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.
I'd like to recount one example of how my own dogs picked up a phrase and ran with it and what the consequences were. The phrase in question is, "Let's go." My dogs like to ride in the back of my car, and I like to take them out with me. I rather carelessly started saying "Let's go" before putting them into the car with the result that every time they heard me utter, "Let's go," they would leap up and race each other to the door in expectation of a ride. Fortunately, this was not a bit problem--more humorous than anything else--and I was able teach them out of that habit.
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.
Next, create only positive associations with the word "come." When you tell your dog to "come," you want it to want to come. Ideally, this should be something it looks forward to doing for you. For that reason, try to avoid saying, "come," when the consequence might be something unpleasant, such as grooming or giving the dog a bath. For some reason, my dogs have come to look upon bathing as punishment so I have to be careful with the choice of words I use. However, these days, when they see the shampoo, they put their tales between their legs voluntarily come over to be hosed off and cleaned.
If you do catch your dog in the act of something naughty, you must go to it in order to correct its behavior. If you come upon your dog after it has already finished doing what it shouldn't have been doing, it is too late for correct
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.
Next, create only positive associations with the word "come." When you tell your dog to "come," you want it to want to come. Ideally, this should be something it looks forward to doing for you. For that reason, try to avoid saying, "come," when the consequence might be something unpleasant, such as grooming or giving the dog a bath. For some reason, my dogs have come to look upon bathing as punishment so I have to be careful with the choice of words I use. However, these days, when they see the shampoo, they put their tales between their legs voluntarily come over to be hosed off and cleaned.
If you do catch your dog in the act of something naughty, you must go to it in order to correct its behavior. If you come upon your dog after it has already finished doing what it shouldn't have been doing, it is too late for correct
Next, create only positive associations with the word "come." When you tell your dog to "come," you want it to want to come. Ideally, this should be something it looks forward to doing for you. For that reason, try to avoid saying, "come," when the consequence might be something unpleasant, such as grooming or giving the dog a bath. For some reason, my dogs have come to look upon bathing as punishment so I have to be careful with the choice of words I use. However, these days, when they see the shampoo, they put their tales between their legs voluntarily come over to be hosed off and cleaned.
If you do catch your dog in the act of something naughty, you must go to it in order to correct its behavior. If you come upon your dog after it has already finished doing what it shouldn't have been doing, it is too late for correction. Never use "come" in this circumstance.
How you interact with your dog is very important to your pet. Voice tones, your emotional vibe, and physical touch mean a great deal. Dogs love to be touched and played with; your emotional state really does communicate to your dog and affects its own well being; and your tone of voice will speak volumes to your puppy. Keep this in mind when training and use it to your advantage. Your dog will see you as the leader of its pack and look to you for direction. How you teach the essential command, "come" will set the stage for all future training. Remember, your dog has as its number one priority pleasing you; never fail to give it the opportunity to do so.
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If you do catch your dog in the act of something naughty, you must go to it in order to correct its behavior. If you come upon your dog after it has already finished doing what it shouldn't have been doing, it is too late for correction. Never use "come" in this circumstance.
How you interact with your dog is very important to your pet. Voice tones, your emotional vibe, and physical touch mean a great deal. Dogs love to be touched and played with; your emotional state really does communicate to your dog and affects its own well being; and your tone of voice will speak volumes to your puppy. Keep this in mind when training and use it to your advantage. Your dog will see you as the leader of its pack and look to you for direction. How you teach the essential command, "come" will set the stage for all future training. Remember, your dog has as its number one priority pleasing you; never fail to give it the opportunity to do so.
About the Author:
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