From the training
Come and let’s go are different cues
In this lesson, come means coming all the way to the handler and staying until released. Let’s go means moving along, with room to pass by. The trainer explains why keeping those cues distinct matters.
Beo · Training lesson
The answer
The trainers use two different words for two different jobs, and they say the same thing to family after family. 'Let's go' means move along with me: change direction, come off that smell, stop staring at that dog. The dog may catch up, pass you and carry on; nothing is owed after that, so there is no release. The September 2026 lessons add how to choose in the moment: if you are walking and something is distracting him, it is let's go - and it has to be said while you are moving ('if you say let's go while you're standing still, how is he supposed to be ... following you'); if you are standing still and he heads for something, that is the recall (Reaper, Mazi). 'Come' means come all the way back to me and stay here until I say okay. Mixing them is how a recall is spent: say 'come' when you meant 'let's go' and the dog learns that come allows a fly-by - and the moment you really need him away from something, the word is gone. As King's trainer puts it, the reason you are usually saying come is that you want him not to be over there. The commonest version of the mix-up is acted out at owner lessons: the owner calls come, says good boy and keeps walking, and the dog simply walks the same way - 'that's not a recall', Bun's trainer says; the word for that was let's go. Clark Kent's go-home gives the plainest rule of thumb: come assumes you are standing still and he comes to you; let's go is for when you are moving and just want him to keep up.
The half owners miss is that the recall has an ending. The dog who comes, gets praised and wanders straight back to what he was doing has not recalled; Louie's trainer calls that the thing owners accept that negates the purpose of the recall. The criterion is that the dog stops in front of you and stays in your small area until your release word - forty-five seconds later if you are still standing there. The specific fault to watch for is the dog who comes up, keeps going, loops round and comes back, and the line where it becomes a fault is when he passes your side. Several households are also taught to chain a sit onto every recall until the dog offers it himself, while others are told any position will do as long as he stays in the area. Both are on film, and Kelton settled it on 23 Sep 2026: a recall can end in anything you want, as long as the dog stays with you - that is a personal choice each owner shapes.
The third piece is the decision before the word. An informal 'come here' is an invitation and costs nothing if it is ignored; a formal 'come' obliges you to enforce it the instant it leaves your mouth, because a command you fail to enforce becomes optional, and whatever the dog did to avoid it is what he will do next time. Trainers on film say out loud which kind of call they just made. The practical version: if you are not going to go and make it happen, say 'come here', or say 'let's go'.
What is said on film: every rule above. Kelton confirms that the several versions of the ending (sit, or any position in the area) are household settings, not a disagreement about the method.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Use 'let's go' whenever the dog only needs to move along with you, and save 'come' for when you need him with you. On 'come', wait until he has stopped in front of you and hold him there until your release word; then tell him to go. Before you call, decide whether you will enforce it - if not, say 'come here' or 'let's go'. Never say 'come' while you keep walking away.
What the trainers say
so i'll kind of like i'll demonstrate how the let's go works okay um there's let's go and there's come right and those are two commands and a lot of people don't use them right and they mix them up and then they confuse the dog and he doesn't need to be confused right at all he's already in a a unique state of mind he doesn't need to be confused
people will use come like it's let's go and that messes up the recall right
so it's important that you don't mess up the recall because very often the reason that you're telling him come is because you want him to not be over there what he's doing something or going towards something he shouldn't be and so you want to protect him
come is like come all the way back to me and stay in my leg area now so if he's sitting down like
the issue is that very often they will let the dog come to them and then go back to what they were doing. So like the dog came, but they didn't come and stay with you, which is problematic because if the dog is off leash and you're recalling them because you need them away from a certain thing, you need them come to you and kind of stay with you.
So there's a different command if you just want them to move along with you or go in the direction you're going and they can fly right by you afterwards. and that's let's go
Let's go is just a let's move along together command. That's it.
whereas the let's go is a directional thing where it's like stormy let's go and we're just going to kind of move in this like general direction it's more of just like a hey you're fixated on something
she's doing this thing where like when I'm training a recall when they're almost done this is one thing they do and it's where they'll come up to you and you'll be like recall right and they keep going and they keep going and then they like wrap around and come back right what you want is like a recall that they come up to you and then it stops there and then like a sit is at the end of it
You're mixing yours up today. So the come always ends in a sit.
at worst they have to come to you and just wait for further instruction and then like if you said come even if they like 45 seconds later you're still standing there they should stay there yeah they shouldn't like leave the area they should be right in here yeah they should be right in this area and then you use the release command so you say okay and then they're ready they're they're good to go they know they can leave
And eventually after I give him that recall over and over, okay, and I tell him to sit, what happens is his brain like equates the two together.
i stress to everybody because if you say come while you're going this way the dog get confused
the reason I said and was because I I never told him he could walk away right cuz if you say come it means he comes to you and he's there right it's different than saying the other command that we use which is let's go very useful command
if you give the actual command, you must reinforce it. You must negatively reinforce it. It is not optional. You can never let commands become optional, right? Because whatever thing they did to avoid doing the command, they will repeat in the future right they will do it again and again and again and again because it works
This is an informal recall, so I'm not reinforcing it.
So I'm not going to say save com because then I'd have to make sure she came, right? Because otherwise she might be like, well, so I don't always have to come if he says no, you know what I mean? Right. Um, then it becomes optional.
