The Right and the WRONG Way to Teach Your Dog to Come

The best way to teach your dog anything at all is to try looking at things from your dog's point of view. If you want to teach your dog to "Come" then you need to make it worth his while. That means you need to avoid doing what most owners do.

If you simply go outside and yell for your dog to come to you then chances are that your dog is going to ignore you, especially if you have a puppy. Your puppy is exploring the world and there are at least 100 things more interesting in your backyard than coming when you call. Your puppy could be chasing a bug, digging for a rock, or watching a bird. All of those things are more interesting than seeing what you want.

If you get mad when your puppy doesn't come to you then you are giving your puppy even more reason to stay away. What puppy in their right mind wants to go to an angry owner? None. All you're doing is teaching your puppy to associate the "Come" command with being angry and bad things.

If you go outside and chase your puppy with a leash your puppy might think its fun for a little while -- until he sees that crazy look in your eyes. Again, you are teaching your puppy that training is something bad and to be avoided.

Anytime that anger is involved in training, especially when you're training a puppy, you are most likely teaching the opposite of what you want to teach.

The best way to teach your puppy to come to you is by calmly attaching a leash or long cord to your puppy's collar. It's best to do this when your puppy is still in the house and not distracted by other things. Then the two of you can go outside in an enclosed area such as your backyard. You want to work in a place that is relatively free of distractions at first.

When you're outside with your puppy let him move around and play a little, especially if he is on the long cord. Then tell him to come to you. Remember that he doesn't know what this means at first. So, gently pull him toward you with the cord or leash. When he reaches you reward him and praise him for coming. Keep repeating this a few times until he begins to associate "Come" with actually coming to you and getting his praise and rewards. Keep things positive and cheerful.

Practice this lesson every day with your puppy on the cord or leash. It will be some time before you are ready to try it off-leash. Remember to let your puppy move around the yard and get interested in things so he's not paying attention to you when you ask him to come.

After your dog is coming to you quickly when you give him the command you can try moving on to doing the command off-leash in the enclosed area. Make sure the area is enclosed because you don't want to risk letting your puppy or dog get loose where he might get lost. Give the command off-leash and see how your puppy or dog does. Praise and reward when he comes to you. He should know the command by now so he will probably come to you. It's a question of how quickly he comes and whether he comes directly to you. You will need to practice off-leash in the enclosed area for a long time before you try this some place else. When you think you're ready to try it elsewhere, try it on-leash for the first few times. It's not easy to get a reliable recall when there are distractions. You may want to try it in a neighbor's yard if they have a fenced yard or someplace else where your dog will be safe if you try it off-leash.

If you teach the Come command without getting angry and, instead, use lots of praise and positive reinforcement, then your puppy or dog will be glad to learn it. Just make sure that you don't try to teach your puppy or dog using anger.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Right-and-the-WRONG-Way-to-Teach-Your-Dog-to-Come&id=8155349