Dog Training Tricks: Get Your Dog To “Come” Every Time You Call

You tell your dog or puppy to “come”. He ignores you. You tell him again. Same result. You get frustrated and yell it louder. He heard you the first time. He just didn’t understand what you wanted him to do or he didn’t have a reason to. You can fix that.

You don’t need an expensive trainer for this easy lesson, nor do you need to attend the pet store “obedience classes” unless you’d just enjoy doing so. I’m going to show you how to get your dog to come to you immediately, every time. Quick and easy.

First, it’s important to understand that dogs desire to please us. It may not appear so when your dog is ignoring your commands – that’s because he doesn’t understand your commands or perhaps your method for teaching him has backfired on you, which is the most common problem. What you think you’re telling him and what he’s thinking may be two very different things.

It’s important that your dog come to you when you tell him to. His safety could depend on it, especially if he tends to dart out the door every time it’s opened. If he’s not obeying you and coming when you call, the problem isn’t him, it’s you. Under what circumstances have you been giving that command? Are you yelling it at him for him to come to you only when you’re unhappy with him and when he’s to be punished somehow? Not exactly motivating. Certainly an unsuccessful approach.

It’s well worth a few minutes of play every day to teach your dog to “come” immediately and every time you command it. And I do mean “play”, not “work” – it’s fun and a great bonding experience.

Food is a terrific doggie motivator, so get some small one-bite treats (no big biscuits that take time to eat and thus distract from your goal). When you’re sitting there watching TV or at your computer, most anywhere really, tell your dog to “come” with a calm, happy voice and give him a treat when he does. Only one treat, we aren’t trying to teach him to beg!

A little later, tell him to “come” and give him “lovies”, pet him, praise him. Another time, play with him with his favorite toy for a few minutes. Show him that “come” means something good will happen. Do this frequently throughout the day, rotating the rewards, and you’ll see that he will soon be happily obeying your command every time.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It is! That’s really all there is to it.

Tagged with: Call • come • Every • Time • Training • tricks

Filed under: Dog Training Tricks

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