So I just kind of did an informal one. So like Roxy come that's formal, right?
was an informal recall not an actual recall because i wasn't ready to reinforce it yet
hey so the let's go is the redirection cue it means follow me we're going a different way
It does not mean blow by me.
but don't use come right because you'll poison that queue is what it's called poisoning the queue
the biggest sin that i've seen people do is they'll be sniffing over there they're walking along and they say callie come right and instead of coming they're they just continue walking the dog grows right by them
okay and then the other big difference between let's go and come is let's go is open-ended
right if I say Baal come in that circumstance if he comes to me and I keep walking and he walks by me that kind of changes the meaning of come
so he doesn't really have to like necessarily engage with me it's just like a reset like a pivot almost
So, like, if you say let's go while you're standing still, how is he supposed to be, like, following you if you're standing still, right?
another one is he's running towards something or sees something and wants to go over to it and you're stationed you're not walking you're just standing here right that's just the recall
you give them the let's go and that kind of shows them like every time you see something instead of fixating they're conditioned to let's go
not using the let's go and then like the recall interchangeably like some people kind of use like both so like maybe they want to like go a direction they're like come and they just start walking this direction
no it's then um he'll stop come all the way to me right um he just kind of like walked in the same direction as me that's not a recall that's not what come means right um and there's a reason
here when you say come he comes to you and waits for further instructions okay that's how they're different than let's go so come and let's go are very very distinct and it's important that you keep them distinct because the temptation is to use them interchangeably but they are definitely
the way it has to be like no problem like for instance one of them is people will say come and let's go interchangeably so they think they'll they know there's a difference but they're not
and is awaiting your further instruction. Let's go is similar to come but you are actively in motion and you're not wanting the dog to come to you for any particular reason. You just want him
past like a person or a dog um what that does is if he doesn't listen and he fixates and you say let's go then you can do like that and reinforce the let's go and in his brain he thinks like oh i got punished for not listening whereas if you if he runs up to a dog and you're like
is uh let's go which is different than the recall because the thing with the let's go is more of a good directional thing so if i tell zeus let's go what that really means is that i
good girl that'll be another thing to uh because that's another common mistake to work really hard on is don't use let's go and come interchangeably okay because like i wasn't going to critique you
How it looks, dog by dog
King
The longest single teaching block on the pair, and the command King's trainers call his best. The distinction is defined, demonstrated both ways, and justified by the moment it matters: you are usually saying come because you want him not to be over there, so a recall that has blurred into a movement cue is gone exactly when you need it. Come means all the way back and stay in the handler's area, sitting, lying or standing, until 'okay'; let's go is for a change of direction. How far he may range is handed to the family as a dial - an invisible bubble, as big as they like, with a recall every time he crosses it - paired with a warning against the opposite error, heeling the whole walk.
On film
Okay, King come, and then he comes, but his come is, he goes by me. Right? Like a let's go.
we're walking and then i change direction i go this way now king let's go that's when you use let's go right you don't use come then
laying down stand just standing there looking at you he obeyed the command and he's not supposed
so the important thing is to not mix the two
and come right and so it's kind of up to you to decide how far you want him to go
Louie
The clearest statement of what the recall is for, made by naming the failure owners accept without noticing: the dog comes, gets praised, and goes straight back to what he was doing. The recall is defined to include staying with you, a separate command carries the other meaning, and there is a positional rule for choosing: behind you, let's go, so he catches up; in front, the recall, unless you are turning back. A check-in radius of fifteen to twenty feet sits around both.
On film
the recall is often misused by owners because they accept something that kind of negates the purpose of the recall. The purpose of the recall is that now they're back and they're with you.
so if they're behind me I'm gonna use a let's go so they catch up if they're in front of me unless I'm changing direction and turning back I'm not gonna use let's go I'm just gonna use the recall
so about 15 to 20 feet at most they kind of stop and like check in and they might go sniff something but they kind of stay within that radius whether they're behind me or in front of me
Lola
Where the ending is specified. The fault is something dogs do when they are almost trained - come up, keep going, wrap round, come back - and the line is when they pass the handler's side. What is wanted is a recall that stops and finishes with a sit, and a house rule elsewhere puts it flatly: the come always ends in a sit. Her go-home lesson keeps the informal 'come here' and the formal recall apart by name, crediting Kelton. The same week gives the order of operations for a fixating dog: let's go first, and the collar only for ignoring it, because a collar at the sight of a person teaches the dog something about people.
On film
and I don't care if it's like in the front or to the side it's mainly like once they pass the side that's typically where it's a problem
So, that's what Kelton was talking about. There's like the informal recall, which is just like, "Hey, come here." And then there's like RG come, which is like that has to be reinforced.
if the dog like sees right and is like starting to fixate you just hit the e-collar with no like nothing you can like a negative association to just people whereas if it's like a let's go and then you hit the e-collar and then it's a punishment for not listening right they're two very different worlds.
Sage
The most precise version of the ending and the cleanest owner rule on formal and informal. On come she comes all the way in; no position is required, but she stays in the small area by the handler until the release, and on 'okay' he actively sends her out, because clarity runs both ways - a dog once told off for leaving early will stand there not daring to go. At the go-home he will not say her formal name-and-come unless he is prepared to make it happen, and gives the cost of getting it wrong in three words: then it becomes optional.
On film
normally what i'll do is like again it's all about clarity so if i say you know like say come or Ramsey come and then they get here and they stay there for a second and then I say okay and they just they they don't leave I go okay and I go go go I'll encourage them I'm like get out of here like you're free
And this is an informal recall because I don't want to have to reinforce it.
If you're going to say a formal command like calm down, say whatever it is, you got to reinforce it afterwards. So like if she doesn't do it, you got to like make sure she does it somehow, right?
Kodak
Supplies the mechanism the rest assume. Two recalls, and the difference is an obligation rather than a word: 'come here' moves the dog and costs nothing; 'come' obliges you to enforce it. A command given and not enforced becomes optional, whatever the dog did to avoid it becomes his standing answer, and he comes to treat evasion as the solution to pressure itself. The handler then does it on camera - choosing the weaker cue because he did not want another recall repetition but did want the dog to give a stranger space - and says so for the editors.
