How To Teach Your Dog To Come

The come command is one of the most basic and also one of the most useful commands a dog owner can teach to his dog. This command is also referred to as a recall command and essentially refers to a situation in which the dog is a distance away from you and responds to you when you either call his name or give a verbal or visual cue. Common verbal commands for the recall may be words such as, “Come,” “Here,” or the dog’s name. Many dogs are capable of learning this simple command at a very early age. Some young puppies may even be capable of beginning to learning this command before the dog is even weaned from his mother. This article will describe the usefulness of the come command or the recall command and will also offer a few training techniques for teaching this command.

As previously mentioned, the recall command is one of the most useful commands a dog owner to teach to his dog. This is because the recall command can be used in a wide variety of situations. For example a dog owner can take a dog with a strong recall to an off leash dog park and can remain confident knowing the dog will return to the owner when called. In fact the recall command is worthwhile in any off leash or long lead situation. The owner should be able to call the dog back to him in a variety of situations and in the presence of a number of different distractions. This may include situations involving traffic, other animals, the wilderness or any other potentially dangerous situation. The owner can even use the recall command when the dog approaches a stranger who is obviously not comfortable being approached by strange dogs. In this situation the recall command can not only prevent the stranger from becoming frightened but can also prevent the stranger from triggering the dog’s prey drive by attempting to run from the dog or making sudden movements the dog may perceive as being threatening.

A properly trained recall will result in the dog immediately stopping whatever he is doing at the moment and returning directly to the owner. The dog may be playing with another dog, swimming in a pond, chasing prey or engaged in any number of other activities when the command is given but should abandon these activities immediately to respond to the command. Ideally the dog will return to the owner immediately and as quickly as possible. Some dogs may be trained to come when call but may treat the command as more of a suggestion from the owner as opposed to a command which must be obeyed. This may include dogs which do not come immediately when called, dog that take a meandering path back to the owner to explore other objects or animals or dogs that simply walk or jog back to the owner instead or returning quickly and with a sense of urgency.

Some dogs begin learning a come command while they are still too young to be separated to the mother. Once a dog is old enough to start running around, a trainer or owner can begin teaching a recall command. In many cases, training at this young age is accomplished by simply calling the dog by name or using the chosen verbal command anytime the dog starts running towards the owner. The dog may not be running towards you intentionally and you may have not called the dog or given a command but by speaking the command while the dog is in the process of performing the action and then rewarding and praising the dog when he gets to you, the training process has already begun. Once the dog comes to you, offer him a treat and verbal praise such as the words, “Good come,” or “Good here,” to reaffirm the chosen command. Doing this frequently will help the dog to associate the verbal command with the action of running towards the owner.

Older dogs that already have some obedience training can often be taught to come while they are learning the stay command. The dog may be placed in a stay and released with the recall command. As the dog is called and given the chosen verbal cue, the owner or trainer may also entice the dog with a reward such as a treat or a toy. If the dog successfully comes straight to the owner, the owner should offer the dog the treat and also praise him verbally using the word, “Good,” in front of the command for the recall. In training a recall the owner or trainer may wish to start out the training process without distractions and may then wish to incorporate a few distractions during the training process. This will help to prepare the dog to obey the command even when distractions are present. Examples of distractions the owner may wish to include in the training may be treats placed on the ground, other dogs playing nearby or even a person throwing a ball or Frisbee nearby. Depending on the dog’s personality some of these distractions may be more appealing than others. Working with the dog on obeying the recall command in the presence of distractions will make the dog more likely to adhere to the command in difficult situations. However, when incorporating distractions in the training it is recommended to start slowly to avoid overwhelming the dog. For example the owner should not use a number of different distractions at once until the dog has mastered the recall command with each of the distractions separately. Additionally, the owner should start out with distractions which are less appealing to the dog and progress to more appealing distractions. For example an owner may initially place a toy nearby for a highly food motivated dog while he may place treats nearby for a dog that is highly motivated by toys.