radios, 12 volt electronics, translators, electrical exam prep, spy gadgets
Bookmark and Share
Amazon Store eBay Store Walmart Store Articles  Brainpower Newsletter Contact Us     Home  Search

Request to be put on our jokelist, one joke daily and a lot of original stuff you won't get anywhere else

Information Connection: Training Your Dog to Come

All Pet Articles

Does your dog come when called?

By Sally the Trainer, of  http://www.sallysangels.com

For more tips on helping your dog be his or her best, see http://www.sallysangels.com

Sally's Angel Training Tip: The Elusive Command "Come"

Getting your pup to come is probably one of the toughest commands in existence. I know it is for me. I work on it from day one. Scout, our service dog in training, came to us at 7 weeks and we started then. He certainly won't be able to help anyone if he won't come when called. Remember, especially with a pup, start with short distances and not in open areas, unleashed. Believe me he'll find many more wonderful things to check out than you. So here are some tips.

1. When the pup comes make it the best thing he has ever done. Make it a game. The payoff has to be big. Lots of excitement.

2. Say "Come", then "Good Come", then praise, praise, praise when he comes to you on his own. For a puppy you can pat your leg, wiggle fingers on the floor, act silly or squeak a toy to get the pup to come. You could call him every ten minutes or every time you turn around. But, again, initially make it short distances and not when he has his lips around something good because you'll lose. Call "come" when you know he'll choose you.

3. Do it on and off leash in the house and on leash outside. (Advanced training is off leash in open areas. Not the subject of this tip.)

4. Even if he just takes a few steps towards you (even sideways) say "Good Come, Yeah Yeah Yeah, Good Boy etc."

5. Hide behind a door or wall and say "Come Fido" and wait (a game). He will come looking. And praise praise praise. Patience is the key to all of this. Sometimes they are slow to respond. But they get quicker.

6. When on leash, jog backwards and say, "Fido Come" and as he trots towards you, say "Good Come" etc.

7. When you are in the house or anywhere, have a favorite toy(s) that he never gets to play with but would love to. (I have a little stuffed man that vibrates. He would love to haul that to a corner and rip it to shreds.) Call him and show him the toy or lay it in front of you. When he comes use the same praise routine and let him mouth it but not keep it. He gets to mouth it because that is why he came. Again, make it a game and lots of praise.

8. When using treats to lure a dog, use maybe three to 5 times in a row, then sporadically, then eventually not at all. Make sure to give dogs lots of verbal praise as well. At some point that is all they will get.

9. The more you use the "Come" in a win situation, the more the dog will do it.

10. Remember to never call the dog when you are angry because the pup will associate anger with the command and won't want to come near you. It is too important of a command.

Note: I need home video clips of puppies or dogs in action doing something funny or fun for my Puppy Power Video. I thought I'd have time with this pup to do lots of filming but . . . If you have something Email me with your address at sallysamgels@sallysangels.com and I'll mail you a release. Thanks Sally

Check out the training tip archives at http://www.sallysangels.com/ and the Sally's Angels cards.

--Sally

Special note on Sally's Angels: http://www.sallysangels.com is a fun site about and for service dogs.  Service dogs are our passion. Service Dogs really do make a difference in people's lives. They truly are angels.

Thanks for the free tips, Sally. Mindconnection is proud to host your article, and we recommend http://www.sallysangels.com to anyone interested in dogs.
-- Mark Lamendola, Mindconnection.com

Dog Resources

Dog Items Quick Links

Dog Quotes
 
  • The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
    -Anonymous
  • Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.
    -Ann Landers
  • If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
    -Will Rogers
  • There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
    -Ben Williams
  • A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
    -Josh Billings
  • The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
    -Andy Rooney
  • We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made.
    -M. Acklam
  • Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.
    -Sigmund Freud
  • I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
    -Rita Rudner
  • A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
    -Robert Benchley
  • Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
    -Franklin P. Jones
  • If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
    -James Thurber
  • If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.
    -Unknown
  • My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money.
    -Joe Weinstein
  • Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!
    -Anne Tyler
  • Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
    -Robert A. Heinlein
  • If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
    -Mark Twain
  • You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'
    - Dave Barry
  • Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
    -Roger Caras
  • If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.
    -Phil Pastoret
  • My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.
    --Anonymous
Other Dog Websites
 

Dog toys
Dog gifts
http://www.solvingdogproblems.com
Assistance Dogs International
 

Check out this pet resort site: http://www.meadowlakepetresort.com.

Articles | Book Reviews | Free eNL | Products

Contact Us | Home

This material, copyright Mindconnection. Don't make all of your communication electronic. Hug somebody!