On film
that was an informal recall right so i said not come right those are different
and they will think that is the solution to the pressure and you cannot allow that
now an example of a formal recall would be kodak come and see now that i've said that i'm obligated to reinforce it if he doesn't come all the way to me
Deuce
The pair at its most practical. Come fails against a retriever he has fixated on; let's go breaks the fixation, and from then on it is the people tool, repeated dozens of times through a crowded stretch. The criterion is loosened explicitly: he does not have to run in the handler's direction, only stop fixating. The warning to the family is the one the handler gives everybody - don't use them interchangeably, and never say come while walking away. His recall is never allowed to end loose: a sit is chained onto every repetition until his brain equates the two, and three weeks later in a field he drops into it by himself.
On film
horrible deuce hey you're fixated okay there we go sounds like we're gonna have to work on some fixation issues deuce let's go let's go deuce let's go yeah there we go good let's go let's go
He doesn't have to, like, freaking run in my direction as long as he stops fixating.
So, what we're doing there is every time I give him that recall, I tell him to sit right after.
goes into the set automatically, which is really nice.
Stormie
Taught side by side to her owner, then used to explain what the finished dogs in the videos are doing. Come means stop in front of me and stand there; let's go means unfixate and move in my general direction. The cue is given every single time they pass a dog, so the dog starts predicting it - which is why the result looks like a dog who does not care about other dogs. At the go-home the same cue is the answer to other animals, before any collar, with the reason: a collar that arrives while she runs at the animal teaches her the animal is bad news.
On film
and i don't like her recall it's kind of hard to it's hard to train a recall in the room so that's again what i'm doing but a recall kind of looks like this if i go stormy come right and again she doesn't know it but she has to stop right here and stand in front of me
go and then she immediately unfixates and follows along and it's the same thing with the dogs if i say let's go every single time we walk by a dog her brain starts to go well every time we walk by a dog he says let's go i'm going to predict it this time and so it just looks like a seamless i don't care about the dog okay right
i tell people the dogs probably will test you when they see like other animals right so what you do to reinforce that is you give them the let's go and you don't want to hit the e-collar just when they start running the reason for that is if they if you hit the e-collar while they're running towards another animal what you can accidentally do is build a version so they learn that that thing's bad it's dangerous
Roxy
The household where the failure is diagnosed from outside. At the first in-program lesson the trainer marks 'come here' as deliberately unenforced and 'Roxy, come' as enforced hard, gives the six-word command list plus the release, and tells the family how he knows it matters: on follow-up visits owners say the dog is not listening, he watches them, and they are using the commands interchangeably. Her own sessions supply the criterion in one line, reported about a repetition where she did not meet it.
On film
So I just kind of did an informal one. So like Roxy come that's formal, right?
right that and I'm gonna like enforce that like really hard but like that's
now and then I'll have to go on a follow-up and they're like oh it's not
which you know the whole point of coming is like you come and you stay in my circle
Bullet
The formal-informal switch demonstrated twice in one session and named each time, then used in a second session to call him off another dog without spending the command. His walk session gives the payoff of the whole vocabulary: with a taught let's go and a taught recall the leash becomes an attachment you never lock. The two are also swapped for reasons that are not obedience at all - out of a heel into a let's go so the leash would not catch under a tyre.
On film
All right, I'm gonna actually do a formal recall
Leave Savage alone. Bullet. Good boy. That's not a recall. It's informal, right? Good boy. Cuz I don't want to do a command right now.
legal purposes you can have it on and never lock it so it's just an attachment bullet let's go
Oscar
Let's go is backed with a fraction-of-a-second tug on the retractable. On the recall he deliberately defers the ending: he is not being specific about the finish yet, because he wants the recall itself perfect first.
On film
Let's go is just a let's move along together command. That's it.
So there's no need to release from the let's go because he wasn't ever put into a command that he had to stay for any duration and he just had to come with me. I only use the release if there's some expectation that he does
I'm not being super specific about the finish because I just want to make sure I get him recalling perfectly and Then we can work on the finish after that. We don't have to get a perfect rep yet
Lucia
Three cues named and taught side by side in the first days of a Christmas-week program: okay for release, come for the recall, let's go for redirection. A later dog's trainer reports teaching let's go 'just like Lucia', which is the only place in the record where one dog's program is used as the template for another's on this cue.
On film
ultimately end up doing for them. So right now we're primarily working on the release command. Good girl! Which is okay. And on the recall, which is come. And then also on the redirectional cue, which is let's go.
And obviously we've been using the Let's Go just like Lucia, and she's been doing great.
Bernie
Several handlers define it the same way to Bernie, which is the value of his file here: consistency across people. Let's go is the redirection cue - follow me, we're going a different way - and it replaces the family's 'inside'. A later handler catches his own slip on camera: he should have said let's go.
On film
hey so the let's go is the redirection cue it means follow me we're going a different way
i should have said let's go because i didn't want him
Fiona
One of the few pieces Fiona's two separate programs share: let's go redirects a dog who has lived her life reacting to people, and come means arrive - it does not mean blow by me.
On film
living her life uh reacting to people it doesn't come natural to forget what what's going on and
It does not mean blow by me.
Bubba Gum
'Here' is come all the way in and sit, not blow past - and at the go-home it sits beside the other half of the recall: whatever happened before, arriving is always good.
On film
that motion by coming to me and sitting
I don't want her to blow by me.
Josephine
Her household's word is 'here' rather than 'come', with the same split: here brings her to the handler, let's go only asks her to travel the same way and may cruise past. Both are verbal control, which is what lets the leash stay slack.
On film
goes different than um than here because with let's go if they just kind of like cruise by you
Apollo (the Sharkie)
A layered recall: leash pressure, the collar and the word each conditioned to mean come, a finish at the handler rather than a sprint past, and only formal recalls enforced - the handler says aloud that he is not upset with the dog because he never gave a formal one.
On film
one is if he feels the slightest bit of leaf pressure he's gonna come back if he
upset with him or trying to reinforce the recall because this is, I never gave a formal
Max (Goldendoodle)
The same guard in one line: a call made before the trainer was ready to reinforce it is informal and does not count as recall training.
