Training Your Dog To Come To You

Getting your dog to come to you is an extremely important command – one that can save your pet’s life someday should you ever find it in danger, and one that is certainly useful for you when you simply want your dog by your side.

Teaching your dog the “Come” command is simple. There are a few methods that work, but one of the more fun ways to teach “Come” is to use a friend and stand at opposite ends of a room. Both of you should have a great deal of treats, and the friend should be someone that your dog likes.

The first step is for you to yell out your dog’s name and say “Come!” As you do so, be sure and wave one of the treats and move your hands in order to ensure you have completely drawn your dog’s attention. Your dog will come running over for the treat and the love. Once it reaches you, don’t forget to shower it with praise.

Once your dog has received the love and has calmed down slightly, it is time for your friend to perform the same task. He or she should call out your dog’s name and say “Come!” while waving arms and showing treats.

This should be repeated back and forth multiple times. It would also be useful to try it from different rooms and different angles, in order for your dog to learn to come find you whenever the command is used.

Notes About the “Come” Command

One very important note about the “Come” command is that it should never, ever be used for punishment. “Come” is a useful tool because it can be used in an emergency, such as if your dog gets loose in the street and you need to call it over to get out of the way of a moving car.

The only way to ensure that your dog always responds positively to your command is to never use come for punishment. So if, for example, you notice your dog is eating trash from your garbage can in the kitchen, if you use the Come command to get your dog over there, you need to remain positive and praise your dog even though they had originally been performing a bad behavior. If you punish your dog, such as hitting it on its nose, there is a chance you will ruin the command’s effectiveness.

The reason for this is that your dog will not associate the punishment with eating from the garbage. Your dog will associate the punishment with the last thing that they did – in this case, running towards you. It will make your dog reluctant to come to you the next time you call, and it is unlikely to keep them out of the trash.

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