One of the most important commands you will ever teach your dog is to come when you call him. There are many conceivable situations in which you might choose to call your dog. The obvious one would be that he is playing, and you need to go home.
But that is not the only time we might need our dog to obey this command. If we encounter a dangerous situation, for example, we might want our dog right by our side rather than roaming free. If he fails to respond to our command in such a dangerous situation, it could even cost him his life!
To avoid such tragedy, our dog absolutely needs to obey this command. One thing to keep in mind to make him want to come to you is to always be cheerful when he comes to you and to always reward him for this behavior. The only way to make him come consistently and reliably is for him to know that coming to you when called is the best thing in the world.
With that being said, it is actually quite easy to make mistakes when calling your dog - mistakes that would want him to NOT come to you. Here's the two biggest:
The first mistake: Our dog is playing away, having a wonderful time. We call him, but he is too preoccupied to pay attention. Eventually, he does come around and comes happily running toward us.
But as to be expected, by now we are less than pleased about his behavior. We know that he knew he was supposed to come right away -a few minutes ago- but he simply ignored us. Understandably, we might want to scold him. Intuitively, that would seem like a proper response.
Yet, we always have to keep in mind that we need to be cheerful when he comes to us. If we are angry, he will remember that and feel even less inclined to come right away the next time we call him.
The second mistake: This mistake is quite similar to mistake number one. But in a way, it is more vicious, because we often make it without even being aware of it. Let's say our dog is running around, we call him, and he responds. We greet him happily (excellent!), but we are in a hurry, and so home we go.
Beware: This might not be a big deal to us, but it might be interpreted as a punishment by our dog. Because, keep in mind, he was just having a wonderful time. Then you called him, and he came, and going home puts a stop to having fun! Instead: Play with him for a few more minutes, then put him on the leash (without calling him), and walk home.
But that is not the only time we might need our dog to obey this command. If we encounter a dangerous situation, for example, we might want our dog right by our side rather than roaming free. If he fails to respond to our command in such a dangerous situation, it could even cost him his life!
To avoid such tragedy, our dog absolutely needs to obey this command. One thing to keep in mind to make him want to come to you is to always be cheerful when he comes to you and to always reward him for this behavior. The only way to make him come consistently and reliably is for him to know that coming to you when called is the best thing in the world.
With that being said, it is actually quite easy to make mistakes when calling your dog - mistakes that would want him to NOT come to you. Here's the two biggest:
The first mistake: Our dog is playing away, having a wonderful time. We call him, but he is too preoccupied to pay attention. Eventually, he does come around and comes happily running toward us.
But as to be expected, by now we are less than pleased about his behavior. We know that he knew he was supposed to come right away -a few minutes ago- but he simply ignored us. Understandably, we might want to scold him. Intuitively, that would seem like a proper response.
Yet, we always have to keep in mind that we need to be cheerful when he comes to us. If we are angry, he will remember that and feel even less inclined to come right away the next time we call him.
The second mistake: This mistake is quite similar to mistake number one. But in a way, it is more vicious, because we often make it without even being aware of it. Let's say our dog is running around, we call him, and he responds. We greet him happily (excellent!), but we are in a hurry, and so home we go.
Beware: This might not be a big deal to us, but it might be interpreted as a punishment by our dog. Because, keep in mind, he was just having a wonderful time. Then you called him, and he came, and going home puts a stop to having fun! Instead: Play with him for a few more minutes, then put him on the leash (without calling him), and walk home.
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