On film
was an informal recall not an actual recall because i wasn't ready to reinforce it yet
Stormy
The strictest version: come is never optional, so it is never said without a leash to back it, indoors or out, until it is proofed. The family's one lapse - off leash, a release, a run home - becomes the worked example, and the remedy is not a correction but denying her the chance until the lesson is erased.
On film
but don't use come right because you'll poison that queue is what it's called poisoning the queue
gonna need to do for that to be like a hundred percent reliable is it has to be
lesson erased from her memory like it didn't happen okay and the only way to do that is to
Rocky
The same rule seen from the family's side: third parties who call a dog without making sure he comes teach him the recall is optional, and daycare is named as the likely place his recall slipped.
On film
to the daycare and that's really around the time not unlikely uh that that can cause bad habits
Boog
Let's go given a job for an over-excited dog: correct the failure to follow let's go, not the excitement itself, so what he learns is to keep moving. In September 2026 the owners are given the same tool twice: at an in-program lesson, let's go to pass a person, with the collar if he does not respond immediately; at the go-home, let's go for 'public neutrality' - notice the dog, keep moving - given the moment he shows more interest, so that seeing something becomes the cue to move on.
On film
because you can punish for not listening but you're not actually punishing the overexcitement you're punishing the let's go part
i talked about how i use the let's go to condition the dogs so all you're gonna do is with this guy um just let's go
you just want like notice the dog keep it moving right so with the let's go that's how you keep it maintained
you give them the let's go and that kind of shows them like every time you see something instead of fixating they're conditioned to let's go
Lunna
For a friendly dog who wants every stranger, the redirect is the more useful tool: a recall obliges her to come and sit, let's go only to move the handler's way.
On film
command um so with let's go if i if i give luna a recall she has to come up to me and she has to sit
Neo
Come is come and sit; let's go is directional and is the cue used when he fixates.
On film
versus the let's go is a directional thing
Baxter
Named on a walk with the household's other dog as the most useful command both dogs need, and defined for the owner the usual way: with let's go they may come to you and then go.
On film
yeah and so the most useful command for that one that we're going to be teaching them is let's go
so let's go is like they can come to you but then go right
Luna
Her first owner lesson names and demonstrates the pair, defines each against the other, and gives the same warning as Deuce's - people accidentally interchange them and the dog gets confused. Her sessions then use let's go as the redirect on a live distraction.
On film
All right. So, right here, I'll show off a command we've been working on. So, it's a let's go. So, a recall is like when she runs up to me and then stops, whereas a let's go is directional.
a directional thing. Um, and I say that because it's important to know the difference because people can accidentally uh interchange them and then not use them, right? And the dog gets confused, right?
So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give her the, let's go. She was interested, but I got another person coming through.
Zeus
The rule is absolute in one direction: never say come while you keep walking, because come means he comes to you and he is there.
On film
the reason I said and was because I I never told him he could walk away right cuz if you say come it means he comes to you and he's there right it's different than saying the other command that we use which is let's go very useful command
Dutchess
Let's go does a diagnostic job in her sessions - the first line of one session gives it to test whether she is fixating.
On film
Looks like it's fixating. So, let's see what happens if I give her Let's go.
Bo
Bo's handover separates the two by function - let's go as the redirection cue, come as come to you and ideally finish in a sit - and pairs it with a named omission from the whole command set: they never use 'stay'. That is what makes the release word carry the recall's ending in this method.
On film
And then he'll sit because ideally he comes straight to you and sets
You don't have to say stay ever. I don't know if you noticed that, but we don't use stay.
Finn
The line the existing site page is built on, and the reason it mattered for this dog: he is already in a unique state of mind and does not need to be confused. Taught to the owner as a demonstration rather than a definition.
On film
so i'll kind of like i'll demonstrate how the let's go works okay um there's let's go and there's come right and those are two commands and a lot of people don't use them right and they mix them up and then they confuse the dog and he doesn't need to be confused right at all he's already in a a unique state of mind he doesn't need to be confused
Beo
After a perfect recall the trainer stops to make the point he says he makes to every client: the recall is very different from asking a dog to come along. Say 'come' and keep walking while he passes you, and you change the meaning of come; for that, use let's go, or an informal 'come on buddy'.
On film
that recall is very very different than just asking them to come along with you
right if I say Baal come in that circumstance if he comes to me and I keep walking and he walks by me that kind of changes the meaning of come
that's so that's something that you should use like let's go for or like come on buddy like something like that informal
Kali
The trainer teaches the owners the pair in full: let's go is moving in the same direction, open-ended, with no release needed; come means into 'this little bubble' and staying until okay. He names 'the biggest sin' - calling come for a walk-past, so the dog strolls right by - and the reason it matters: if a neighbour's dog comes over, you need a recall that keeps her with you. On the trail, with no command in force, she is told she may be out ahead of him.
On film
you don't need them to come to you you're not recalling them you're just like hey like let's go we're moving in the same direction
okay and then the other big difference between let's go and come is let's go is open-ended
the biggest sin that i've seen people do is they'll be sniffing over there they're walking along and they say callie come right and instead of coming they're they just continue walking the dog grows right by them
you're not like in a command
You can be out ahead.
Mazi
The recall is come up and sit; let's go is 'a directional thing' - follow my direction - that needs no engagement with the handler, 'a reset like a pivot'. At the second lesson the owner takes the leash and is told it should get an instant response, as it does for the trainer, and that it has to be given in motion.
On film
um let's go is like a directional thing so like if you walk in that way and say let's go they'll just kind of follow my direction and so that's all it is
so he doesn't really have to like necessarily engage with me it's just like a reset like a pivot almost
should be instantaneous like when i say let's go and i have the leash on he comes my direction immediately
So, like, if you say let's go while you're standing still, how is he supposed to be, like, following you if you're standing still, right?
