One essential key to teaching your dog to come, or doing any basic puppy training routine, is to allow the puppy no alternative but to obey the command. Non-compliance can never be an option. What this means for you is that you must set your dog up for success and when training, give it the opportunities it needs to succeed. A common error when teaching “come” or any other command is to use it when you do not really want the dog to perform the action. In the case of “come,” you want to use the word only when you really want to dog to cease any other action and come to you. This also means that you have to learn how to monitor yourself a bit when your puppy is within hearing range.
To offer a somewhat humorous example of why this is important, I often take my dogs along for rides when I go out in the car. I Have a Forrester, so there is plenty of room in the back. The dogs have come to enjoy car rides and are always on the lookout for an occasion to hop in the car. Well, I accidentally got into the habit of saying “all right” before putting them into the car. Now, as a result, if I should say, “all right” in some other context, they immediately jump up and run to the door expecting a car ride. This is hardly a serious situation, but I have had to un-teach them that “all right” means a ride in the car.
When training this command, one essential puppy training technique is to never give your dog a choice. Use the “come” command only when he is either on his way to you, or when he is on the leash. When you give the command, follow it with a gentle tug. You should stick to this rule until your dog has been reliably tested by many different distractions and is about two years old.
The next caution we want to suggest is that you never use the “come” command and then scold or rebuke your dog. You do not want your puppy to associate the command, “come” with negative experience. And that’s true even if you need to isolate your dog for something necessary such as bathing. If your dog does not enjoy it, and you train that command, it will suspect something bad as a result of compliance.
Unfortunately, there will be occasions when you discover your pet doing things are completely out of line. Your first impulse may be to get angry and shout. You first inclination may be to tell your dog to “come” in an angry voice. We advise you to take positive, quick action to correct the dog, but do not use the word “come” in any way that could be interpreted as punishment.
Again, when training the command to come, use a happy, upbeat tone of voice. Say the command when the puppy is moving toward you, or when it is on the leash. One fun trick to use is to get your puppy’s attention and then turn and start to run in the opposite direction. Your puppy will start to chase you. As it does, turn around, crouch, open your arms and say, “come.” This will almost always work as puppies find a good game of chase irresistible!
Learn exactly what you need to know about training your puppy to come! Find out how to make the most of key puppy training techniques right now!
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