Training your dog to come to you at your call is important for behavioral and especially safety reasons. A simple recall command can mean the difference between your pet's life and death, should he get lost and are headed for a busy road. Dogs that respond well to this order may have more freedom outdoors, on hikes or trips to the park. Use a training technique that will keep the animal interested and, armed with patience and persistence, use positive reinforcement to teach it this simple command.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Leash Training
Step 1. Adopt the right mindset
Your dog will not learn anything unless you use correct teaching methods. You will need to do some research before you begin and it is always best to enroll your pet in an obedience class and consider training with you as additional home exercises. For a positive experience, remember that:
- Your dog can sense your mood. If you train him when you are sad, angry or frustrated, the animal will likely experience the same feelings. While consistency is important, it may be best to skip training on a day when you are feeling particularly down. Always make sure the sessions are positive.
- Your dog should learn number one, before number two. When he is successful in a training step, it does not mean that he has understood it. Repetition is very important for the command to be executed consistently. Make sure your pet can actually complete the first step 100% of the time before moving on to the next.
- Sessions should be short and frequent. Dogs, especially puppies, have a reduced attention span. Asking one of these animals to go through a long period of intense training can lead to frustration for all parties involved.
- Don't get frustrated if your dog makes mistakes. When learning something new, failure comes naturally. This is not a bad event, but a simple part of learning. If your dog senses that he is letting you down without understanding why, the training would not be successful.
- You should never punish a dog for obeying a command. If you give the pet an order, you should never make it think it was wrong. For example, if you were to call him back because he was chasing a fawn, you should praise him when he comes to you and not scold him for what he was doing before following your order. The dog would only understand that when he approaches you he will receive punishment and may decide not to follow your order next time.
Step 2. Choose the right place
As with any new command, you should begin training in a place that is familiar to your dog and free of distractions such as toys, small children, food, loud noises, and other animals. This allows him to focus as much as possible on you, the order and the behavior associated with it.
If you live with other people, involve them in the training process as well. This way they will know when to avoid distracting the dog
Step 3. Keep your dog on a leash
In the more advanced stages of training you can keep the animal free, but at first you should tie it on a leash to keep it close to you, focused on your orders. Start with a 2-meter short leash, which always allows you to have him close and stay in his field of vision.
Stand at an appropriate distance from your dog so that he cannot reach you in a single step or two. If the animal is particularly small, 60-90 cm may be enough, while you will have to use the full length of the leash if the dog is larger
Step 4. Say "Come" and start moving back quickly
Your dog will have a natural instinct to follow you to play when he sees you walking away. You should only issue the command once before taking a step back. This allows the animal to hear the command clearly, before being distracted by the chase.
- Issuing the command only once is sufficient. The more you say to your dog during training, the harder it will be for him to associate one of the words with the desired behavior.
- If your dog is unresponsive and stands still, pull on the leash slightly and encourage him to come to you.
Step 5. Consider using a hand signal as well
These signals are quite useful, because the animal can associate them with the desired behavior and help in situations where it can see you but cannot hear you. If you decide to teach your dog a verbal and a manual signal, choose a very clear hand movement. Make sure you are giving the commands at the same time.
- You can move your hand towards your body or point a finger at the ground in front of you. Another common signal for the "Come" command is to hold your hand in front of you, palm facing up and curling your fingers towards you.
- Hand signals are particularly useful in situations where verbal signals cannot be used, such as near a very noisy motorway.
- If your dog becomes deaf (a common occurrence in old age and for some breeds), hand signals would be particularly helpful.
Step 6. Move backwards until your dog catches up with you
The animal should associate the order with the action of coming to you and not with a simple jog of a few steps. To aid in training on the short leash, keep stepping back (being careful not to bump into anything) until your dog catches up with you.
If you are using the clicker to train your dog, be sure to click as soon as the animal begins to move towards you and again when it reaches you. This will reinforce the desired movement, direction and behavior
Step 7. Use positive reinforcement
When your dog catches up with you, give him a lot of praise. Repeated positive reinforcement helps the animal understand that it is having the right behavior.