Reaper
The trainer gives the owners four commands for trigger situations and chooses between the first two by what the handler is doing: walking along and something is distracting, let's go - 'i know you're interested let's move along' - in the same direction as you; standing still while he heads for something, the recall. Both are backed if he does not comply.
On film
let's go is important in that case right because let's go means hey i know you're interested let's move along
that's mostly for like moving along it's just like something over there is kind of distracting you want him to go like in the same direction as you
another one is he's running towards something or sees something and wants to go over to it and you're stationed you're not walking you're just standing here right that's just the recall
Stormi
The trainer tells the owner not to use let's go and the recall interchangeably, and she admits that is how she used to do it. At the handover he restates it at the door - let's go is the directional one, come is the recall - and adds that in the house he rarely needs a formal come, because an informal 'come here' will do.
On film
not using the let's go and then like the recall interchangeably like some people kind of use like both so like maybe they want to like go a direction they're like come and they just start walking this direction
that's how actually i used to do it
so instead of come on i say let's go yeah let's go is like the directional thing and then like the recall is like come
i find that you do use come in the house but honestly it's not that often because you can just do kind of like informally come here
Ace (Chihuahua-terrier mix)
With Ace the trainer notes a small mix-up worth fixing: on 'let's go' Ace behaved as if he had been put into a command, which the trainer does not want for let's go.
On film
Now, one thing to notice there is that he did think,
oh I'm in a command now but I don't really want that for the let's go see
Akira
At Akira's evaluation the trainer draws the line: on come she comes and waits until she is released or asked for something, then goes back out to sniff; let's go is for changing direction or pulling her off something she is amped about.
On film
so the difference between come and let's go come she's supposed to come and then wait
gonna do um and then uh let's go though is different let's go is more i use it for like
Astro
At Astro's go-home lesson the family hears the pair defined by the ending: on let's go he does not have to be anywhere in particular and could run past; on come he comes up and waits until 'okay'. Come is the word for when another dog is running at him.
On film
Alright, so now he doesn't have to be anywhere in particular. He could run by me
But if I say Astro come then he's supposed to come up to me and wait
want to avoid that situation you see another dog running towards him or something you say astro
Bun
At Bun's second owner lesson the trainer acts out the mistake he sees families make minutes after the program: call come, praise, and keep walking away. The dog just walked the same direction - that is not a recall, and the word for it was let's go.
On film
i see them do this boom come good boy what was wrong with that you see walk yeah i left that's
same direction as me that's not a recall that's not what come means right um and there's a reason
that i separate them because the proper way to do that would be instead of using the recall
Callie
Callie's recall is meant to end in an immediate sit in front, waiting for the next cue, so the handler has control when a loose dog appears; at go-home let's go is defined as the redirection cue - follow me, we're leaving - for when she starts to fixate.
On film
say, Callie, come, she comes and then goes into an immediate sit and waits for you to
so the let's go is the redirection cue it just means hey follow me we're going
that we use when we're going on walks and maybe she might be fixated on
Chunk
At Chunk's first owner lesson the trainer warns that let's go and the recall can look alike: let's go is only directional, the recall ends with Chunk in front of him - and let's go is how public neutrality is trained.
On film
going to talk about so let's go and the recall can kind of look similar um yeah yeah so let's
and it's different from a recall where he like comes up and plops in front of me which we're
still working on that um and the reason that i do go over the let's go is because that's how
Clark Kent
At Clark Kent's go-home lesson Evan splits the two by what the handler is doing: come assumes you are stationary and the dog comes to you and awaits instruction; let's go is for when you are moving and just want him to keep up, with free rein around you.
On film
is to, you're asking the dog to come to you. So this is assuming that you are stationary and the
and is awaiting your further instruction. Let's go is similar to come but you are actively in
could just say you know Clark Kent let's go and then he'll follow along with you. He has free
Coco
At Coco's first owner lesson the trainer contrasts the familiar recall, where the dog comes and sits in front, with let's go as a directional cue, and says why he uses it at every fixation: her brain learns that fixating means let's go.
On film
people like you know they'll be like home and the dog comes and sits in front
of them the let's go is a directional thing so if I tell Coco like Coco let's
doing with that is every single time she fixates when I say let's go her brain
Dory
At Dory's first private lesson the trainer gives let's go its 'prime application': if she stays sniffing, say let's go; it also serves to change direction.
On film
they feel the tension they're like oh whoopsies so if she were to stay sniffing i would just say
let's go yeah and you can do it when they're like when a dog's not sniffing if you want to
Hattie
At Hattie's handover to her new family the trainer warns them not to use come as a let's go, and describes let's go as the cue for when you are walking and she is behind you. The rest of the explanation, which seems to say she may walk up and past you on let's go but must come and stay on come, is uncertain audio.
On film
her to come back um uh make sure you don't use come as like a let's go so like the difference
between the two is like let's go is like hey you're walking and she's back there and you're
like let's go right um and she could like walk up and then like go by you and that's fine right but
like come means come to me and be here now okay and then if she gets to you you then have to say
Irwin
Irwin's showcase names let's go as his redirection cue - change direction, get him off a smell - shown separately from his recall.
On film
Let's go is his redirection cue
let's go and i can also use that if he's like really interested in smelling something
Kalypso
Kalypso's owners are corrected mid-lesson for mixing the two - she was behind and they kept walking, so that was a let's go moment. The trainer spells out the difference: on let's go a dog can walk right past you; on the recall she comes all the way and is there for a second.
On film
good girl that'll be another thing to uh because that's another common mistake to work really hard
on is don't use let's go and come interchangeably okay because like i wasn't going to critique you
right see because the the recall they're supposed to come all the way to you
with the let's go let's go they can just like walk right on by you as long as
Levi
Levi's trainer explains the pair twice: on a recall the dog comes up and stands or sits in front, released by 'okay'; let's go just means come in my direction, and is the cue for when he fixates on something while you are moving.
