In day to day basic puppy training, when teaching your puppy to come or to obey any command, only give the command when you are able to enforce it. You must always be in a situation where you get compliance. For that reason, you do not want to use the command without good cause or in any other circumstance where you do not intend to get the desired outcome. When teaching "come," only give the command when you intend the dog to come to you. That means it should stop whatever else it is doing and come to you.
To offer a somewhat humorous example of why this is important, I often take my dogs along for rides when I go out in the car. I Have a Forrester, so there is plenty of room in the back. The dogs have come to enjoy car rides and are always on the lookout for an occasion to hop in the car. Well, I accidentally got into the habit of saying "all right" before putting them into the car. Now, as a result, if I should say, "all right" in some other context, they immediately jump up and run to the door expecting a car ride. This is hardly a serious situation, but I have had to unteach them that "all right" means a ride in the car.
With particular respect to the "come" command, it is important to not give your dog the choice of not coming. Thus, a very basic way of starting out is to always have your dog on a leash. I recommend a leash of at least 3 or 4 feet. Attach the leash to the dog's collar and position him (or her) at one end and you at the other. I also advise that you do not use a choke or pinch collar for this. Say the command, "come" in a firm, civil voice and then very gently tug the leash so as to encourage the dog to approach you. It is important to use only the minimum force necessary. After the dog comes to you, give it lots of praise and a small, tasty treat.
The next caution we want to suggest is that you never use the "come" command and then scold or rebuke your dog. You do not want your puppy to associate the command, "come" with negative experience. And that's true even if you need to isolate your dog for something necessary such as bathing. If your dog does not enjoy it, and you train that command, it will suspect something bad as a result of compliance.
In situations where you discover your dog behaving badly, your first impulse may be to say "come" in a somewhat angry voice to get it to stop misbehaving. If possible, take positive, corrective action, but do not associate "come" with the correction. It is difficult to always remember exactly what to do in stressful situations, but as much as possible, create in your puppy's mind only positive associations with your command words.
Another effective tip is to always take advantage of times when the puppy happens to be moving toward you. You can leverage this to your training advantage by saying, "come" and then letting the puppy do what it is doing naturally. And of course you give it lots praise. A trick that can work with a young puppy (6 to 8 weeks) is to put it on a leash with plenty of slack. Toll a toy a small distance away and let the puppy run to get it. When the puppy has the toy, tell it to "come" and then gently tug it in your direction, and reward it with generous praise and occasionally with a treat. This is almost as easy as it sounds, and your dog will love learning how to please you!
To offer a somewhat humorous example of why this is important, I often take my dogs along for rides when I go out in the car. I Have a Forrester, so there is plenty of room in the back. The dogs have come to enjoy car rides and are always on the lookout for an occasion to hop in the car. Well, I accidentally got into the habit of saying "all right" before putting them into the car. Now, as a result, if I should say, "all right" in some other context, they immediately jump up and run to the door expecting a car ride. This is hardly a serious situation, but I have had to unteach them that "all right" means a ride in the car.
With particular respect to the "come" command, it is important to not give your dog the choice of not coming. Thus, a very basic way of starting out is to always have your dog on a leash. I recommend a leash of at least 3 or 4 feet. Attach the leash to the dog's collar and position him (or her) at one end and you at the other. I also advise that you do not use a choke or pinch collar for this. Say the command, "come" in a firm, civil voice and then very gently tug the leash so as to encourage the dog to approach you. It is important to use only the minimum force necessary. After the dog comes to you, give it lots of praise and a small, tasty treat.
The next caution we want to suggest is that you never use the "come" command and then scold or rebuke your dog. You do not want your puppy to associate the command, "come" with negative experience. And that's true even if you need to isolate your dog for something necessary such as bathing. If your dog does not enjoy it, and you train that command, it will suspect something bad as a result of compliance.
In situations where you discover your dog behaving badly, your first impulse may be to say "come" in a somewhat angry voice to get it to stop misbehaving. If possible, take positive, corrective action, but do not associate "come" with the correction. It is difficult to always remember exactly what to do in stressful situations, but as much as possible, create in your puppy's mind only positive associations with your command words.
Another effective tip is to always take advantage of times when the puppy happens to be moving toward you. You can leverage this to your training advantage by saying, "come" and then letting the puppy do what it is doing naturally. And of course you give it lots praise. A trick that can work with a young puppy (6 to 8 weeks) is to put it on a leash with plenty of slack. Toll a toy a small distance away and let the puppy run to get it. When the puppy has the toy, tell it to "come" and then gently tug it in your direction, and reward it with generous praise and occasionally with a treat. This is almost as easy as it sounds, and your dog will love learning how to please you!
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