This is the most important command that you will be teaching your dog. The success of this command is dependent on YOU, the owner, just like all commands
1) Never ever give the command “Buddy, come!” and then scold, yell, or hit him. Never call your dog to punish him for something that he may have been doing. What you are teaching him is that when you say “Come”, he will get in trouble or worse.
2) Be very careful and aware of what you reward and correct. For instance, if you are in your living room and you see that your dog has your sock in his mouth, do not call him to you and scold him for chewing on it, instead, get up and take it out of his mouth and replace it with something he can chew on such as a “kong”. If you had called your dog to you and yelled at him, what you are saying in dog language is “you are a bad dog for coming to me”. Dogs do not have the ability to link actions together that are interrupted. That means, if you call a dog and scold it, it thinks it is bad for coming and has no idea whatsoever that it is getting in trouble for what he did prior to coming. A dog connects punishment (or praise) with what he’s doing or just did.
3) MAKE “COME” THE COMMANDTHAT YOUR DOG JUST LOVES!!!!
* Use “come” when you are calling your best friend to eat.
* Use “come” when doing something FUN that your dog loves to do: Going for a car ride, going for a walk, playing fetch, etc..
* Use “come” to give your dog a treat &/or toy. This is KEY!
4) Always praise your dog for coming to you, even if you did not ask him to come and give him a goodie! This will make your dog associate COME=PRAISE=TREAT!
5) Reinforce the come through praise, praise, praise!
6) When you say “Buddy, come”, simply say it 1 time. If you say it more than once, you will be teaching your friend that he does NOT have to come the first, second or even third time. And equally important, use the exact word “COME”.
7) Never chase your dog in an attempt to get him after you’ve called him. Dogs have a natural chase instinct – if you start to go after them they think it‘s a game.
8) Please avoid calling your dog to come if:
– Your dog has not been trained to know what come really and truly means.
– Your dog is in a distracting situation.
– Your dog is in another room.
– You want to clip, or clean his nails, or toes.
9) Always keep a smile on your face when you give the command “come”. YES, a smile. Dogs react tremendously well to body language. They see a happy face; they will go towards it.
10) Don’t reach out & grab his collar as he approaches. (Unless of course he is 100% with the “GOTCHA”.
TIPS:
- Start this command indoors for the first few weeks.
- Always, always give him his most favorite food/toy
- Always pour on buckets of enthusiastic praise!