I absolutely love to take my dog, Seiki to dog parks and to the mountains.  As a result, I see many mistakes that dog owners make when calling their dogs to “come.”  In this post, I want to support you in avoiding these mistakes in your dog training. Salt Lake City has many areas where your dog can run away, and training a good “come” command is paramount to your dog’s safety.

Below are some of the number one pitfalls I see people doing that can destroy obedience with “come” quickly.  All of the examples below have something in common. They make “coming” to you not fun and not motivating.  The trick to a successful obedience is to make it rewarding to your dog.  As a result, avoid the examples below.

1.) You call your dog, and your dog completely ignores you.  As a result, you raise your voice and yell louder.  You are hoping that this will increase obedience for your dog.

2.) Your dog comes to you and you give him a consequence that he does not want or like.  Here are a few examples

• Your dog is playing with another dog, you call your dog to end the play session, and you immediately take your dog home.
• It is time to take your dog to the vet.  You call your dog, grab him by the collar, and guide him to your car.
• It is time to put your dog in his crate.  You call your dog to you and you immediately put him in his crate.
• It is grooming time.  This could include bathing your dog, brushing your dog, cleaning your dog’s ears, trimming your dog’s nails, etc.  At this time, you call your dog to you and immediately begin grooming your dog.

3.) Your dog takes awhile to come to you and finally comes to you.  Because he took quite awhile to “come,” you reprimand your dog and believe that he will understand that you are reprimanding him for the delay in “coming”.

Because there are so many off-leash areas for dog training, Salt Lake City is a great place to train your dog “come.”  No matter why you are calling your dog it is important that you create a positive consequence for your dog.  This means calling your dog in a friendly voice and giving him something that he will love as a reward for coming.

There are many steps in creating an effective “come” command and ensuring obedience.  Please consult with reward-based Salt Lake City dog trainers if you need additional support.  Our Salt Lake City, dog training company offers a specific course just on “come” called the Junior Come Course.

Your turn! We want to hear from you.  Please leave a comment below.

What have you done that has made “come” not fun for your dog? What consequence can you give your dog to create “come” to be more rewarding?

Namaste!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC Dog Training, Salt Lake City