On film
that with a recall, let's pretend I'm the dog for a minute, if you say, you know, here, or come,
let's go is more of a directional thing, so if I'm like, Levi, let's go, he just kind of comes and
really the only big difference between the recall and the let's go is a let's
Max
At Max's evaluation the trainer contrasts walking on with the recall: on a recall Max comes back to the handler's area and stays roughly there until the handler moves again.
On film
I want him to come back to my area.
And then he should stay, like, roughly in the area.
Until I move again.
Milo
With Milo and Josi the trainer tells the owner a casual call is 'not a recall', and that only come is used for the recall - never okay or break, which are releases to go away, not to come towards you.
On film
good yeah because see that's not a recall right that's not a recall what you just did right
which is why we don't like i don't use anything else other than come for the recall
like that and i'm like oh that's a release to get away from me not to come towards me
Murphy
Murphy's recall has a set finish - all the way, straight in, not behind the handler, then sit - and let's go is used separately as the redirection cue with a turn of the body.
On film
or tell them let's go or something like right here murphy come all the way straight to me
don't go behind me all the way good boy sit and back into the find your own fun window
Use the redirection cue.
Penny
Penny's trainer defines let's go narrowly on a park walk - get the dog going the same direction as you, and that's all it means - and at a mid-program lesson tells the owners it is not a recall, just 'let's move along'.
On film
Say I want to go that way now. Hey, let's go. Come on. Let's go and it's not a recall
It's just a let's move along and like
Peque (PK)
At Peque's home evaluation let's go is the redirect that gives her the choice to move on from a dog she would bark at, and come brings her in to a sit. A later lesson keeps the cues clean: neither let's go nor come is used for a settle while sitting still.
On film
that we use to to redirect so because she's used to lunging or barking at dogs
she she she'll correct me so then I all I had to say is let's go and she
currently stationary we're just sitting here so if we say let's go it's gonna
Shadow (German Shepherd puppy)
At Shadow's first owner lesson Connor contrasts let's go (moving this direction) with the recall (she comes up and plops into a sit in front), and warns that families who say come and let's go interchangeably desensitise the command and then think the dog is broken.
On film
you got to come back in bro um so let's go is when we move this direction versus a recall which I'm
with the recall I say shadow come and then she comes up to me and she plops and she sits right
the way it has to be like no problem like for instance one of them is people will say come and
and then maybe you desensitize the command and then all of a sudden they're like hey
Shadow (Siberian Husky)
At Shadow's follow-up the owners hear the difference: on the recall he has to come up to the handler; let's go is a general direction for when he is stuck sniffing and you don't want to punish it.
On film
so that's the recall um the one the other one that's good is we have one we have a command
that's a little similar to the recall the main difference is with the recall he has to come up
to me whereas the let's go is like a directional thing so like an application for the let's go
Thor
Thor's trainer names the mistake he sees constantly - dogs that come towards you and then drift off - and says come means he comes and waits for further instructions, so come and let's go must be kept distinct. At go-home he tells the owner why: if another dog is out, a come that ends in a run-by will not work.
On film
an important difference because you see that mistake constantly where they come towards you
here when you say come he comes to you and waits for further instructions okay that's how they're
you can go right because that's what you need come for right say the other dog's out and you tell him
Thumper
A handler with Thumper catches the mix-up aloud - 'I meant to say let's go instead of come' - and another defines the pair: let's go is keep moving, follow me, used to leave a distraction; come is come to me and stay.
On film
Thumper come. I meant to say let's go instead of come. Thumper this way. Thumper come. Oh there's
go let's go keep it moving we're leaving follow me it's different than a come a
come command is when you want them to come to you and stay there right there
Titan
Titan's family is told to say let's go when passing a person or a dog: if he fixates and ignores it, the correction is for not listening, whereas a correction as he reaches the other dog teaches him the dog did it to him. Over time he associates people and dogs with let's go and simply moves on.
On film
he does but it looks like it and the reason i'm saying that is use the let's go when you walk
let's go then you can do like that and reinforce the let's go and in his brain he thinks like oh
Instead, what I do is I use let's go. So let's go conditions a dog.
Wiley
On a park walk Wiley's trainer says let's go is just for Wiley to come with him - not a serious command, not a heel - and Wiley is otherwise free to do what he is going to do.
On film
for him to come with me but he's not in any kind of like serious command it's not a heel
Zeus (March 2026)
At the March Zeus's first in-program lesson, Connor teaches let's go first and sets it against the recall: it only means move my direction, for when Zeus is chilling somewhere and needs to catch up.
On film
is uh let's go which is different than the recall because the thing with the let's go
is more of a good directional thing so if i tell zeus let's go what that really means is that i
Why it works
The stated mechanism is about what a word predicts. A cue used for two outcomes stops predicting either, so the dog is left guessing - 'they mix them up and then they confuse the dog' - and the cost is paid in the one situation the recall exists for, when you need the dog away from something. The recall's ending has its own reason: a dog who touches base and resumes has given you nothing usable, and the release word rather than the dog's judgement ends it - which is why this method does not use 'stay'. Let's go needs no release because no duration was asked. The formal-informal split rests on a claim about avoidance: a command you fail to enforce becomes optional, whatever the dog did to avoid it is what he will do again because it worked, and he generalises it into a solution to pressure. So an unenforced cue is not neutral; it is training. Let's go itself is explained as needing no engagement with the handler - 'a reset like a pivot' - which is why it can be asked of a dog who is locked on to something (watch 05:28). Two later owner lessons add why the cue matters at a fixation: if the dog ignores let's go and is corrected, the correction attaches to not listening; corrected as he reaches the other dog, he learns the dog did it to him (Titan watch 51:12; Shadow the GSD watch 21:15). Last, prediction as a tool: given the same cue every time a dog appears, the dog starts to predict it, and the result looks like indifference. At a 2026 go-home the same prediction is given as the goal: 'every time you see something instead of fixating they're conditioned to let's go' (watch 28:55).