Although positive reinforcement is often expressed with praise and food rewards, no one knows your dog better than you. Maybe you know his favorite reward is a particular toy
Step 8. Incorporate distractions into training and increase your distance from the animal
The secret to successful training is to increase the difficulty gradually without overwhelming your dog. If you did your first sessions in your quiet living room after removing all the toys, now try scattering a few toys around the area, then turning on the television. As a next step, try moving around the garden and using a 5m lead instead of the shorter one.
Step 9. Continue your training on walks
One of the most effective ways to get your dog to learn the order to come to you is to extend the training on daily walks. This will make your pet exercise regularly and expose him to different environments and levels of distractions, putting him to the test.
Step 10. Issue the command without backing up
Over time, your dog will learn to associate order with desired behavior, respecting your command even when you stand still. After the "Come" order, start taking a single step back. Afterward, he tries to give the order without backing off.
Remember to be patient. If your dog does not come to you when you stand still, take a step or two more for a day, then try again
Step 11. Consider group training sessions
If your dog can no longer make progress, you can take him to a trainer. A professional is able to correct errors in your training technique and the group environment is ideal for allowing the animal to socialize.
A trainer can teach you and your dog how to communicate most effectively to encourage learning
Part 2 of 2: Switch to Off-Leash Training
Step 1. Try calling your dog when he is not on a leash
After many days (or weeks, depending on the dog's learning speed) of leash training, choose an enclosed area and try to get the pet to come to you. If he doesn't respond to your command, try backing away to get chased. Remember that it takes time and patience, so don't get frustrated if you don't get the desired result the first time you take your dog off the leash. The most important thing is to keep trying.
- Also avoid repeating the command many times if your dog does not respond. Whenever you utter the order without success, you risk weakening the association that the animal is forming between speech and action. If he doesn't react to training in any way, resume sessions on the long leash for a day or two before trying again.
- If you initially need to take a few steps backward to entice your dog to follow you, remember to gradually stop moving, in order to teach the animal to respond to your command without you having to move.
- Occasionally, ask the dog to come to you when he isn't expecting it. For example, call him when he is sniffing something in the garden to test his attention.
Step 2. Ask someone for help
To be able to increase the distance from which your dog follows your order, you may need the help of a second person. Ask her to hold the animal still so that you can move further away without it following you. When you are ready, give the command once (coupled with the signal with the hand you have chosen to use) and ask your helper to release the dog.
- As always, use the clicker if you have decided to adopt this tool in your training and offer a lot of positive reinforcement to your dog when he has reached you.
- The best way to keep a dog still is to interlace your fingers in front of his chest.
Step 3. Try a circle exercise
When your dog has learned to successfully respond to the order to come to you, this more complex training method subjects the pet to a new challenge. Ask 2-3 people besides you to arrange themselves in a circle, with a radius of about 6 meters. You will have to call the animal in turn to attract it to each of you.
Make sure each person has enough time to praise and reward the dog with food before the animal is called back by someone else. Remember to use the clicker if you have decided to use it in your training and ask all participants to use the same hand signal
Step 4. Increase the training distance
When your dog has made significant progress, modify the training environment by adding distractions. If you notice that the animal always seems distracted, you should take a step back and resume the exercises in a familiar environment, before returning to more chaotic places.
Never try to train your dog in open areas until the animal obeys your command in multiple different places, with varying levels of distraction
Step 5. Get help
If your dog can't make the transition from leashed to unleashed training, don't be afraid to enlist the help of a professional trainer. A session with an instructor can guide you through these difficulties. You can also consult with your trainer or an animal behavior expert for further advice.
Each dog is unique and learns in their own way
Advice
- In the beginning, make sure the training is fun. When your dog is still learning the "Come" command, don't use it to cut his nails or to push him to do other activities he doesn't like. This would lead him to associate negative feelings with the order.
- You can start teaching your dog the recall command when he is three months old. Each session should last around 5-10 minutes, and you can try to do up to three sessions in a day. Usually, the younger a dog is, the shorter the training sessions need to be, due to the low attention span of puppies.
- If you use the "Come" command only when the dog has to stop playing, the animal will interpret the order as a punishment and will understand that when it has to come to you it means that the fun is over.
- Always finish your training on a positive note.
- Never punish and never scold your dog if he comes to you with significant delay after your command. If I did, the animal would associate the call with punishment and may decide not to approach in the future.
