Teaching The "Come" Command

Before you start teaching your dog to come on command, there are a few things you need to be aware of.

First and foremost, never call your dog if you are going to do something unpleasant to him when he comes. For instance, never call your dog then: end a fun outing by putting him on leash, bathe him, scold him, lock him up, clean his ears, take his toy away, etc. Never call your dog, then punish him for something (such as running away) when he comes. Your dog will think he’s being punished for coming to you!

If your dog has already formed negative associations with the come command (i.e. he thinks it means “run away as fast as you possibly can”) or you’ve used it inconsistently and your dog is used to ignoring it, choose a new come command.

Mothball your old come command and teach this exercise using a new word. “Here” is a popular choice, but you can make up any command you like.

The other thing you need to be aware of is what constitutes a proper recall (dog trainer’s term for the come exercise). On a single command, your dog should stop what he’s doing, run to you as quickly as possible, and sit down in front of you. In this article, I will treat this as two exercises. These two exercises can be taught over the same period of time, but should not be combined until the dog knows both.

Come sit in front.

Have your dog on a four to six foot lead. When you have your dog’s attention, take several swift steps backward as you guide the dog to you with a treat held at his nose level. When the dog is in front of you, stop and raise the treat up slightly, causing the dog to sit. Click and treat when the dog sits. When the dog does this smoothly,

Next, practice this while standing in place rather than backing up. Then eliminate guiding with food and switch to simply reinforcing a correct “come in and sit.”

Long line recall.

Attach a long (at least thirty foot) line to the dog’s flat collar. Have a family member or friend hold the line in two places; the handle at the end, and about three feet from the collar. The assistant’s job is simply to hold the dog in place until the handler gives the recall command, then release the dog by dropping the portion of the line near the collar and continuing to hold the end to prevent the possible escape of the dog.

Your job is to run away from the dog, calling his name, whistling, waving your arms, etc., until the dog is lunging against the leash with obvious desire to come to you. At this point, stand still and give one clear recall command.

Your helper should release the dog at this time.

If you called your dog at the right time, he should come running to you. Click and treat when he gets there. Repeat this only two or three times per session, so that you leave the dog wanting more.

When the dog is performing both of these exercises well,

combine them by recalling the dog, and simply prompting the dog to sit in front by guiding slightly with the food. After a few repetitions the dog usually does this smoothly on his own.

The finishing steps for the recall are:

If you call your dog and it does not come, run away from it calling its name and whistling just as you did at the beginning of training.

And remember: Always make it fun for your dog to come! - from K-9 Dog Training Resources


Clicker Training


Clicker training is today's cutting edge dog training method. Fun, effective, and humane, it is used to train canine film stars, police K-9 units, guide dogs, performing animals at Sea World and other amusement parks, and now, your own family pet.

Clicker Training: What it isn't. Excellent article!

Conditioning your dog to the clicker.

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