Sometimes the best way to outline a certain dog training method is to explain what not to do.
When it comes to coming when called most dog owners have trained their dogs NOT to come when called. They’ve done it on accident, of course, but they’ve still done it.
How have they done it? There are a few main ways people train their dogs, and especially puppies, to not come when called:
- They don’t even train it in the first place! Most puppies are anxious to be around their owners. They’ll come running if you say ‘banana’, ‘dummy’, or any other word. Puppies are just happy creatures and they’ll happily come bounding over for just about anything.Most dog owners take that for granted and they never spend time working on the recall. Most puppies will hit about 4-6 months of age and now they start becoming more independent. At this age they’ll start running off to go say ‘hi’ to someone down the street. What does the owner do? He calls the dog over, of course. But guess what? He never actually trained the dog how to come when called. How can he now expect his dog to come when he never formally trained it?
- Many dog owners actually punish their dog for coming when called. Think about it, your puppy is having a great time playing in the back yard and you call him over. He dutifully obeys and then, boom, you bring him inside. He didn’t want to come inside yet, upon obeying you, he gets shoved indoors.
Or what about when you are standing next to his crate. You call him over and put him in. He’s chewing on your shoe so you call him over. He wants to say hi to the kid and you call him over. Everything your dog wants to do you counter it by calling him away.
A smart puppy isn’t going to put up with that for long. He’s going to realize that coming when called is not in his best interest.
What is the solution?
Simple. With my clients I teach them a very simple ‘Casual Recall Formula’. It’s as simple as this:
- Call your dog
- Reward your dog
- Release your dog
What I mean is that you want to call your dog. When he comes, give him a nice reward. With a puppy I’ll use a bit of a treat and praise. I’ll move away from using treats as soon as possible. Once he’s come to my side I’ll quickly release him. I want the puppy to realize that coming when called is not the end of fun. More often than not you’ll be released to go off and continue having fun.
Essentially I’ll call puppies much more than I need to. That way, as they grow older they’ll realize that coming when called carries no obligations and is a lot of fun.
Image credit: normanack