On film
so i'll kind of like i'll demonstrate how the let's go works okay um there's let's go and there's come right and those are two commands and a lot of people don't use them right and they mix them up and then they confuse the dog and he doesn't need to be confused right at all he's already in a a unique state of mind he doesn't need to be confused
the issue is that very often they will let the dog come to them and then go back to what they were doing. So like the dog came, but they didn't come and stay with you, which is problematic because if the dog is off leash and you're recalling them because you need them away from a certain thing, you need them come to you and kind of stay with you.
You don't have to say stay ever. I don't know if you noticed that, but we don't use stay.
and they will think that is the solution to the pressure and you cannot allow that
go and then she immediately unfixates and follows along and it's the same thing with the dogs if i say let's go every single time we walk by a dog her brain starts to go well every time we walk by a dog he says let's go i'm going to predict it this time and so it just looks like a seamless i don't care about the dog okay right
so he doesn't really have to like necessarily engage with me it's just like a reset like a pivot almost
you give them the let's go and that kind of shows them like every time you see something instead of fixating they're conditioned to let's go
let's go then you can do like that and reinforce the let's go and in his brain he thinks like oh
the difference is what's having and happening in her brain is not i saw a dog and got e-collar it
Inferred
Nobody on film addresses the tension between telling families that mixing two different words ruins both and then giving them 'come' and 'come here', which differ by one syllable and carry opposite obligations.
Where the trainers differ
What 'let's go' requires - movement towards the handler, or only disengagement.
One view
Movement with the handler: move in my general direction, catch up if you are behind, follow me.
On film
so if they're behind me I'm gonna use a let's go so they catch up if they're in front of me unless I'm changing direction and turning back I'm not gonna use let's go I'm just gonna use the recall
hey so the let's go is the redirection cue it means follow me we're going a different way
you don't need them to come to you you're not recalling them you're just like hey like let's go we're moving in the same direction
that's mostly for like moving along it's just like something over there is kind of distracting you want him to go like in the same direction as you
Another view
Nothing except disengagement. The dog does not have to move towards the handler; success is that he stops fixating.
On film
He doesn't have to, like, freaking run in my direction as long as he stops fixating.
whereas the let's go is a directional thing where it's like stormy let's go and we're just going to kind of move in this like general direction it's more of just like a hey you're fixated on something
so he doesn't really have to like necessarily engage with me it's just like a reset like a pivot almost
you just want like notice the dog keep it moving right so with the let's go that's how you keep it maintained
How to read it
The looser criterion is stated about fixating dogs, so it may be a deliberate per-dog setting. Nobody says so. A family holding the tight criterion will correct a dog who did what the other handler asked. Update 30 Sep 2026: both readings recur in the new owner lessons, sometimes in one breath - Mazi's trainer says let's go means follow my direction and also that it needs no engagement, 'a reset like a pivot'. Still unresolved.
Whether the dog's name is itself a recall.
One view
In King's household hearing his name means come over.
Another view
The name as an address: in Roxy and Ramsey's lesson a speaker, probably an owner, says 'Ramsey, come' gets a quicker response than 'come' alone, and the trainer then says he should use the name with the cue.
On film
I feel like that's probably more helpful when you do have two dogs I noticed if I
rocky sniffing around that tree and I say come I should say Roxy come right
Common owner mistakes
- Saying come when they mean let's go, which teaches the dog that come allows a fly-by.
On film
Okay, King come, and then he comes, but his come is, he goes by me. Right? Like a let's go.
King · Watch at 38:55 ↗ listening and I'll watch them and they're like interchangeably using the
Roxy · Watch at 29:00 ↗ the biggest sin that i've seen people do is they'll be sniffing over there they're walking along and they say callie come right and instead of coming they're they just continue walking the dog grows right by them
Watch at 39:28 ↗ right if I say Baal come in that circumstance if he comes to me and I keep walking and he walks by me that kind of changes the meaning of come
Watch at 4:32 ↗ - Saying come while walking away from the dog.
On film
i stress to everybody because if you say come while you're going this way the dog get confused
Deuce · Watch at 26:27 ↗ the reason I said and was because I I never told him he could walk away right cuz if you say come it means he comes to you and he's there right it's different than saying the other command that we use which is let's go very useful command
Zeus · Watch at 9:39 ↗ - Counting the recall as finished when the dog arrives, and letting him resume what he was doing.
On film
the recall is often misused by owners because they accept something that kind of negates the purpose of the recall. The purpose of the recall is that now they're back and they're with you.
Louie · Watch at 3:42 ↗ which you know the whole point of coming is like you come and you stay in my circle
Roxy · Watch at 18:24 ↗ - Calling the dog casually all day and enforcing none of it, so the word becomes optional - including letting other people (a daycare) do the same.
On film
then it becomes optional
Sage · Watch at 39:44 ↗ to the daycare and that's really around the time not unlikely uh that that can cause bad habits
Rocky · Watch at 8:04 ↗ - Correcting the dog for fixating before giving him the cue, which attaches the collar to the thing he was looking at instead of to an ignored command.
On film
if the dog like sees right and is like starting to fixate you just hit the e-collar with no like nothing you can like a negative association to just people whereas if it's like a let's go and then you hit the e-collar and then it's a punishment for not listening right they're two very different worlds.
Lola · Watch at 37:14 ↗ So if she's in her fear cycle and she sees, like, some geese or something, like a dog you're walking by, and you just hit that e-collar and you don't, like, say let's go or anything, she'll just learn that those animals are bad news.
Stormie · Watch at 37:07 ↗ - Holding the dog in a heel for the whole walk instead of using the two cues and letting him be a dog in between.
On film
ass walk to the dog okay go boy king right good job boy okay go go um that's a boring walk um
King · Watch at 40:58 ↗ - Saying let's go while standing still, so there is no direction for the dog to follow.
