Reward every single recall. Every. Single. One. Most behaviors are trained with treats in the beginning and then treats are weaned. Not so with the recall! You never want your dog to gamble that the recall isn’t worth it this time. Reward the recall and reward generously!

Never call your dog for something unpleasant. Leaving the park, ending his playdate, taking a bath, whatever it is that may cause your dog to dread coming to you, DO NOT USE YOUR RECALL. This is the fastest way to ruin a superb recall. In those unpleasant situations, go get your dog and lead him away, use lots of cookies, or contact your trainer about creating more positive associations with the event. 

Don’t repeat your cue. If you call your dog and he doesn’t come, don’t call him again. You’ll begin to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher and he’ll just ignore what you’re saying. If your dog is not responding to recall, go get him and make note that you need to train more with those specific distractions.

Proof and maintain your recall. In order for your recall to be solid, you need to eventually practice with distractions, such as other dogs, people, smells, toys, etc. You must take special care when doing this, both to set your dog up for success and keep everyone safe. Don’t introduce distractions too quickly! You’ll want to introduce them very slowly and only one at a time. Once your dog is coming to you in the face of distractions, you are not finished! You’ll need to maintain the recall with the consistent rewards and by practicing regularly, at least 3 times per week. If you do not maintain your recall, the reliability is likely to fade.

If your dog has any chance or history of reacting negatively to a person, dog, or other animal, your dog MUST be leashed at all times, no exceptions. Your dog should also wear a bite proof basket muzzle. It's not a bad thing to teach a rock solid recall to a dog who is reactive or has a bite history, but these dogs must be leashed and muzzled for everyone's safety. There are NO exceptions to this rule.

Choose only ONE verbal recall cue. When you try to have more than one with different meanings, it gets confusing. Don't chance ruining a rock solid recall. Use ONE verbal recall cue.

Do not remove the leash unless you are willing to bet $100 that your dog will come when you call. This point cannot be emphasized enough: your dog’s life depends on coming when you call, so build a strong reinforcement history for the recall. You do not want him running into the parking lot, road, or approaching another animal. If you won’t put money on your dog coming when you call, do not take his leash off. 

Respect others and their dogs. If your dog is off-leash and you see another person or dog, put your dog’s leash back on (or hold the long line closer to your dog). It’s unsafe and inconsiderate to allow your dog to approach anyone without explicit permission. Even if your dog is great at ignoring people, dogs, bicycles, whatever may be in the environment, grab your dog and leash him until others are out of sight. The other person may be fearful of dogs or their dog may be fearful of other dogs. Since everyone should be able to enjoy public spaces safely, any person with an off-leash dog has the responsibility to call and contain the dog when someone is trying to get by or pass through. You can even go a step further and teach your dog to automatically return to you when he sees another dog or person to make the process easier.  

Don’t practice until your dog gets it right; practice until he can’t get it wrong. Recall should be something your dog does without thinking, like tying your shoes. You don’t want to wonder if he’ll do it this time. You want him to run to you every single time you call! The more times he is reinforced for coming when called, the higher the chances he’ll do it next time. So practice often and be sure to set up so your dog will succeed. 

You are NEVER exempt from leash laws. No matter how much training your dog has, no matter how close your dog will stay, no matter how perfect your dog’s recall may be, you are NEVER exempt from leash laws. If your area has leash laws, you must abide by them. “But my dog is really well-trained,” is not an argument in court for a loose dog citation. This also goes for private property that requires dogs be leashed. If a property owner is generous enough to allow people to bring their dogs, be kind enough to follow their rules and keep your dog leashed.