How to reliably teach your furry friend the command "come!"
The command come is a very important skill to teach your dog. It helps to keep him safe and ensures that you can also enjoy off-leash exercise and training. So how do you teach him to come back when called? The most important thing is to be more interesting to your dog than the world around him and offer him a great treat or a favorite toy.
- To get your dog to come back, you need encouragement - a really tasty treat or a fun game with a toy. Show the dog the toy or food.
- Run a few steps away and then call the dog's name and say "come" in a friendly, excited tone - crouching down can also encourage him to come back.
- When your dog comes to you, gently grab his collar and either give him a treat or let him play with a toy.
- Make sure the dog comes back to you on command. You don't want to reward him if he stops halfway, changes direction, or stops just out of reach. He should return to you close enough for you to reach out and touch him.
- Gradually increase the distance you are from your dog until eventually, you can call your dog into the garden or from one room to another.
- Once your dog is regularly coming to you on call in the house and garden, you can start practicing the call in safe outdoor conditions. Long leashes can be useful for practicing outside calling, as they allow the dog some freedom without giving him total freedom at this stage.
- Before calling the dog back, give it time to sniff, explore, and get to know its environment. Make the calls randomly and allow him to play and distract himself for varying lengths of time before calling him back.
An electronic training collar can also be used for the training
- We call the dog by name and say "come". Press the button on the transmitter and release it when the dog turns its head and makes eye contact with you.
- For the time being, use the leash to guide the dog. Repeat this step to get the dog used to the stimulation and gradually program the command "come" and the associated action into the dog's muscle memory.
- Once the dog begins to understand the command "come" in many different situations, say the command, wait for a second or two, and then press the button on the transmitter if the dog does not come to us. This pause gives the dog a chance to make the right decision without the need for stimulation. With a remote training collar, you will always have help until you know that the dog will come to you even in the most difficult situations and distractions.
Things to keep in mind:
- Only call when you are going to praise the dog - don't call the dog to scold him, as he is much less likely to come back the next time you call.
- Don't call the dog just to put him back on the leash - he will soon make the connection and be reluctant to return.
- When practicing this command on walks, always take his favorite treats and toys with you so you can keep rewarding him.