Have you ever called your dog, had them look you dead in the eye, and then run the other way?
I’ve been there too! It’s beyond frustrating and a little scary. Here’s how to make sure it stops happening to you:
I’m going to teach you how to call your dog so well that your dog will start thinking:
“My human is a ninja! I dropped a delicious goose poop and ran straight to them… and I liked it! What is happening to me?!”
How often do you restrict your dog’s freedom? Your dog’s bad habit (the one that is making you crazy) will continue until you give the right amount of freedom.
Pro Tip: If your dog doesn’t come when you call at home on the first try every time… your dog shouldn’t be off leash yet.
Your dog needs to earn that privilege with good behavior. Restricting your dog’s freedom of movement and teaching them to use that freedom in less annoying ways is the key!
You have to do this in the right way and at the right time of course. Your dog needs to connect the consequences to having ignored you. If you sound or look upset when you’re teaching your dog these rules it often backfires.
Use the right tools for the job.
Like cutting a board in half with a power saw versus doing it by hand, having the proper tools will shave weeks off of the dog’s learning curve!
Here is a list of tools I often use to train dogs to come when called:
I don’t use all of these with every dog, but I do use several of them with each dog. Training your dog to come when called is a process and there are important stages that most dog owners skip over completely.
Your dog needs to understand the following in order before coming when called on a hike every time you call will be possible:
Not knowing how to be more rewarding than a squirrel makes teaching the “come” command impossible.
When you call your dog, you MUST sound happy and look happy! Use a happy, playful voice so your dog doesn’t think they’re in trouble and they will want to be closer to you.
I can’t tell you how many people yell at their dog “COME HERE” and either get ignored or the dog comes back fearfully, neither of which is good. When your dog has to decide between something awesome in the environment or you, help them out, be a fun person to run over to.
Do NOT go towards your dog with a stern look on your face. That screams to your dog that they are either in trouble or at minimum their life is about to get boring.
You are competing with powers greater than you can imagine! You’re going to need a mentor during this process.
Some of the greatest temptations in a dog’s world are:
Your dog is unique, you are unique, your dog is going through a unique stage of their life, the park you’re training your dog in is unique, etc etc etc. There are a ton of variables to account for and you’re going to have a heck of a time getting to the root cause of why your dog isn’t “getting it” all by yourself.
Most dog owners highly underestimate how complicated it is to teach a dog to come when called with 100% consistency. I know I did! That’s why I’ve spent $$$ thousands of dollars with other trainers to not have to figure it out myself.
I tried to do things my way for years before I finally spent the money and hired a dog trainer to teach me their methods. Yes, dog trainers hire dog trainers all the time! It saves us years of time and sooo much frustration. I still kick myself for not doing it sooner.
What I’m saying is, hire someone to help you. Today! You’ll be glad you did and so will your dog.
Have you ever done the following after your dog came over to you?
Those are all great ways to teach your dog that coming when called SUCKS! They will be less likely to do it each time this happens.
Dogs hate coming when called by default! You are so boring, you’re always there, they’ve sniffed you a million times, and now they’re outside in the great outdoors and you want them to come over to you? So you can tell them it’s time to go home? Yeah, not thanks! Hard pass!
Anything you ask of them when out in the field should be short and have an awesome reward at the end. Then you let your dog get right back to whatever fun thing they were doing. This is key in order for your dog to not hate the word “come”!
Oh and when it’s time to go home, don’t use the word “come” because it’ll get paired in your dog’s mind with something they don’t like.
To summarize, here are my steps:
Coming when called is the holy grail of dog training, because it fixes so many other behavioral issues once you get it down.
If your dog eagerly comes when called 100% of the time it says so much about your relationship. It says your dog:
When you’re ready to have a dog that comes when called the first time, our professional dog training in Salt Lake City is here to help. Here’s how we can work together:
Your dog can love being obedient. Learn how to do it for FREE!