Train Your Dog to Come on Command, Part 2
On the previous page (Train Your Dog to Come on Command) I discussed the importance of training your dog to come on command whenever you call him to you. Getting your dog to come on command is a big part of dog obedience training, so be sure to give it your attention. Try using these tips to get your dog to come on command. Like any other dog training, you will need to be patient and consistent to get the best results with your training.
- You should start this training in the house, so there are few distractions to deter your dog from paying attention to you. Call him over by saying “come” in a cheerful, happy voice. As soon as he does, give him tons of praise (don’t be afraid of overdoing it), some petting, and a treat. If there is someone else at home, they can also join in and help with training the dog to come on command. First one of you can call and then reward your dog for listening. Then the other repeats the training. Soon the dog will be pretty happy about this whole “come” word-it means love and treats are following, so why wouldn’t he want to come? I know this technique has worked for me. Once your dog consistently responds to the come command inside the house he is ready for further training outside
- Using a leash, bring your dog outside and start working on the come command. Don’t try it outside without a leash, or you won’t have the ability to control the training properly. You must be in a position to correct him. If your dog is not paying attention to you when you command him to come, you can give a tug on the leash, and walk backwards until the dog runs up to you. Now that he’s come, you can give him praise, love and a treat-all great rewards. Remember, only praise for good results, and don’t be angry or impatient when he doesn’t listen immediately-after all, it is a learning process and takes time and repetition. Once you get your dog to come on command with the short leash, you are ready to try it with a long leash.
- Using the longer leash, the dog has more room to wander off and explore the yard. So, now when you call him, he may be feeling a little more independent, having more room to cruise and all, so it may tempt him to ignore your call command. If he doesn’t respond, you tug on his leash, and start to walk in opposite direction so he’ll have to follow, and call again with a happy cheerful voice and offer praise and a reward when he does come on command. Keep working with him on the longer leash until he comes every time you call. Now you are ready for the next step-off leash recall.
- Try this in an enclosed yard, so if you can’t get your dog to come on command off leash, he can’t run off somewhere. Work on the off-leash recall using the same methods as on-leash-i.e. lots of praise and rewards of petting and a treat. If he is not responsive, now that he has that additional freedom of movement, you will need to go back to the leash training and work with the dog some more. However, if your dog is coming every time you call, he is now ready to try off-leash training outside the yard.
- Now it is time to try walking with your dog off leash outside the yard. This is the ultimate test of getting your dog to come on command. If your dog will come to you when you call even when free of the leash and while around the various distractions that are present, you have successfully trained your dog to come on command. Congratulations. Of course, if he is not yet perfect-well, who is?-just keep at it, and then keep at it some more till the training is successful. You are with your dog every day, so you will have plenty of opportunities to train him the way you want things to be.
Getting your dog to come on command is one of the most important of the various training steps you will be taking in educating your dog. This will make your dog a joy to take out in public, as you know you have complete control. You must have this control-as the alpha leader (the Alpha dog) of your pack, to get results with all your dog training efforts. Remember, one of the main keys to getting your dog to come on command each time you call him, means he must associate this call with positive reinforcement, and never with anything negative. So, to train you dog to come every time, first train yourself to use only positive reinforcement training. You should see great results following your consistent application of good training techniques.
If you want to learn more about getting your dog to come on command I strongly recommend reading one of the best dog training books or watching a great dog training video series. By following the step by step proven system of an expert dog trainer, you will get fast effective results and also avoid making dog training mistakes that will surely hurt your dog training efforts. Please click here to read my full review of my favorite guide to obedience training- review of Secrets to Dog Training. In addition to 260 pages on training and care of your dog, there are training videos included with your membership, so you can see a top dog trainer in action. Once I learned the techniques taught in this course, it became much more easy and fun to train my dogs. Think how good you’ll feel when your dog actually listens to you on the first call.
Click here to check out Secrets to Dog Training