Teaching a Dog To Come

Getting your dog to come is one of the first things you need to teach your dog. Without dog training knowledge, it can be difficult to know what method to use. This guide is about teaching your dog to come.

Solutions: Teaching a Dog To Come

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Reward Your Obedient Dog

When out walking with your dog off the lead, keep a small plastic pot containing cat biscuits. As you call your dog to return, shake the pot, when your dog returns to you, reward him/her by feeding a couple of biscuits. This really helps the dog focus their mind on returning to you.

By Jane from Cheshire, UK

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Training A Young Dog To Sit, Stay and Come

Sit, Stay, Come. With a young pup, these 3 words are your sanity straws. To teach sit, keep repeating the word "sit" followed by pushing gently down on rear until he understands that when the hand is in front of his nose and you say "sit", he is to park his hiney. Then you can add stay to the order. Do the sit with hand and voice. Then with hand still outstretched in stay, make a couple of steps backward repeating "stay."

Once you can walk away about l0 feet and he stays, attach a leash or rope long enough for you to get away from him about 8 to 10 feet. Have him sit - stay then command him to come and pull till he is in front of you then sit - stay and reward him when he even gets part of it right.

You have to be consistent and always follow the same commands so you don't confuse the pup. The only fly in the ointment is not keeping up with the lessons once learned once in a while to keep them well behaved.

Source: My deceased ex-father-in-law trained dogs for a living the old way.

By gbk from South GA

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Questions

Here are questions related to Teaching a Dog To Come.

Teaching a Dog To Come

What are some good tips for teaching a dog to come? This dog has crossed eyes, so her vision is impaired.

Lewis

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By Kathe55503/22/2011

Lewis,

She can still "come" to the sound of your voice. The key here is to reward her. Keep her leash on her. Say "come". Pull her gently to you. Reward her with a treat. Do this 2 or 3 times per day for 3 minutes each time. Soon she'll respond to your command without the leash.
Good luck!

Training a Dog to Come

My Lhasa Apso does not come when called. We have tried everything we can find. She is very stubborn when she wants to be.

By Tracy

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By sameoleme10/17/2011

Try having a treat for her when you call her. And never ever scold when she does come, no matter how long it took or how upset with her. Always make her glad that she came. She will start coming when called more and more often. And if you keep up the praise and treats, she will begin to come every time you call. After a period of time you can cut back on the treats, but always keep up the praise.

Teaching a Dog to Come When Called

My Yorkie (male) won't come when called. He is now 5 months and this is a new behavior for him.

By T Bowen

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By dusty678810/14/2011

Does he seem to hear well otherwise? If not, have the vet check his ears.

Teaching a Dog to Come

Border Collie on the lawn. I have a very smart 7 month old Border Collie. I can get her to do all kinds of tricks and commands, but she refuses to come when called. She is in her own little world with nose to the ground and it seems like she does not hear me, but I know her hearing is fine. Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

By Dianne D.

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By lyonpridej07/10/2012

Those cattle dogs are extremely smart dogs & sometimes they know what you want them to do but they just ignore you too! Our little dog, Lightning, is a Queensland Healer & Corgi mix(looks like a short-legged queenie) & she's always learned everything very fast - if she wants to! She will always come when I tell her to because she knows I mean business (she's even trained not to look at us when we're eating) & she'd do anything for my youngest - but she will ignore everyone else in the family because she knows she can get away with it! LOL!

I think the best thing for you to do is not to try to get her to come when she's outside checking everything out. Wait till she's inside, calm & ready to listen. Get her attention & ask her to "come" in a firm voice, or a tone you don't use in normal conversation or play(then she'll recognize that tone when you use it in commands). Sometimes it helps to pat the floor when you tell her to come. When she does come to you, tell her she's a good girl,praise her & pet her.

It does help to use treats at 1st, but you don't want to train her to expect a treat every time, or she won't come if you don't have one. You can move away from her, or wait til she oves away, then issue the command again. It might take her a few times to figure it out, but I bet it won't be long. Once she understands & obeys the commands, you can try it outside, but wait until she has a chance to explore outside & run off her energy before you start, or she'll ignore you again.

One thing I've been very firm on with Lightning is that she is not allowed out the front door unless I give her permission & then she'd better come when I tell her to because if she doesn't, she has time-out in her bed(this is for her own safety because we live on a busy street with stray dogs). But then if my husband lets her out, she runs all over our yard & the neighbors before coming back! These dogs are so smart, I think my son could train our dog to do anything! I think I've seen training books on how to work with this type of dog, you might look for them if you need more help.
Judy=Oklahoma

Next: Keep Dog From Jumping Through Window

Teaching Your Dog To Come

How do I call my dog and get her to come? Sometimes she comes, but other times she just runs away.

Andrew from Vancouver

RE: Teaching Your Dog To Come

Most dog training I have seen suggests you put her on a lead, long...and walk away from her, call her gently while tugging the lead gently toward you..saying "come here" as you do this..when she gets to you, use reward and pats and kisses and praise...do not ever be mean, impatient or yank her. Depending on her age, she just has to learn, like a young child..she will do this eventually Hope this helps (12/15/2005)

RE: Teaching Your Dog To Come

That's good advice. Make it even more enticing by small pieces of treats. I had a hard time with my mixed lab. He was just stubborn. Now, even if he's barking at something, he'll turn around & run into the house. I don't give a treat every time now because he had to learn to come regardless. There might be a time when there's an emergency & I need him to come NOW. And he never knows when he's going to get a treat so he'd better not miss a chance! (12/16/2005)

By Vic

Teaching a Dog To Come

How can I teach my Pitbull\Chow puppy to come when I call him?

Jerry from Bullhead, AZ

RE: Teaching a Dog To Come

When we went to a dog training class (good advice for someone who has never been to one) the teacher microwaved hot dog slices as treats. The dogs love the salty meaty taste. She just microwaves them until they are somewhat firm. As they cool they firm up some more. And since they are firm they are no longer greasy. (02/07/2007)

By bulrush

RE: Teaching a Dog To Come

I agree with using a leash for a puppy to bring them toward you when you call them, but you can also teach them more quickly by getting down to their level, starting by squatting then just bending then standing and eventually they will come no matter what position you are in. Puppies always seem to respond quicker when you are at their level, also since we are not always in training mode we may want them to come even when the leash is not on. So I have found that if they do not come I simply walk to them take hold of their collar and bring them to the place I called from. It seems to be working well with our latest addition, our Boxer. It also worked quite well with our Labs when they were young we had to speak a little firmer with the Labs than the Boxer, but they responded quite well. Good luck. (02/07/2007)

By Barbie

RE: Teaching a Dog To Come

Treats are wonderful, just do not use them everytime. Too many treats not only will teach the dog to expect a treat everytime, but they are not food, so giving too many treats is similar to feeding a kid junk food, moderation is the key. Get on their level, pup wants to be with you, make lovey dovey sounds and say "come". Loving and petting are the best treats you can give, so give them often. The pup will learn to come to you everytime even if you do not use treats, petting and hugging are great training methods. If you call and the dog won't come, get ahold of the collar and lead him\her to where you were standing to begin with. They are smart, be firm and consistent, the pup will get it in no time. In the beginning of training, try to minimize distractions, a pup does not have a large attention span. (11/05/2007)

By Katelin