Teaching your dog to come when called is one of the most important dog training skills you can teach him. While your dog’s recall isn’t a substitute for keeping him on a leash or inside a fenced in yard, it’s a necessary training skill that can save your dog’s life if you call him out while on a walk or on a lead. To teach your dog to come, you need a few key pieces of equipment. These include:
– treats or high-value treats. When teaching your dog to come, it helps if you use high-value treats like dog food, chocolate, or even his favourite toy. Always use high-value treats before low-value ones. This will help your pup learns that he will get his regular meal or snack if he comes within range of you, but that he’ll have to earn his treat by coming to you and not simply by running up to you or other humans.
– A doggie ramp. This is useful if you don’t have a dog park close by. You can also purchase a doggie ladder, but for safety reasons you want to make sure your doggie ramp is securely attached to the side of your home, and that it’s very sturdy. Most of the time, we have one of these installed at the end of our driveway so our dogs can get in and out of the car easily without creating an unbalanced stress for us.
– A doggie clicker. These are inexpensive but very effective dog training tools. They are easy to use and attach to the collar of your dog, which means that you won’t have to worry about choking or other injuries. Clicker training has been shown to be highly effective and humane. Clicker training won’t teach your dog to come by barking, but it will teach him to learn to associate certain sound with a specific action, like getting your attention when you call him.
– Provide high-value treats. Your dog will learn to look forward to doing his business in your presence, which means you should reward him for it. If he gets a good reward, he’ll soon start to associate pleasing you with getting rewarded, and will try to please you in that way. Eventually he’ll be looking forward to going to your room for his treat, because he knows he’ll get a high-value treat when he performs the trick correctly. You can teach him how to perform tricks such as “heel” or “come” by giving him high-value treats. Make sure he doesn’t get to big, though, or else you might have a problem on your hands.
– Step 1: Find a safe place where there are no distractions and begin slowly, saying the word “Come” as you move closer, and as you reach a distance that you can comfortably hold the dog, begin stepping back farther and longer, saying the word again as close as possible, and rewarding him as you do. Don’t give in to the temptation to rush through this, or to yell at him when he doesn’t do what you want him to. Give him lots of praise when he successfully completes the first step. Keep moving forward, even if you are slightly frustrated at times, and continue to reward him as you go.
– Step 2: In the second step, you need to move in closer to your dog as you call him, so that you can easily catch his attention. If you’ve previously trained him to come on command, that’s no problem; if not, move closer until he starts to look confused or scared. Then immediately give him a high-value treat (like his dinner), and if he doesn’t immediately come, repeat the second step and move even closer to him, repeating the come command as you do. Be very stern and consistent in your training here, as dogs learn best when they feel safe. Once he has successfully completed the first step, start the second by asking him to sit, then to stand, and then finally to lie down next to you while you reward him.
– Step 3: In the third step, get another treat that is more reliable than your dog’s usual meal. Again, be very patient and gentle when you are teaching your dog the come command, and he’ll eventually learn it. Bring the dog’s attention to the cue stick he is holding, which should be placed about six inches from the dog’s nose. Say the come cue word and quickly give him the food, praising him profusely. Once he understands that the command comes naturally, you can progress to calling him while walking and even stop and give him a treat when he lies down next to you.