behaviour: your dog hears the signal, stops its current behaviour, runs back to you and positions itself. With the "here" - need method, the focus is on making your dog's need to come to you so strong that he forgets everything else. The secret is to see the recall not just as a command, but as a positive action that your dog is happy to perform on its own initiative.
For the training to work optimally, you need a helper. This person plays an important role because they hold your dog while you move away from him and encourage him to come to you. Why a helper? Quite simply, at this moment you are not the one holding the dog back. Instead, you are the goal that he desperately wants to reach.
Recall is based on positive reinforcement here. This means that you show your dog in advance that you have a particularly cool reward ready for him - be it his favourite toy, a special treat or an intense game. When your dog returns to you, he will realise that it is always worth running to you. This will anchor the motivation to respond to the recall in his behaviour.
The actual recall is triggered by the command "Here" and a visual signal such as a hand signal. As soon as you give the signal, the helper lets go of the dog and it runs to you. It is important that the helper pays no further attention to the dog after the signal. The focus is solely on you and the reward that you have ready.
To make the exercise more effective, vary the distance from which your dog has to come to you and also the type of reward. This keeps the training exciting and teaches your dog that it is always worth coming to you, regardless of the distance or situation.
Make sure that your dog always associates the recall with a clear conclusion, such as "sitting in front", so that he internalises the entire behaviour. Otherwise he may see the recall and sit as two separate exercises and not link them.
