How to Recall Your Dog
What is the Come Command? This is a command that should always be taught to every dog around any level of distractions under any circumstances. But how do we get there. And why is teaching your dog the come command important? Not only is it a cool trick but in real life situations it can be lifesaving.
Does you dog:
- Bolt off in dangerous situations?
- Not come when called?
- Chased other animals or people?
We will help you:
- Train them around anyone, anywhere.
- Have them listen no matter what is going on.
- Create a safe environment for them.
What a lot of owner’s thinks is that this command is completely hard. And it can be when not done properly. Sometimes when not done correctly, the dog will see the Come Command as a threat or that the fun they are having will be one and must go home. We must show them that what they are doing will continue but also use the command as a partnership in the current situation. More times than ever, the only time the owner calls them to Come is when it’s time to level, take something away from them or they are in trouble. So just like a child, the invitation to come towards the adult is threatening, not inviting.
So how do we prevent this and teach them the Come Command? Well, first we need to show them that there is something in it for them. That it’s a game, there’s treats involved and that the world as they know it will not come to an end. We also do it in a controlled environment, very low distractions and zero confliction. It MUST be seen as a game, positive and there’s great things to receive. That’s when the learning starts in our Private Lesson program or Board and Train. Learning can not work if there are threats and confliction. It’s not a war. It’s not a punishment. And it definitely can not be abusive. However, there does have to be a certain level of discipline if/when they do not listen LATER in the training when they move towards the distraction phase. Distance and duration parts later fall into place as well when they have achieved distractions on a safe level.
First, we teach in the safety of your yard, back yard, driveway and then in the immediate neighborhood. Then after you and your dog are ready for lighter distraction we go to low levels distractions in a park, then higher distractions. We always use positive reinforcements until light pressure work is needed for those times that treats won’t always work. How needs to be taught the Come Command?
I mentioned distraction work first. What this means is that no matter where you are inside or outside the house, your dog needs to be attentive and focused on you, still observing what is around you, but knowing they cannot break free from your side. Once the environment is safe and they can explore, breaking the dog to go run around is ok. When you tell the dog “COME”, they are to beeline it towards you at your side. No stopping to sniff, no “hold on a minute”, no repeating the command. This is dangerous, the command falls apart and it becomes less and less about the owner taking control.
Duration of the Come Command is when the dog starts off in a close environment and doing the command for 10-15 seconds back and forth, moving it up 10 seconds a day until you can get some distance between you (later I’ll explain) so starting out in short, fun, successful sessions is extremely important, so we don’t burn the dog out. It is also extremely important because we always want to leave with the dog on a positive note thinking that was a fun game and so the next time you go to “play” the Come Command, they’ll be “OH, YEAH. That’s a fun game. Let’s go play!” As the dog becomes proficient, you become proficient, more experienced and the dog becomes older, we can start moving towards more distractions outside with some distance and duration on a long line.
Distance can become just as important as distraction and is becomes what I call a tetter-totter effect. The more distractions happen, the less distance happens until both owner and dog become proficient and experienced on a successful level. Distance in the Come Command can have a scary and negative effect because that is when horrible things happen. Hit by cars, dog attacks, missing dogs, and other endless things. What happens is when a dog becomes so far from the owner, distractions become so overwhelming the dog can’t focus or hear the owner and what we think is the dog is blowing us off but, it’s the dog simply not trained. Had the dog been trained over a matter of a few weeks or months, tragedy could have been avoided. Sometimes it loops back to where the dog sees the Come Command as a negative event and must leave or they get punished. So, by starting off on a long line in the house, backyard, front yard, driveway, park, beaches, and hikes and eventually getting Off Leash so we can have our dogs successfully and safely around environments.
High energy vs low energy
So, your dog has super high energy and runs 100 mph. That’s great, we can utilize this energy to their advantage and make things happen successfully. This is when we use a lot of their toys/tugs as their rewards and let them earn the rewards when they come to us. These are dogs that do great around low distractions and mostly mid to longer distances because they get this awesome dopamine rush when they run so we take advantage making them do this. It’s kind of like the fetch game. The one problem I do see owners running into with this is the dog sees too much of a game and they run past them. So, we need to control this by not letting them out too far and rush in hard. I teach a dog to do a front sit and sometimes a nice slide-in-to-heel position for extra effort from the dog. Usually when I have a dog at this level of energy, they want to work. They LIVE to work so this is that extra…because they want to be extra. LOL! Once the dog has completed the task, they are free to go off again until I call them back. Again, this is to be done daily and weekly in short, fun sessions until the dog is reliable on a long line, and we know the dog can be dependable around distraction and duration. We do NOT let them off leash until we have perfected that, and we have used the proper tools for this.
What happens if your dog is not excitable, lacks enthusiasm and doesn’t even really care about the Come Command. Some owners, even trainers, deem the dog “stubborn”, retaliation, unmotivated or lazy. Well, we need to change this. Most dogs aren’t stubborn in an obedience sense, they’re just not trained. They are also not motivated because they have everything in their lives handed to them, so they lack workability levels and don’t need to put in any effort. Why would they? They have a free home, free food, free toys, free medical…. a FREE LIFE! They literally hunt their dog food bowl. Everything is done for them. So, what do we do? We make them earn things. And this is when the owner’s hearts start to bleed. We want our dogs to love us, but we don’t want them to earn anything. We are making our dogs love us for the wrong reasons and the wrong way. We need to make the relationships compatible and communicate with them with engagement, not just treats and fluffy toys. We let them earn things on an obedient level which is what they literally strive for, any dog, any breed, any age. If we put enough effort and grit in the game for them, it will work.
Every dog of every age and the command should be freshened up weekly by going out into a public setting where it be a ball game, park, farmer’s market, or a friend’s house. Teaching the come command on a regular basis will assure the skills and technique so when an issue happens, you will be ready in any circumstances. Not teaching your dog around real-life distractions will only make your dog panic and dogs have run away, you are chasing your dog and an extremely stressful event for the whole family. Training your dog is ALWAYS less expensive than a veterinary bill. Which is one of many reasons I became a dog trainer after years of working as a veterinary technician. We also go over car safety teaching the dog to load up and out of a car, transporting, emergency preparedness and what to do in an emergency. As always, I pair up commands like the heel and down command and even teach the Emergency Down in my program. Some owners start of with cheaper group lessons, but you do get what you pay for. Your dog and family are worth the investment to be taught real life dog training.