Collie & Husky recall training tips

A Collie and a Husky together — that's a brilliant but genuinely challenging combination for recall. The Collie will likely fixate on the Husky as a distraction, and the Husky's prey drive and independent streak means when one bolts, the other often follows. Reliable recall is the single most important skill your dogs can have, and with two high-energy working breeds competing for each other's attention, you need both a long line for safe practice and a treat that genuinely outranks each other as a reward. To point you in the right direction — are you training them together or separately, and which one is the bigger problem right now?

That's very typical Husky behaviour — they weren't bred to check back in with humans, unlike Collies who have that baked in. 'Eventually' and 'acts like you don't exist' tells me the treat value isn't high enough to compete with the environment, especially with the Collie adding to the chaos. Before I suggest anything, one question: what are you currently using as a recall reward for the Husky, and have you tried separating his training sessions from the Collie at all?

Right, there's the core problem. Milkbone biscuits are fine for a calm training environment, but they're nowhere near high-value enough to compete with a running Collie and an exciting world. For a Husky with selective recall, you need something smelly, meaty, and genuinely exciting — something that makes him think coming back to you is the best deal on the table. My clear recommendation here is Forthglade 100% Natural Chicken Liver treats. They're soft, intensely smelly, tiny enough to reward rapidly, and most importantly they hit differently to anything biscuit-based. Huskies and scent-driven rewards are a strong match. Use them exclusively for recall — not for anything else — so they stay special. Pair that with a 10-metre long line so you can practise with the Collie present but still have control when he ignores you. Start with them separated though: build the Husky's recall with the liver treats alone first, then reintroduce the Collie as a controlled distraction once he's responding reliably.

One at a time, always — at least while you're rebuilding. Calling both together usually means the Collie arrives first, gets rewarded, and the Husky learns the recall word is irrelevant to him personally. Call the Husky by name first, reward heavily, then release him. Over time you can practise calling them individually from the same session, but never simultaneously until both recalls are bombproof. The Husky needs to learn his name means something brilliant happens specifically for him.

That's exactly the right plan. Give it two to three weeks of solo Husky sessions with the liver treats before you reintroduce the Collie as a distraction — consistency here is everything. The long line removes the pressure of getting it right immediately and lets him practise succeeding. Good luck with them both.