How do I teach my rescue dog to come to me when I don't have food or toys?

Overriding instinct: making coming to me better/stronger than chasing a squirrel.

When I train recall, my pup will come when she knows I have food/ toys. How do I transition to train without food and toys?

Our newest rescue is a 2 yr old dachshund/ beagle mix so there is a lot of prey drive. She has manners but not much training.

We have had her about a month. So far I have done some name teaching and some recall but not a lot. We have also been working on some of the basics like sit and down.

Cindy's Answer

How old is your dog and how long have you been working on the recall?

Personally I never completely stop rewarding the recall with whatever the dog's highest motivator is (food or toy) because the recall is the most important behavior for my dogs to respond to and while I may go on a variable or random reward schedule, I like to pay my dogs for coming when called.

I will reinforce it with the ecollar later in their training.

Since your dog is new to you and she's a rescue I would not be concerned with training without food/toys at this point. Don't call her if you don't have a way to make sure she has to come (leash or long line at all times) and you have a way to reward her.

If she's not on leash and you don't have rewards, don't call her. If you call her and she can choose to NOT come to you (no leash, no rewards) then you effectively teach the dog to ignore the cue.

Also see our online course - Training Your Dog to Come When Called