On film
So, like, if you say let's go while you're standing still, how is he supposed to be, like, following you if you're standing still, right?
Watch at 26:05 ↗
Questions owners ask
What exactly does each word mean?
Destination versus direction. Come means come all the way back to the handler and stay in that area until the release; let's go means move along with me, and the dog may catch up, pass and carry on - so it needs no release. Louie's trainer gives a rule for choosing: behind you, let's go; in front of you, the recall, unless you are turning back. Another rule of thumb, from a 2026 owner lesson: walking and something is distracting him, let's go; standing still and he heads for something, the recall.
On film
come is like come all the way back to me and stay in my leg area now so if he's sitting down like
Let's go is just a let's move along together command. That's it.
so if they're behind me I'm gonna use a let's go so they catch up if they're in front of me unless I'm changing direction and turning back I'm not gonna use let's go I'm just gonna use the recall
that's mostly for like moving along it's just like something over there is kind of distracting you want him to go like in the same direction as you
another one is he's running towards something or sees something and wants to go over to it and you're stationed you're not walking you're just standing here right that's just the recall
Does it really matter if I mix them up?
The trainers say yes, and for a safety reason: you are usually calling the dog because you need him away from something, and a recall that has blurred into a movement cue is the one that fails then. Roxy's trainer says the families he is called back to for 'not listening' are, when he watches them, using the commands interchangeably. Shadow's trainer adds the result families report afterwards: say come when you meant let's go often enough and the command is desensitised - and then 'you broke my dog'.
On film
so it's important that you don't mess up the recall because very often the reason that you're telling him come is because you want him to not be over there what he's doing something or going towards something he shouldn't be and so you want to protect him
now and then I'll have to go on a follow-up and they're like oh it's not
and then maybe you desensitize the command and then all of a sudden they're like hey
My dog comes when I call but then wanders off. Is that a recall?
No, and this is the half most owners have never been told. The recall includes staying: he stops in front of you and stays in your small area until your release word, even if you are still standing there forty-five seconds later. Watch for the dog who comes up, keeps going, wraps round and comes back - the fault begins when he passes your side. Some households chain a sit onto every recall; others require only the area and the release. Either way, your word ends it, not his decision - and when you release him, tell him to go.
On film
and I don't care if it's like in the front or to the side it's mainly like once they pass the side that's typically where it's a problem
at worst they have to come to you and just wait for further instruction and then like if you said come even if they like 45 seconds later you're still standing there they should stay there yeah they shouldn't like leave the area they should be right in here yeah they should be right in this area and then you use the release command so you say okay and then they're ready they're they're good to go they know they can leave
normally what i'll do is like again it's all about clarity so if i say you know like say come or Ramsey come and then they get here and they stay there for a second and then I say okay and they just they they don't leave I go okay and I go go go I'll encourage them I'm like get out of here like you're free
What is the difference between 'come' and 'come here'?
An obligation. 'Come here' is an invitation that costs nothing if ignored; 'come' is a command, and the moment it leaves your mouth you owe the dog enforcement. A command you do not enforce becomes optional, and whatever he did to avoid it is what he will do again. So trainers use the informal form on purpose when they do not want to spend a repetition, and say so. Decide before you open your mouth: if you are not going to go and make it happen, say 'come here'.
On film
that was an informal recall right so i said not come right those are different
now an example of a formal recall would be kodak come and see now that i've said that i'm obligated to reinforce it if he doesn't come all the way to me
So I'm not going to say save com because then I'd have to make sure she came, right? Because otherwise she might be like, well, so I don't always have to come if he says no, you know what I mean? Right. Um, then it becomes optional.
i find that you do use come in the house but honestly it's not that often because you can just do kind of like informally come here
that's so that's something that you should use like let's go for or like come on buddy like something like that informal
My dog stares at other dogs on walks. Which word do I use, and when does the collar come in?
The cue first. Correct while he is fixating with no command given and the pressure attaches to the dog he was looking at; say let's go and then correct, and it attaches to not listening - 'two very different worlds'. Say let's go every single time you pass a dog so he starts predicting it, and only back it if he ignores it.
On film
if the dog like sees right and is like starting to fixate you just hit the e-collar with no like nothing you can like a negative association to just people whereas if it's like a let's go and then you hit the e-collar and then it's a punishment for not listening right they're two very different worlds.
You don't want to build, like, unnecessary nervousness and fear because I don't want Stormy to come back a year from now and be a nervous case.
go and then she immediately unfixates and follows along and it's the same thing with the dogs if i say let's go every single time we walk by a dog her brain starts to go well every time we walk by a dog he says let's go i'm going to predict it this time and so it just looks like a seamless i don't care about the dog okay right
you give them the let's go and that kind of shows them like every time you see something instead of fixating they're conditioned to let's go
The lesson
The goal
The handler uses let's go and come without spending either: let's go whenever the dog only needs to move along, come only when it will be enforced, the recall held until the release word.
Learn first
The drill
Assembled from the lessons on film: on a long line or unlocked retractable, use let's go every time the dog only needs to move - past a person, off a smell, on a change of direction - and accept disengagement as success. Reserve come for when you need him with you; before each, decide whether it is formal, and if you will not enforce it say 'come here'. On a formal recall wait until he stops in front of you, hold him with nothing but the implied stay, release with your word and send him off. Chain a sit onto the recall if your household uses one (Deuce).
Watch out for
- Saying come while walking away.
- Letting the arrival end the recall instead of the release word.
- Giving a formal recall you were not prepared to enforce.
- Correcting the fixation before the cue.
- Skipping the cue sometimes, which stops the dog predicting it.
- Saying let's go while standing still.
Check yourself
Your dog is thirty feet ahead, sniffing a post, and you want to carry on the way you were going. Which cue, and why not the other? (Let's go: nothing requires him with you, so a recall here spends the word you will need when something is wrong.)