Introduction
If you happen to have a Shiba Inu, you probably are familiarwith their bold, playful and confident personalities. Yet, they are alsointelligent and are quite trainable. In fact, contrary to popular belief, youcan train your Shiba Inu to come when you call her.
Professional dog trainers call this behavior “recall.”Although you can teach the basic command in a single session, you will need toplan on practicing often, and in a variety of different places, in order tomake sure you build a strong and reliable recall for your Shiba Inu.
One note about thisbreed: Shiba Inu were bred for flushing small game and hunting large game.As a result, they tend to have a very high prey drive. Unfortunately, thismeans that you may never be able to rely on her ability to come back in thepresence of distractors that could trigger her prey drive. It does not makerecall training worthless, it still may come in handy in an emergency, itsimply means you will have to continue to keep your Shiba Inu on a leash aroundpotential prey.
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Defining Tasks
We will show you step by step instructions to train yourShiba Inu to come in the methods below. In addition, follow these tips duringyour training to keep that recall strong and reliable.
Don’t punish your dog after a recall.This will lead your dog to have some concern that coming when called may not endwell for her, lowering her willingness to come when called
Touch the collarbefore the reward. If you do not include this ritual in your recall, youmay find that although your Shiba Inu comes to you in the field, he may not letyou grab his collar to get him on the leash.
Say the command once,and then enforce it. Although it is recommended that you ignore failureearly on in training, at some point you will need to start enforcing thecommand. By only saying the command once and then enforcing it, you areteaching your Shiba Inu that she only has one chance to get her reward.
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Getting Started
Here are some things to have ready when training your Shiba Inu to come:
Long line: In order to work on recall outside, you will need a long leash or rope (at least 25’, maybe longer) so that you can regain control of your dog if she decides to bolt after something. In addition, as you add distractions to your training, you can use the long line to help her get past them if the temptation is too strong.
High-value rewards: We suggest you start with food rewards such as small treats, pieces of chicken or cheese. However, as you progress with your training, other rewards like a tug, a toss of a ball, or vigorous praise are good to add to the mix. Just make sure your rewards are things he thinks are the bee’s knees.
Hidden treats: If you only train in certain places with your treat pouch attached, your dog will figure out pretty quick that she is only going to get rewards when you are in “training” mode. Once she has the basics of recall down, start calling her from different rooms of the house when she least expects it and use a secret stash to reward her.
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