Pharaoh Hound recall training tips

A one-year-old Pharaoh Hound with recall problems in open spaces — that's one of the tougher combinations you'll face. These dogs are sighthounds with serious speed, so the moment something moves at the far end of a park, you've essentially lost them. Reliable recall is the single most important skill any dog can have, and for a breed like this the standard approach — shouting their name and hoping — genuinely doesn't cut it. The most effective setup I see working is pairing a really high-value treat with a long training line so you can practise recall safely without the risk of them disappearing. Can you tell me a bit more — how bad is the recall right now, does she completely blank you when she's locked onto something, and are you after training aids, treats, or both?

That's a very typical Pharaoh Hound pattern — the prey drive kicks in and you simply don't exist anymore. The kibble thing is important: with a sighthound mid-chase, your treat needs to compete with the most exciting thing in her world, and dry food won't do that. Before I point you toward a specific product, a quick question: where are you mainly training — large open parks, fields, or somewhere with more natural boundaries? That changes which length of long line I'd suggest.

Perfect, that actually gives you a good training environment. For the long line, I'd go with the Flexi Vario 10m Tape Lead. It's not a retractable in the usual sense — it's a proper training line with a locking mechanism, a flat tape rather than cord so it won't cut into her legs at speed, and 10 metres gives her enough distance to build real momentum before you're calling her back. That distance matters a lot with Pharaoh Hounds because you need to practise recall at the actual distances where the problem happens, not just a few metres away. Lock it, let her range out, then call her with a high-value treat the moment she looks back at you — that's your window. On the treat side, pair it with Forthglade 100% Natural Liver Treats. Strong smell, soft texture, tiny pieces so you can reward repeatedly without filling her up. The combination of those two things — safe distance practice plus a treat she'll genuinely work for — is where real progress starts with sighthounds.

For a football pitch, 10 metres is actually the right starting point. Going to 20 or 30 metres before recall is established tends to backfire — there's too much line to manage, it drags on the ground, she trips in it, and you lose the ability to reinforce quickly when she does respond. Start at 10, get solid reliable recall at that distance, then you can move to a longer line or begin practising off-lead in lower-distraction corners of the park. The Flexi Vario also has a brake button you can use to shorten the effective range on the fly, which is useful when another dog approaches and you need to reduce her range fast.

Keep recall training sessions short and embedded in the walk rather than a separate formal session — five to ten recall repetitions per walk is plenty. Do it when she's already engaged with the environment but hasn't fully locked onto something; that's the level of distraction you want to build up from. If you only practise when she's already in prey-drive, you're working at the hardest level every time. Call her, she comes, she gets the liver treat, she gets released back to sniff or run — that release back to what she was doing is actually part of the reward, so use it. With consistent work at this age you should see real improvement within three to four weeks.