Premack Principle for Recall

I've always found it tricky to find good videos of people utilizing premack principle for recall that I could send to clients... so I made my own!
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Taylor Lima CPDT-KA CTDI
www.woofwhoshappy.com
[e-mail]
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Music:
Walk by ikson: / ikson
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[@StreetwiseDogs]

Very good video and advice!

[@a.shwartz6372]

super interesting! I'm suscribing to your channel!

Great channel :)

[@Dahlily]

How do you put things like "break" or chasing squirrels on cue? My dog is usually more interested in the environment than in food outside so this would be really helpful.
Also, if the reward for coming is something they already had access to before, is it really reinforcing (aka exploring the area)? I'd think its negatively reinforcing since the dog has to interrupt what they want to do (explore) to come to you (so if they blew you off, theyd have more of what they want, wheras coming is a worse outcome overall), but maybe I'm not understanding 🤔
And also, if they blow you off on a long leash, how do you "enforce" the recall? I'd prefer to not drag my dog to me on the lead 😅

[@PuptoPerfection]

These are all really fantastic questions! I might have to make a separate video to go in depth with them...
Release word ("break" for me, or whatever word you'd rather use): I teach this when they're puppies. To start I usually say "break" and then toss a cookie so they associate the word with moving away from me. Since this video, I have actually switched to telling my dogs "go sniff" when we're outside rather than using my release word. When I got my golden retriever, he had a habit of immediately trying to re-engage with me if I used the word "break" and would get frustrated if I ignored him. Which led to mouthing at me, jumping, trying even harder to get my attention basically. By putting "go sniff" on cue, it gave him a directive. I use "go sniff" allllllll the time nowadays! Which leads me to...
Putting other behaviors on cue: essentially I put the dog in a situation where they're likely going to do the behavior anyway, and right before they do I say the cue. So for go sniff, I'll lead the dog up to something sniffy (a fire hydrant, a corner in my neighborhood where all the dogs pee, etc etc) and right before we reach it, I will stop and call their name. When they look at me, I say "go sniff!" and walk over to the sniffy thing. Same thing with chasing birds or squirrels. This only works if you notice it first, but it's still useful. I will ask my dog for a behavior (usually something easy like looking at me) and then I will point out the critter and tell them "chase it" or "get the bird" or whatever cue you want to use. If the dog isn't right next to you, then encourage them to come to you and THEN say your cue and point out the critter.
Now as to your question on if this is negatively reinforcing or positively reinforcing. If you're following a proper management protocol to set your dog up for success (this could be a whole video on what this actually means because it's so much more than just "put your dog on a longline so they can't run away" and should also include proactive training like classically conditioning their name as a cue, reinforcing engaging with you in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings that are easier for your dog to handle, actually teaching these marker cues before using them "for real," etc etc etc) and you're timing things correctly, then you will be using positive reinforcement. Why? Because if you've done all the proactive things, and you're using proper management, then it should look something like this:
1) Dog is somewhat close by to you (I would say no more than 15 feet away in the beginning stages of teaching a recall) sniffing the ground
2) You spot a critter
3) You call your dog's name and because you've done all the good proactive stuff, they look at you
4) You praise them and encourage them to come to you
5) When they do, you point out the critter and encourage them to go chase it
Congrats! You have just used the premack principle to positively reinforce your dog for coming to you. They did a behavior, they got a consequence that was pleasurable to them.
Chasing prey isn't something I would necessarily encourage with all dogs, however. And if that is an issue I would highly recommend looking into predation substitute training.
And as far as not using the longline to drag your dog in- don't! However if you move, your dog will likely move. A common issue I see is the human calling the dog while standing stark still, and when the dog looks at them and the human continues to not move, the dog is less likely to come to you. If you get your dog to look at you and then you move (I usually recommend backing up vs turning around and walking away) your dog is going to be much more likely to come to you. If all else fails, stand there and slowly reel in whatever slack they give you until they do check in and then have a party for the fact that they acknowledged your existence, and then reevaluate the situation your dog is in and ask if they are actually ready for it or if maybe we need to arm them with some more skills first before they can handle being responsive in that environment again. Remember: your dog is doing the best they can with the information you have given them, in the environment you have chosen to put them in. They did not pick up the car keys and drive themselves to the park! We did. So it's up to us to make sure our dogs are given the skills to be successful in that environment first. We need to make sure they can safely tread water with their floaties on before we toss them in the deep end and expect them to swim.