Add more challenge:
Tell your dog to sit and stay. Show him a treat but don’t let him get up. Some dogs might just run towards you when recognizing the treat. Don’t give it to him. Be patient and repeat the sit/stay command. As soon as the dog is obedient, call “come”. Again, repeat the hand-on-the-collar exercise and let him enjoy his treat. Don’t forget to praise him for a job well done. Repeat, if he ducks again. For this more advanced training make sure your dog is not too tired or worn out from previous exercises. In that case don’t continue but start at a later time or the next day. If the dog loses interest stop the training also.

The exercise may be repeated several times in a row with you moving backwards between recalls. At a more advanced level of training, the dog may be instructed to sit-stay until called. Repeat this often!

Over time you can cut down on treats. Reward your dog only if he comes very quickly, sits and stays perfectly still. Your goal is not to overfeed the dog but to make the “come” command a rewarding experience.

For a more advanced training you can perform this exercise with 2 people involved. Both have treats and give the same command. Sit/stay/come. Only the one person who gives the command and the dog runs to gives the treat! This is a very challenging exercise for your animal; he might get confused at the beginning and/or get tired quickly. Do short sessions, and repeat often.

When your dog understands these commands continue with maintenance training. During this training your dog should not be awarded a treat every time he performs. Award him about every 5th time with a treat but praise his willingness every time!

When we mention “treat” here we mean treat. A treat is also a small piece of a dog biscuit, a milkbone, etc. Break them into pieces, don’t feed too much or your dog will get tired from a full stomach (and gain weight).

Another, even more advanced training is Hide & Seek. 3 people are in different rooms of the house and your dog needs to find the person who called him. Don’t pay attention or praise him if he comes to the wrong person when called. Dogs instinctively love this game because it appeals to many of his natural instincts. In addition the dog will learn to obey to the “come”command given by several different people (voices).

Many dogs will come running when they hear the car keys, or see the owner taking the leash. Take advantage of these instincts and combine them with the word “come”. For example, take the car keys and say, “You want to come for a ride?” Take the leash and say, “You want to come for a walk?” Sooner or later the dog will automatically come when you just grab a leash. Keep calling him though and always repeat the word “come” so the association with this word is a pleasant experience for your animal.

I have one “magic word”, actually it’s two words, for my dog. As soon as I mention the word “doggy park”, my animal stops dead in his track, forgets even food and comes running. Going to the doggy park is one of his biggest pleasures in live.

Make sure that you provide pleasure for your dog after he followed the command “come” so he always makes a positive association. Go for a walk, play with him, give him a treat, and pet him, all this after you call “come”. Even a walk on the leash is a fun experience! It’s a good idea to practice all these exercises all the time if you want to maintain the dog’s level of obedience and prevent bad habits from reoccurring.

See more articles under >> Category Obedience

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